Smoked Tomato Bisque is a creamy, comforting, vegetarian, silky sooth, and smoky tomato soup. It’s the perfect use for the late summer tomatoes, or a crisp fall evening. Don’t have a smoker? That’s OK, just roast them instead.
*UPDATE* — We cooked this recipe for Smoked Tomato Bisque and Smoked Brisket Grilled Cheese Sandwiches live over on KATU Portland News show AM Northwest.
Smoke roasting tomatoes are one of my all time favorite things to do with fresh tomatoes. They take to smoke well and can be used in any number of traditional tomato-based recipes.
Smoked Tomato Bisque is a delicious and vegetarian friendly meal (though you can easily break the rules by adding some crispy smoked bacon to the top. I won’t tell!). The soup is made similar to a traditional tomato bisque, using smoked fresh tomatoes that are smoke roasted on the grill for added flavor.
This is an excellent way to eat something with that smoky delicious flavor, but is entirely vegetarian.
The base of this bisque starts with smoked tomatoes, then use the smoked tomatoes as the base for the flavorful creamy soup.
How to Smoke Tomatoes
You can smoke tomatoes on any kind of smoker; offset stick burner, pellet smoker, ceramic grill, or even gas. Follow the same method no matter the type of cooker you use.
- Quarter tomatoes: I like big beefsteak tomatoes for this.
- Season tomatoes: Toss them in olive oil, salt, pepper, and old bay seasoning, then lay them on a foil lined sheet pan. You’ll want to collect all the juices that will run from the tomatoes as they cook, so the sheet pan is important (vs. cooking the tomatoes directly on the grill grates).
- Smoke tomatoes: Place tomatoes in the smoker set to 250 degrees for up to 2 hours. Remove and set aside until cool enough to handle.
- Peel Tomatoes: Peel tomatoes to remove the outer skin. Peel them while they are still warm, it will be easier to get the skins off.
Once the tomatoes are smoked and peeled, you’re ready to make your soup. Don’t have a smoker? You can easily roast them in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes or until you start to see the color on the edges of the tomatoes.
How to Make Smoked Tomato Bisque
- Soften vegetables: In a large pot, heat butter and cook onion, carrot, and celery, until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 additional minute.
- Add liquids, tomatoes, and aromatics: Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer.
- Cover and simmer: For 20-25 minutes. Then remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf.
- Blend: Using a hand immersion blender (or counter top blender), blend the soup until smooth.
- Add cream: Whisk in the cream, and season with salt and pepper. Serve with crusty bread.
Wine Pairing
Don’t be afraid of the word “smoke” when looking for a wine to pair with smoked tomato bisque. This is not a heavily smoked flavored soup, nor is it ultra creamy or acidic. It has a great balance of all three components.
Look for a light-medium bodied red wine with good acidity. Garnacha from Spain, Rhone-style wines, and Italian reds, like Barbera, work very well.
More Tomato Recipes
Smoked Tomato Bisque Recipe
*This post was originally published in October, 2014, and updated in August 2020 with new photos and more detailed instructions. The recipe remains exactly the same.
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Matthew Stephens says
This has quickly become a favorite of the entire household. I did however, add a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes with garlic. I followed the recipe on everything else.
Sean Martin says
That modification sounds really good. Thanks for sharing!
Kasey says
Do you run the tomatoes through colander to remove the seed before blending everything?
Sean Martin says
No. The tomato seeds are so small that after cooking you don’t have an adverse texture. The only thing we try to avoid is getting skin in there. So we do take the extra step to remove all the skin. If you are using a varietal of tomato with more seed then yes, feel free to use a strainer and a spatula to press it through but for most styles of tomatoes you won’t need it.
Gert Kok says
What a super surprise !! If you haven’t taste this yet, you haven’t taste bisque !!
This is the best recipe ( OK, all your recipes are good ) of all !!!
Do yourself the favor and make it.
Gert Kok, South Africa
Sean Martin says
Gert, thanks so much for the recipe and for the praise for the recipe, we really appreciate it.
Gert Kok says
Only one word : EXCELLENT !!!!!
Marty says
So good…a member of our dinner club made this last month and I asked for the recipe. I smoked the tomatoes last week but 1/2 got eaten on crusty bread with cheese so I had to smoke some more! Today I made the soup and it is wonderful. Thank you of this recipe.
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
What a great idea to smoke the tomatoes! I can imagine how good this bisque must have tasted.. definitely will be taking the recipe to my kitchen, thanks for sharing it.
Mary says
Thanks for the comment! Yes, it’s pretty awesome. Please do let me know if you try it!
Katie (The Muffin Myth) says
Wow, smoked tomatoes! That soup looks amazing, and I bet the smoky flavour is just perfect. I have such a weakness for all things smoked. I sure wish I had a smoker! Maybe I could replicate the flavour with some roasted tomatoes and smoked salt? A bit of smoked paprika? Amazing, recipe, and great wine pairings. Thanks for sharing.
Mary says
I actually topped the soup with smoked salt and it was a great finishing touch! You won’t get that flavor from just the salt alone, however. You can always try to roast the tomatoes on an outdoor grill if you have one. If you have a gas grill you can add some use wood chips (wrapped in foil), or if you have a weber charcoal grill you can throw in some wood chunks mixed in with the charcoal, and that will give the tomatoes some smoke infusion. I wouldn’t recommend adding any to the indoor stove though. If you try it inside, I would just roast them normally then, yes, add the salt and paprika. Some recipes call for liquid smoke, and I would shy away from that. The flavor of the liquid stuff tastes too artificial to me and incredibly strong. Cheers, Mary