Best Spices for Tomato Soup

Good tomato soup doesn’t take much seasoning, but the order matters. The three named recipes below build it the same way: onion and garlic cooked in olive oil, then the tomatoes, then an herb, usually basil. America’s Test Kitchen found butter muted the tomato flavor, so olive oil it is. Where they differ is the small touches: a bay leaf, a pinch of red pepper, a spoonful of brown sugar to take the edge off the acid, and cheese on top.

At a glance

Seasoning	Job	In the recipes below
Onion	Sweet, savory base	All three¹²³
Garlic	Pungent depth	All three¹²³
Basil	The signature herb; sweet, fresh aroma	Two of three¹³
Bay leaf	Background herbal note in the simmer	One²
Red pepper (ground or flakes)	A little heat	Two of three¹²
Brown sugar	Tones down acidity	One²
Parmesan or other cheese	Salty, savory topping	One³
Chives	Fresh finish	One²
Thyme	Optional savory herb	None of the three

Three recipes side by side

	USDA Tomato Basil Soup¹	Cook’s Illustrated Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup²	Massachusetts WIC Cheesy Tomato Soup³
Tomatoes	1 can (14 1/2 oz), drained	2 cans (28 oz) whole, in juice	4 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
Fat	1 tbsp olive oil	1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil	2 tbsp olive oil
Onion	1 medium	1 medium	1
Garlic	2 cloves (or 1/4 tsp garlic powder)	3 cloves	3 cloves
Herbs	1 tsp dried basil	1 bay leaf; 1/4 cup chopped chives to finish	2/3 cup fresh basil or 1 tbsp dried
Heat	1/8 tsp ground red pepper	Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)	None
Other	Nonfat dry milk; salt and pepper optional	1 tbsp brown sugar; bread for body; brandy optional; salt and pepper	Broth; whole wheat toast; Parmesan or mozzarella on top

These are the publishers’ recipes, not a house standard.

The core seasonings and what each one does

Onion and garlic: the base

All three recipes start by cooking onion in olive oil, then add garlic before the tomatoes.²³ The USDA recipe browns the onion for about four minutes and gives the garlic one minute more. Garlic goes in after the onion because it’ll quickly burn and turn bitter if it cooks too long.⁴ Garlic has a powerful, onionlike smell and a pungent taste. The USDA recipe allows 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder in place of two cloves.¹ See garlic powder vs. garlic and onion powder vs. onion.

America’s Test Kitchen picked olive oil over butter for this step after finding that butter muted the tomato flavor.²

Basil: the usual herb

Two of the three recipes are built around basil. Sweet basil smells sweet-spicy, slightly green and fresh.

When it goes in depends on the form. Basil is one of the delicate herbs that lose flavor under long heat,⁵ and the WIC recipe tops each bowl with fresh basil.³ Dried herbs are stronger than fresh. Even so, the USDA recipe adds its dried basil only at the end, with the milk, heating the soup without boiling it.¹ For a long-simmered pot, Delaware’s guide suggests adding herbs during the last 45 minutes.⁶ See dried vs. fresh basil and too much basil.

Bay leaf: one, simmered and removed

The Cook’s Illustrated recipe uses a single bay leaf for two large cans of tomatoes.² J. Kenji López-Alt told The Splendid Table that bay brings out the meaty flavors of beef and chicken. That’s a cook’s observation, not a measured effect. Fish the leaf out before you blend or serve: López-Alt likens eating one to eating a fish bone.⁷ See cooking with bay leaves and too much bay leaf.

A little heat

The USDA recipe uses 1/8 teaspoon of ground red pepper, which it calls a pinch, and Cook’s Illustrated offers an optional pinch of red pepper flakes.¹² At these amounts you get a faint warmth, not real heat. See red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper.

Brown sugar: balancing the acid

Cook’s Illustrated adds a tablespoon of brown sugar and says a little brown sugar toned down the acidity.² Taste before you add any. The other two recipes skip it.

Cheese and the savory side

The WIC recipe tops each bowl with shredded Parmesan or mozzarella.³ Tomatoes and cheese share a savory side: both have a natural umami taste.⁸ And a grilled cheese sandwich alongside the bowl is a classic American pairing.

Thyme: optional

None of the three recipes uses thyme. It’s a reasonable add if you want a more savory soup. It’s a hearty herb, so add it early.⁹ Go easy: a sprig or a pinch of dried is plenty for a pot this size. See fresh vs. dried thyme and too much thyme.

When to add what

Seasoning	When	Source
Onion, then garlic	Start, cooked in olive oil	All three recipes¹²³
Dried basil, red pepper	End, with the milk	USDA¹
Fresh basil, cheese	On top, at serving	WIC³
Chives	To finish	Cook’s Illustrated²

“Tomato Basil Soup”, USDA Food and Nutrition Service, via MyPlate. myplate.gov · Regulator ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰
“Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup”, Cook’s Illustrated, America’s Test Kitchen, 2008. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴
“Cheesy Tomato Soup”, Massachusetts WIC Nutrition Program. mass.gov · Regulator ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰
Liz Bomze, “Why You Should Wait to Add Garlic”, America’s Test Kitchen, 2023. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩
“Flavorful Herbs”, LSU AgCenter. lsuagcenter.com · Reference work ↩
“Using Herbs and Spices”, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension, revised 2025. udel.edu · Reference work ↩
David Leite with J. Kenji López-Alt, “Bay leaves are an optional ingredient”, The Splendid Table, 2014. splendidtable.org · Publication ↩
“Umami”, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2026. britannica.com · Reference work ↩
Liz Bomze, “Our Guide to Fresh Herbs”, America’s Test Kitchen, 2019. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩

Also drawn on

Ocimum basilicum (PROSEA), N.O. Aguilar, Pham Truong Thi Tho and L.P.A. Oyen, Plant Resources of South-East Asia, via Pl@ntUse. uses.plantnet-project.org
Garlic (Britannica Editors, revised by Michele Metych, updated 12 Sep 2026), Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com

Tomato Soup Spices: Onion, Garlic, Basil and the Small Touches That Balance the Acid