Tomato and Herb Soup

I haven’t eaten tomato soup in a long time and I don’t think my oldest son has ever had it, so I decided to make a lactose-free version of my Tomato and Herb Soup.  My oldest son is lactose intolerant, so we have avoided dairy in his diet since he was 2 years old.  A year ago, he went gluten-free and started taking a really good probiotic. One of the unexpected consequences of that dietary change is that on the few occasions when he was accidentally exposed to dairy, he no longer had violent reactions to it. So after many years of only drinking rice milk or almond milk, we decided to try adding lactose-free dairy back into his diet.

I like adding  oregano, basil, thyme, and rosemary to create a very flavorful tomato soup. The recipe calls for dried herbs, so double the amounts if you use fresh herbs.

My kids loved it! They said all of the spices made it taste like pizza and thought I should rename it pizza soup. They also accused me of holding out on them because I had never made it for them before, but tomato soup is one of those recipes that wouldn’t have tasted the same with a milk substitute. And I hate to make something for the family if one of my kids can’t eat it. Now that we know my son can handle Lactaid, I will use it in recipes that really seem to need milk instead of avoiding them.

Tomato and Herb Soup Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ cup onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon corn starch (or 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour)
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon basil
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon rosemary, crushed
• 2 cups lactose-free milk (or milk)
• 2 cups diced tomatoes
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil and saute onions until golden, about 5 minutes.
2. Add cornstarch and spices. Stir until cornstarch is absorbed and lump-free.
3. Slowly add milk or lactose milk, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar. Heat just to boiling. Simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Use an immersion blender or carefully ladle the soup into a blender and blend until the soup is smooth and creamy.

Notes
This recipe includes lactose-free and gluten-free options.

Printable Recipe for Tomato and Herb Soup