If you can’t get your hands on crushed tomatoes, you can use tomato puree, whole canned tomatoes, or even diced tomatoes. The texture of course will be different depending on what kind of tomato you use. If you use one that has large pieces of tomatoes, just use a high-speed blender or an immersion blender to blend the soup before simmering and adding in the heavy cream. The crushed tomatoes will give you that smooth texture already so there is no need to blend.

For the best flavor, I recommend using my Homemade Basil Pesto recipe in this soup. However, if you don’t have time for homemade, this is my favorite store-bought pesto brand.

Feel free to stir in a half-cup or so of shredded Parmesan cheese when you add the heavy cream to give the soup a bit more nutty flavor. It’s not necessary but it will add another dimension of flavor and if you’re a cheese lover like me, I think you’ll enjoy it!

If you are someone who saves Parmesan rinds in the freezer, this is a great recipe to use them in! Add a frozen Parmesan rind just before bringing the soup to a simmer. Then simmer the Parmesan rind in with the soup and remove just before serving. Again, not completely necessary but it will add another layer of flavor!