Shortcut Tomato and Bread Soup

This shortcut version of Tuscan Tomato and Bread Soup is perfect for a cold Winter Day and you don't have fresh tomatoes to roast. This Tuscan soup, also called Pappa al Pomodoro, is made with cans of fire-roasted tomatoes and thickened with bread.

I know what you're thinking...my Southern Grandma did NOT but white bread in her soup-crushed up crackers or cornbread, maybe. It may sound crazy at first, it did to me, too.

Last week, I was craving a grilled cheese sandwich. I did not grow up eating tomato soup with my grilled cheese sandwich but I know it is an iconic combination like biscuits and jam or cornbread and vegetable soup and my husband told me he grew up eating tomato soup with his grilled cheese. He said he vividly remembers always eating it at a babysitters house. She would make the sandwich with the shiny cheese, individually wrapped and 2 pieces of white bread. Then, she would open a can of tomato soup and heat it up. I know this is a childhood memory for many Southerners...and across the nation, actually.

Just a note on my grilled cheese sandwich. Don't skimp on the cheese! I shredded my own Colby Jack and Monterey Jack Cheese, light spread butter on the outside of thick, country-style bread and cooked it on medium-low heat in a nonstick skillet. That's it! That's the recipe! Pre-shredded cheese won't come close to giving you this fabulous, melty cheese ooze.

Back to the soup-but I must confess, I'm still looking at the cheese ooze, too. Yum! Although this shortcut version does use cans of tomatoes, it's nothing like can of tomato soup Scott ate as a child. It starts with 2 cans of fire-roasted tomatoes with garlic. Right here, you're ahead of the game with flavor. If it happens to be summer when you are reading this, absolutely roast about 4 large tomatoes with 4 cloves of garlic and puree them instead of using the cans of tomatoes. But, it's Winter now and I needed to make soup from what I had in my pantry. Y'all ever find yourself standing in front of the cabinets looking at cans of foodstuffs and not knowing how to make dinner with what you already have? Well, that's how this recipe was born.

Just pureeing the cans of tomatoes seemed a bit thin and acidic. I knew to add a bit of brown sugar to cut the acid so I did that. I added a little extra virgin olive oil to give it the mouthfeel of slowly simmered marinara sauce. I added a 1/4 teaspoon of dried basil because basil and tomatoes are inseparable and ALWAYS go together. If I had fresh basil, I would have chosen it. It was still a little thin and lacked the viscosity I was looking for but I didn't have any cream in the fridge to add. So, I started looking up tomato soup recipes and saw that Tomato and Bread Soup was a real thing-not just dunking the bread from the grilled cheese in the soup.

Pappa al Pomodoro is a Tuscan Tomato and Bread Soup. Pappa means puree and Pomodor means tomato. Stale or day old bread was added to roasted tomatoes that were pureed to thicken it without cream. So I added a slice of bread and used my immersion blender to incorporate it. It was a little thick so I added the chicken broth-which added flavor and  let it simmer 10 minutes. I LOVED it! If I'd known about this soup growing up, I would absolutely have made tomato soup to go with my grilled cheese sandwich and I'm pretty sure Scott's babysitter would have liked it too-and so would Scott.

I hope you try this shortcut soup the next time you are craving a grilled cheese sandwich and let me know how you like it in the comments below.

If you like soup try my Shortcut Turnip Greens Soup, Instant Pot Collard Greens Soup, and  Shortcut White Bean and Chicken Chili. And of course, all Southern soups go well with cornbread.

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Print Recipe

Shortcut Tomato and Bread Soup

The bread thickens the tomato mixture. It is an Tuscan soup called Pappa al Pomodoro- I’ve just made a shortcut version with canned tomatoes. You can substitute one can of diced tomatoes with herbs for one can of fire roasted and eliminate the dried basil so you don’t have to add an extra ingredient.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time15 mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bread, pomodoro, shortcut, soup, tomato

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Kathleen Royal Phillips

Ingredients

• 2 14.5 oz cans fire roasted diced tomatoes with garlic, undrained
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 slice thick Italian or country-style bread crusts removed (about ½ cup pieces of bread)
• 1 cup chicken broth or stock

Instructions

• In a blender, process the tomatoes until pureed. Or, in a large saucepan, use an immersion blender to puree the tomatoes. Add the brown sugar, basil, and oil and process until smooth.
• Tear the slice of bread into several pieces and add it to the tomato mixture. If you don't have thick slices, just use two slices of thin bread. Process until the bread is blended.
• Slowly add the chicken broth and simmer the mixture in the large saucepan 10 minutes.
• It will not be smooth perfectly smooth but it will be perfectly yummy.

Notes

Note: It is best after standing for 30 minutes to an hour, but I have been able to wait that long, yet!

You might be able to eliminate an ingredient if you can find fire-roasted tomatoes with basil already it the tomatoes.