I made Ina Garten's easy tomato soup. It was ready in less than an hour, and I can't stop thinking about the grilled cheese croutons.

Ina Garten puts her spin on tomato soup by adding grilled cheese croutons. The fun recipe is extremely easy and takes less than an hour to make.

Mar 11, 2025 - 17:41

I made Ina Garten's easy tomato soup. It was ready in less than an hour, and I can't stop thinking about the grilled cheese croutons.

I made Ina Garten's tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons, and it was so easy.
Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

I made Ina Garten's tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons.
The recipe is incredibly easy and takes less than an hour to make.
Garten's tomato broth is so delicious, and the grilled cheese croutons are an inspired choice.

There are few foods I love making more than soup. There's just something about a big pot of comfort simmering on the stove all day, perfuming your kitchen and soothing your soul.

But making soup from scratch can be time-consuming, especially compared to the canned alternative. So, when I found this Ina Garten recipe for easy tomato soup — which is ready in under an hour — I knew I had to try it.

The dish is so easy that even a kid could make it. And they'll definitely want to when they find out there are grilled cheese croutons on top!

Ina Garten gives her tomato soup a twist by adding orzo and saffron threads.

Ingredients for Ina Garten's tomato soup.
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To make Garten's tomato soup at home, you'll need:

4 cups of chicken stock, preferably homemade
3 cups of yellow onions, chopped (about 2 onions)
1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
½ cup of orzo
½ cup of heavy cream
3 tablespoons of good olive oil
1 tablespoon of minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
A large pinch of saffron threads

As Garten always says, store-bought is fine! But if you have time, I highly recommend making Garten's homemade chicken stock. I love making a big batch in the winter and keeping it stocked in the freezer whenever a soup craving hits.

Plus, you can use the leftover stock to make Garten's delicious chicken pot pie and ravioli en brodo soups. To borrow another Barefoot Contessa quote: How good is that?

You only need three ingredients to make her grilled cheese croutons.

Ingredients for Ina Garten's grilled cheese croutons in her tomato sauce — Ingredients for Garten's grilled cheese croutons.
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Garten's grilled cheese croutons include:

4 (½-inch-thick) slices of country white bread
4 ounces of Gruyère cheese, grated
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted

Garten's recipe also requires very minimal prep.

Chopped onions for Ina Garten's tomato soup — I chopped onions for the soup's broth.
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All I had to do was chop the onions, grate the cheese, and mince the garlic.

To start the soup, I added 3 tablespoons of olive oil to my Dutch oven, then added the onions.

Browning onions for Ina Garten's tomato soup — I cooked the onions for 15 minutes.
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I cooked the onions over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring them occasionally.

Once the onions were golden brown, I added the garlic.

Adding garlic to onions for Ina Garten's tomato soup — I added garlic to the pot.
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I cooked everything together for an extra minute.

Then, I added the tomatoes, saffron, and chicken stock.

Adding broth and tomatoes to Ina Garten's tomato soup — Next, I added the tomatoes and saffron to the broth.
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I crushed each San Marzano tomato with my hand over the pot, then threw in the leftover juice from each can.

I added the chicken stock and saffron threads, stirring everything together before seasoning the broth with 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper.

I brought the soup to a boil, then lowered the heat to a simmer.

Bringing Ina Garten's tomato soup to a boil — The recipe calls for bringing the broth to a boil.
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Garten says to let the soup simmer for 15 minutes.

While the soup was simmering, I began cooking the orzo.

Adding orzo to boiling water for Ina Garten's tomato soup — I cooked the orzo.
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I filled a pot with water and seasoned it with two teaspoons of salt. After bringing the water to a boil, I added the orzo and cooked it for seven minutes.

Garten notes in her recipe that the orzo will finish cooking in the soup.

As my soup and pasta cooked on the stove, I began making the grilled cheese croutons.

Prepping bread for grilled cheese croutons in Ina Garten's tomato soup — I buttered bread for the grilled cheese croutons.
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I placed four slices of bread on a cutting board, lightly brushing them with the melted butter.

Per Garten's advice, I made sure to butter the corners of each slice.

I turned the buttered slices over, piling the Gruyère cheese on top of two of them.

Making grilled cheese croutons for Ina Garten's tomato soup — Making the grilled cheese sandwiches — soon-to-be croutons.
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I used the remaining slices to make two sandwiches, placing them right on top of the cheese with the buttered sides facing up.

Then, I toasted each sandwich in a small pan.

In her recipe, Garten says the grilled cheese croutons are "very easy to make" if you have an electric panini grill, but I also found them extremely easy to make on the stove.

I just threw each sandwich on the pan, making sure to toast each side for about two minutes, until the bread turned nice and crispy.

Once the sandwiches were toasted, I placed both on a cutting board and allowed them to rest.

The orzo was ready! I drained the pasta, added it to the soup, and then stirred in the cream.

Adding cream to Ina Garten's tomato soup — I added cream to the broth.
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As the heavy cream swirled into the broth, the color began transforming into a bright and cheerful orange.

Then, I allowed the soup to simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

Ina Garten's tomato soup — My broth turned into a delightful orange hue.
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Garten says to stir the soup frequently while it simmers.

As my soup continued to simmer, I cut my grilled cheese sandwiches into croutons.

Grilled cheese croutons for Ina Garten's tomato soup — My grilled cheese croutons were ready!
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Garten recommends cutting the croutons into 1-inch cubes.

Garten's tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons is one of her best soup recipes.

Ina Garten's tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons — Garten's tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons is delicious.
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The broth of Garten's tomato soup has so much flavor that I couldn't believe it had been on the stove for less than an hour. The broth is both light and rich, with a silky texture that danced on my tongue. The grilled cheese croutons are also an inspired touch, infusing each sip with a delicious dash of gooey cheesiness.

I usually skip tomato soup because I've always found its texture and flavor lacking, but Garten has proved it can deliver both with this recipe. Plus, with such little prep and kitchen time required, it's a great dinner for a chilly weeknight.

This is the only way I plan to eat tomato soup from now on.

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