Gluten Free Grown-up Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Recipe

Here’s something I have learned about entertaining – if you serve even the most basic food in teeny portions it seems way fancier and is much more fun to eat.

I love tomato soup! My favorite comfort food of all time is tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Of course, the tomato soup of my childhood (Campbell’s) is off limits now because of the gluten and I don’t eat much bread (even gluten-free) anymore but I still love the concept.

So I looked for a way to update basic comfort food into fancy party fare. Thus was born this Gluten Free Grown-up Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Recipe.

I took my basic tomato soup recipe and turned it into a Bloody Mary soup shot and made some fancy Parmesan Cheese Baskets filled with Herbed Goat Cheese. Tomato soup is the perfect soup to put into small containers like shot glasses, egg cups or cappuccino cups and serve as an appetizer. Temperature is not so important to tomato soup as it is delicious hot, warm or cold.

The soup takes about five minutes more to make than heating up a can of soup and while the Parmesan cheese baskets are a bit more labor intensive, they aren’t hard to make and the fancy quotient is really high! Also, you can make the Parmesan baskets and the goat cheese ahead and just fill the baskets at the last minute.

For fancy appetizer soup, I strain it; when I just want a bowl of soup, I don’t – I like the thicker texture. For a rustic version, omit the whole blending and straining part all together. For vegetarians, replace chicken stock with vegetable stock or just leave it out. And of course, the alcohol is completely optional.

As a note, there is controversy about the gluten in distilled alcohol and supposedly vodka is ok for people who are gluten intolerant. I personally feel like I have been poisoned when I drink vodka so I make my Bloody Mary Soup with tequila (which comes from agave and not wheat) instead. I also order my Bloody Marys this way – LOVE IT!

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Gluten Free Grown-up Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Recipe

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time35 mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4 servings of soup (12 cheese baskets)

Calories: 642kcal

Author: Gluten Free & More

Ingredients

Soup

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 small white onion , diced
• ▢ 1 (29-ounce) can diced tomatoes (I like organic)
• ▢ 1 (5.5-ounce) can Spicy V-8 juice (vegetable juice)
• ▢ ½ cup gluten-free chicken stock
• ▢ 2 pinches salt
• ▢ 1 pinch black pepper
• ▢ 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins is GF in the U.S.)
• ▢ ½ lemon, juiced
• ▢ 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• ▢ 4 tablespoons vodka or tequila (or more or less depending on your taste)
• ▢ Horseradish Sauce (recipe follows)
• ▢ Chives for garnish – optional

Horseradish Sauce

• ▢ 1 cup sour cream
• ▢ 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

Parmesan Cheese Baskets with Herbed Goat Cheese

• ▢ 8 ounces Parmesan Cheese – grated with the large holes of a box grater.(It is important to freshly grate as this will affect the outcome.)
• ▢ 6 ounces goat cheese – room temperature
• ▢ ¼ cup heavy cream
• ▢ 3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs – I like basil, thyme and parsley but use any combo you like

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Soup

• ▢
  Heat oil in a large sauce pan and add chopped onion. Cook for about five minutes until soft but not browned. Add chopped tomatoes, V-8 juice, chicken stock, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until hot and bubbly – about 5 minutes. Add lemon juice and basil.
• ▢
  Ladle half the soup into a blender and process until smooth – about 1 minute. Make sure you take the little feed top off the blender before you process hot liquids or it will explode. I take the little feed top off and put a kitchen towel over it. If your blender does not have a removable feed top then leave the top off the blender and place a towel over the opening while processing – fold the towel over a few times to make sure it is thick so you don’t get burned. Pour the blended soup into a strainer set over a large mixing bowl and process the second half of the soup as instructed above. Push the soup through the strainer and reheat if necessary. Add the vodka or tequila. Pour soup into shot glasses, egg cups or other small serving cup. Top with Horseradish Sauce and garnish with chives if desired.

Horseradish Sauce

• ▢
  Mix together and dollop onto soup.

Parmesan Cheese Baskets with Herbed Goat Cheese

• ▢
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• ▢
  Prepare 2 baking sheets with Silpat mats or parchment paper (I prefer the Silpat mats).
• ▢
  Place 1 rounded tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese onto prepared baking sheet, about 4 inches apart. Gently pat the cheese into a circle of even thickness about 3 inches round with your fingers.
• ▢
  Bake for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and any bubbles that form turn into a crunchy, light gold crust. Your wafers should be golden in color and lacy in appearance.
• ▢
  Remove from oven and let cool and harden up about 1 minute – they need to be warm and still pliable. Remove from pan with a thin spatula and place on an upside down mini muffin tin, a rolling pin or even wine corks to form into small baskets. Let cool completely and blot off excess oil with a paper towel. Can be made a couple hours ahead and filled with herbed goat cheese at the last minute.
• ▢
  To make the herbed goat cheese filling, mix together goat cheese, heavy cream and herbs until smooth. Can be made ahead and stored in fridge until ready to use.
• ▢
  Fill Parmesan cheese baskets with herbed goat cheese and garnish with additional herbs if desired.

Notes

NOTES: I like to bake one pan of these at a time, I find it easier to work in small batches – so I bake one sheet then put in the second while the first is cooling and I am forming the cheese crisps into baskets. Also, if you want just a nice cheese crisp and don’t care about a fancy basket, just let the crisps cool completely on the baking sheet then blot with a paper towel.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Gluten Free Grown-up Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 642 Calories from Fat 396

% Daily Value*

Fat 44g68%

Saturated Fat 26g130%

Cholesterol 109mg36%

Sodium 1557mg65%

Potassium 793mg23%

Carbohydrates 21g7%

Fiber 3g12%

Sugar 12g13%

Protein 32g64%

Vitamin A 2150IU43%

Vitamin C 43.6mg53%

Calcium 899mg90%

Iron 4.2mg23%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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