Ina Garten’s Tomato Soup Recipe Contains This One Surprise Ingredient That Adds a Bit More Comfort

With crisp weather just around the corner, soup season is nearly here. And if you’re hoping to add a few new comfort soup recipes to your repertoire, then you should definitely check out Ina Garten’s recipe for tomato soup. It’s packed with so much delicious flavor you won’t find in canned versions and it even contains one surprise ingredient not normally found in tomato soup — but it’s one ingredient that adds even more comfort to this cozy meal.

“It’s a rainy day in East Hampton, the temperature is dropping, and it feels like soup weather!” Garten captioned a recent Instagram post. “Is there anything better than Easy Tomato Soup and a grilled cheese Sandwich? Or, you can make the soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons instead!”

Do you see that in Garten’s soup bowl? Yes, that’s orzo pasta in her tomato soup! How yummy does that look?

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Garten’s tomato soup recipe starts with browning onions in a Dutch oven and then adding garlic, chicken stock, a can of crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, and a pinch of saffron for that earthy flavor. You could use an immersion blender to get that super creamy consistency, but Garten opts to leave the soup as is to allow the separate flavors to exist and mingle together.

In a separate pot, cook a small portion of orzo pasta until it’s just about done, and then add the pasta to the soup to finish cooking.

Serve the soup with some of Garten’s grilled cheese croutons (which are basically just cubed pieces of grilled cheese sandwiches made with white bread and Gruyère cheese — delicious), and you’re ready to eat! Eat it fresh from the pot or freeze for chilly nights ahead.