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Fall Favorite: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Tomato Soup

2009-10-18-GrilledCheeseTomato.jpgDoesn't grilled cheese and tomato soup sound exactly perfect for the kind of blustery fall weather we've been having? Not too heavy, but still warm and deeply satisfying. We made a big pot of tomato soup this weekend and plan on eating it with grilled cheese sandwiches all week long! What's your favorite take on this classic?

 
 

A look through our archives shows our devotion to this dish over the years. Here's a round-up of our favorite bits of advice and inspiration!

The Soup

Recipe: Cashew Tomato Soup - This version uses cashews to make the soup rich and creamy!

Creamy Creamless Tomato Soup from Cook's Illustrated - A tip from the kitchen pros on using soft bread to thicken the soup.

Vanilla in Tomato Soup - Has anyone tried this? We can imagine it giving the soup a floral over-tone.

Roasted Canned Tomatoes - We love the smoky flavor we get from using roasted tomatoes. (Try smoked paprika, too!)

The Grilled Cheese

Recipe: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Chutney - This is a good one if you can't get enough tomato-y flavor!

Fancy Grilled Cheese Sandwich Recipes - A round-up of our favorite gourmet versions of this simple sandwich.

You're Doing It All Wrong! - Chow.com gives us tips on making the perfect grilled cheese sandwich.

Grilled Cheese with Pear - Cheese and fruit are often great combination, so why not make a sandwich?

In Praise of American Cheese - For sheer gooey melty-ness, a few slices of American cheese can't be beat!

What other tips and tricks do you have for making the perfect grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup?

Related: Weekend Cooking: How to Make a Good Sandwich

(Image: Flickr member House of Sims licensed under Creative Commons)

Tags

Fall, Tips & Techniques, Winter, Ingredients - Vegetables, Recipe Roundup, Ingredients - Pantry, comfort food, tomatoes, tomato soup, grilled cheese, fall menu, cheese sandwich, grilled cheese sandwich

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Comments (25)

This is my "sick" comfort food ... mmm

posted by Kathryn Hill on October 19th 2009 at 3:05pm
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That's exactly what we had for dinner last night! We sometimes have this as a "light" dinner before making what we really want for dinner--a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies. :)

posted by Brooklynnina on October 19th 2009 at 3:17pm
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Any tips on how to make tomato soup less "tangy" (without adding tons of heavy cream)?

posted by spossberg on October 19th 2009 at 3:18pm
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@spossberg: it's not unheard of to add sugar to tomato soup. America's Test Kitchen recently had an episode for Creamy Tomato Soup (Without the Cream) and the secret was the addition of soft white bread before pureeing. They then added the broth separately and they then heated it up.

I also saw a recipe for Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with a mustard-butter-parmesan spread on the exterior before grilling to make it crunchier.

posted by tarragonoxide on October 19th 2009 at 3:24pm
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Mmm, roasted garlic in the soup makes it sooo yummy.

posted by Mocena on October 19th 2009 at 3:25pm
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I always add cinnamon to my tomato soup. Yum.

posted by katiewalker on October 19th 2009 at 3:29pm
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We do a Roasted Poblano Tomato soup with cheese quesadillas. One of our favorite meals.

posted by chadio on October 19th 2009 at 3:50pm
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I know this isn't quite/> the same, but yesterday for lunch I had a goat gouda grilled cheese sandwich (try saying that ten times fast) with coconut curry butternut squash soup. Daaaaang it was good.

In fact, I think I'll have that for dinner tonight!

posted by sleeping spot on October 19th 2009 at 3:52pm
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homemade wheat bread, fresh mozzarella, buttered and browned on both sides, then dip each bite in balsamic vinegar. dreamy.

posted by carolinesbakeshop on October 19th 2009 at 4:08pm
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Love the goldfish in the soup!

posted by rosebud on October 19th 2009 at 4:09pm
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@chadio - care to share your soup recipe? I'm on the lookout for roasted poblano recipes! Thanks!

posted by barlowgirl on October 19th 2009 at 4:53pm
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A little horseradish on the inside!!!

posted by hulahulagirl on October 19th 2009 at 6:11pm
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I love the "Best Light Recipe" cream of tomato soup, but in a pinch, I'm definitely satisfied with the Pacifica organic creamy tomato soup. Grilled cheese with white cheddar (with or without the addition of crispy sauteed mushrooms) on good quality white bread fried in butter is a must! Yum...this is making me hungry!

posted by ChristineB on October 19th 2009 at 6:19pm
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I love tomato slices inside grilled cheese, but I have to say the best one ever had bacon in it. Definitely not the healthiest choice, but freakin' delicious!

posted by MissMatlock on October 19th 2009 at 6:29pm
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Perhaps my favorite soup and sandwich combo ever. Some seriously good additions to a regular old grilled cheese (made with really hearty bread and either swiss or cheddar or both): avocado, bacon, ham, tomato, spinach. Not all at once of course, just whatever is on hand.

I make my tomato soup from the can with half water and half milk. Perfect.

posted by aftermath on October 19th 2009 at 6:35pm
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I always spread my grilled cheese with my homemade mustard pickles - both pieces of bread, on the inside, of course. I have some gorgeous carmelized onion cheddar I'm going to use, but normally I use Velveeta slices. Hate on, haters - it's good.

posted by little_melly on October 19th 2009 at 6:51pm
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I am a grilled cheese and tomato soup ADDICT! My absolute favorite combination is canned tomato soup made with half water and half heavy cream and then seasoned with Grandma's Chili Seasoning (or another brand if that one isn't available). That touch of heat just does amazing things to it! And sometimes there really is nothing better than a grilled cheese made with american cheese on generic white bread. For a few moments everything is perfect in the world.

posted by Loopdilou on October 19th 2009 at 7:26pm
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I'm boring...I like it traditional! However, I do love a little hot sauce in the tomato soup.

posted by michpc on October 19th 2009 at 8:57pm
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I had this for lunch yesterday! Amy's Tomato soup with american cheese on whole wheat bread. Something about the nostalgia and the meltiness of the american cheese makes it a must have!

posted by Shelf81 on October 19th 2009 at 11:13pm
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While it certainly wasn't the healthiest tomato soup, the condensed tomato soup from Campbells was always my favorite. I always figured it was OK because the ingredient list was shockingly short for a processed food and there was no HFCS or anything like that. In fact it was the ONLY condensed tomato that didn't have those things. THEN, just recently, they had to go and mess it up. Huge ingredient list with lots of HFCS and modified this and autolyzed that. I can find plenty of good ready-to-eat tomato soups, but what am I going to do about condensed for recipes? Any ideas?

posted by DCFlutist on October 20th 2009 at 7:45am
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I'm actually not a fan of tomato soup (the horror, I know) but I do LOVE making red pepper and potato soup with grilled very sharp cheddar on sourdough. I like to sprinkle some chives on here and occasional add a small dollop of sour cream. Recipe from nytimes below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/25/health/nutrition/25recipehealth.html

posted by mookie2 on October 20th 2009 at 10:59am
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@barlowgirl - I only make slight changes to a base recipe from Cooking Light:

Tomato-Poblano Soup

4 poblano chiles
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can no-salt-added whole peeled plum tomatoes, undrained
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons sour cream
1. Preheat broiler.

2. Cut chiles in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place chile halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 18 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel and coarsely chop.

3. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add cumin, coriander, and garlic to pan; sauté 1 minute.

4. Using kitchen shears, coarsely chop tomatoes in the can. Add tomatoes, chiles, and broth to pan, stirring to combine; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Remove from heat; cool 5 minutes.

5. Place half of tomato mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape), and secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until almost smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining tomato mixture. Stir in juice and salt. Ladle about 1 cup soup into each of 6 bowls; top each serving with 1 tablespoon cilantro and 1 teaspoon sour cream. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.

posted by chadio on October 20th 2009 at 2:05pm
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I once made grilled cheeses with a pecorino-almond pesto (in addition to the other soft cheese inside, but I forget what that was), and served it with some tomato soup or another. I don't remember much about the soup, but those sandwiches were just amazing. The recipe was from Gourmet, or Food & Wine, I think.

I've been plotting some tomato soup for about a week now; I think those sandwiches will have to make a reappearance.

ABreadADay.com

posted by eprewitt on October 20th 2009 at 2:22pm
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My fancy version of grilled cheese and tomato soup is Amy's Chunky Tomato Bisque, with sharp cheddar (I like Cabot's) on grilled sourdough.
I'll always have a soft spot for Campbell's Tomato Soup.

posted by catsup on October 21st 2009 at 8:32am
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@chadio, thank you!

posted by barlowgirl on October 23rd 2009 at 4:49pm
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