Slow-Cooker Creamy Tomato Basil Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

From now on, we’re turning all of our grilled cheese sandwiches into croutons for this creamy, hearty and ultra-easy tomato soup.MORE+LESS-

Soup

2

cans (28 oz each) Muir Glen™ organic fire roasted crushed tomatoes, undrained

1 1/2

cups vegetable broth

1

medium onion, finely diced

3

cloves garlic, finely chopped

1

cup heavy whipping cream

1/3

cup fresh basil, finely chopped

Croutons

4

slices Italian or homestyle white bread

2

tablespoons butter, softened

4

tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

4

oz Cheddar cheese, thinly sliced

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• 1

  Spray 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In slow cooker, mix tomatoes, broth, onion, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper. Cover; cook on High heat setting 3 hours or Low heat setting 6 hours.

• 2

  Add whipping cream. Cover; cook about 15 minutes or until hot. Stir in basil.

• 3

  Meanwhile, spread one side of each bread slice with butter. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese on top of buttered side of each slice. Press gently to adhere cheese to bread.

• 4

  Heat 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Place 2 slices bread, buttered side down, in skillet and top each with half of the Cheddar cheese. Place remaining 2 slices of bread, buttered side up, on top of cheese. Cook 5 to 7 minutes, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and cheese is melted. Cool 5 minutes; cut each into 1-inch cubes. Serve with soup.

Expert Tips

• If you like your tomato soup smooth and want to blend it, just let the soup cool 15 minutes before blending. Fill blender one-third to half full of tomato mixture. Remove or loosen center cap from lid of blender. Cover lid with folded dish cloth, and hold it down when blending. Puree until smooth.
• If you like your soup slightly sweeter than this more “grown-up” version, just add another tablespoon or two of sugar until you get to the desired level of sweetness.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving

Calories

400

Calories from Fat

220

% Daily Value

Total Fat

24g

37%

Saturated Fat

15g

73%

Trans Fat

1g

Cholesterol

75mg

26%

Sodium

1180mg

49%

Potassium

115mg

3%

Total Carbohydrate

33g

11%

Dietary Fiber

3g

11%

Sugars

17g

Protein

10g

Vitamin A

60%

60%

Vitamin C

2%

2%

Calcium

25%

25%

Iron

10%

10%

Exchanges:

2 Starch; 0 Fruit; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 High-Fat Meat; 4 Fat;

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

More About This Recipe

• Is there a more nostalgic food than grilled cheese and tomato soup? We don’t think so. This kid classic gets an adult upgrade with fresh basil and cloves of garlic, turning traditional tomato soup into restaurant-worthy tomato-basil soup. This recipe is made completely from scratch but the slow cooker takes all the intimidation out of the cooking process. And we wouldn’t dream of giving you a tomato soup recipe without a ooey, gooey grilled cheese sandwich to dunk with. These grilled cheese croutons go directly in the soup and are perfectly spoonable so you don’t have to get your hands dirty. You can put them in any type of soup, too because really, what soup doesn’t pair well with bread and melted cheese?