Instant Pot Freezer Meal: Summer Tomato Soup

updated Aug 31, 2020
Freezer Week
Summer tomato soup on vintage bowl topped with fresh basil and cracked black pepper with spoon and bread on side.
Credit: Photo: Tara Donne | Food Stylist: Cyd McDowell

Enjoy the garden fresh flavor of summer tomatoes and fresh basil all year long with this Instant Pot freezer meal.

Serves4

Makesabout 5 cups

Prep15 minutes

Cook5 minutes

Jump to Recipe
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Summer tomato soup on vintage bowl topped with fresh basil and cracked black pepper with spoon and bread on side.
Credit: Photo: Tara Donne | Food Stylist: Cyd McDowell

This five-ingredient soup, made with garden-fresh ingredients, is my very favorite way to preserve vine-ripened tomatoes. You’ll freeze the large, ripe tomatoes alongside chopped shallot, fresh basil, vegetable broth, and kosher salt, then pull it out and pop it into the Instant Pot for a taste of summer during the cool autumn nights ahead. Trust me: your future self will thank you.

Credit: Photo: Tara Donne | Food Stylist: Cyd McDowell

Prepping Fresh Summer Tomatoes for Soup

This simple soup relies on extracting every ounce of flavor from juicy red tomatoes. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Halve the tomatoes. Slice the tomato in half to expose pockets of seeds surrounded in a gel-like liquid. It’s easiest to access all of the pockets if you slice the tomato in half around the equator, rather than through the poles of the tomato.
  2. Separate the flesh from the seeds and skin. The seeds can make the soup bitter, but the gel is quite flavorful, so use your fingers to scoop the seeds and gel into a fine mesh strainer set over a mixing bowl. After draining, discard the seeds but hold onto the gel and any other tomato juices that collect in the bowl.
  3. Peel the tomatoes. Instead of standing over a pot of boiling water, I like to peel my tomatoes by running the cut sides against the small holes on the shredding side of a box grater. This breaks down the flesh and separates it from the tough skin.

After freezing and then cooking under pressure, the tomato flesh breaks down enough so that there’s no blending required. To serve, top each bowl with cracked black pepper and torn fresh basil leaves from the garden. If there’s a carton of heavy cream in the fridge, add a small swirl to give it richness without overwhelming the summery flavor.

Instant Pot Freezer Meals

This recipe is part of a collection of freezer-to-Instant Pot meals. Each one is designed to be prepared in advance, frozen, and popped into the Instant Pot when you’re ready for dinner — no thawing required. And they’re made with just a few fresh ingredients! Go ahead, freeze this recipe and the others — your future self will thank you.

Instant Pot Freezer Meal: Summer Tomato Soup

Enjoy the garden fresh flavor of summer tomatoes and fresh basil all year long with this Instant Pot freezer meal.

Prep time 15 minutes

Cook time 5 minutes

Makes about 5 cups

Serves 4

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds

    ripe tomatoes (about 6 large)

  • 1

    medium shallot

  • 1/4 cup

    fresh basil leaves, plus more for serving

  • 1 cup

    low-sodium vegetable broth

  • 1 tablespoon

    kosher salt

  • Serving options: freshly ground black pepper, heavy cream

Instructions

  1. Cut 3 pounds ripe tomatoes in half around the equator. Fit a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl. Use your finger to scoop the tomato seeds into the strainer and collect the juices below (about 1/2 cup juice). Discard the tomato seeds. Place a box grater into the bowl and grate the cut-side of the tomato halves on the small holes of the grater. Discard the skins. You should have about 4 cups tomato pulp and juice. Finely chop 1 medium shallot (about 1/4 cup) and add to the pulp.

  2. Fit a gallon-sized freezer zip-top bag inside the insert of an Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker. Add the shallot and tomato pulp, 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth, and 1 tablespoon kosher salt to the bag. Seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Freeze (with the bag still inside the insert) until solid, at least 6 hours or overnight. Remove the bag from the insert and keep frozen up to 3 months.

  3. To cook, remove the frozen ingredients from the bag and place in the Instant Pot. Lock the lid on and make sure the pressure valve is closed. Set to cook under HIGH pressure for 5 minutes. It will take 20 to 22 minutes to come up to pressure. When the cook time is up, quick release the pressure.

  4. Use tongs to remove the basil leaves. Whisk the soup to combine. Serve with torn fresh basil leaves, freshly ground black pepper, and a drizzle of heavy cream, if desired.

Recipe Notes

Freezing options: You can fit the freezer bag over an 8-inch round cake pan or other container similarly shaped to the Instant Pot insert instead.

Make ahead: The uncooked soup can be prepared and frozen up to 3 months in advance.

Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Whisk again before serving.