There’s always an exception to every rule, and my spicy tomato and blue cheese soup is it. It’s one soup that can be made all year round because canned San Marzanos are consistently good. This is a dish, God, I’ve been making it since my time at Players nearly twenty years ago. It’s so easy and so delicious that it was my long-time chef Frankie Rogers’ go-to soup, the get-myself-out-of-the-weeds soup. San Marzano tomatoes, some aromatic vegetables, Sriracha sauce (one of my favorite condiments, available in most supermarkets in the ethnic aisle and in Asian markets) for heat, and blue cheese for richness. It comes together in no time.–Michael Symon

Glass bowl with spicy tomato blue cheese soup on a tray with a hunk of cheese and a spoon.

Spicy Tomato Blue Cheese Soup

4.74 / 15 votes
This spicy tomato blue cheese soup gets its body from San Marzano tomatoes, its heat from Thai Sriracha sauce, and its depth from blue cheese–a rich creamy blue at that. Great for lunch, a snack, or a cold-weather treat. Perfect with grilled cheese.
David Leite
CourseSides
CuisineAmerican
Servings4 to 6 servings
Calories327 kcal
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
  • Kosher salt
  • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • One (28-ounce) can San Marzano tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons store-bought or homemade Sriracha sauce
  • 1 tablespoon oregano leaves
  • 1/2 cup crumbled rich, creamy blue cheese, preferably Roth Käse Buttermilk Blue Cheese

Instructions 

  • Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and a generous pinch of salt and stir to coat the onion with oil. Cover and cook the onions for 2 minutes.
  • Add the garlic, cover the pot, and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the tomatoes along with their juice and the stock and bring to a simmer. Add the cream, Sriracha sauce, and oregano and simmer gently for 45 minutes.
  • Let the soup cool for at least 10 minutes and then add the blue cheese and blend until smooth in a blender, working in batches if needed. Strain the soup through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot, taste, adjust the seasoning if necessary, and reheat gently. Serve immediately. (The tomato soup will keep, covered in the refrigerator, for up to a few days.)

Adapted From

Live to Cook

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 portionCalories: 327 kcalCarbohydrates: 9 gProtein: 7 gFat: 30 gSaturated Fat: 15 gMonounsaturated Fat: 12 gCholesterol: 76 mgSodium: 555 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 3 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Recipe © 2009 Michael Symon. Photo © 2009 Ben Fink. All rights reserved.

Recipe Testers’ Reviews

This spicy tomato and blue cheese soup, rich and creamy—definitely not the tomato soup I grew up with! But, it’s also easily whipped up, if you make a quick run for some good blue cheese (everything else should be pantry staples). If you’re not sure how spicy you want your soup, I’d halve the Sriracha sauce initially—you can always stir more into your bowl.

If you’re looking for a very easy spicy tomato soup to prepare that offers a rich flavour this is it! I could not locate the Roth Kase blue cheese but used a lovely, creamy English blue. I would love to try it with the original, however. My family loved the rich earthiness provided by the cheese. I also really liked the sweetness of the red onion (which I believe are under-utilized). The Sriracha sauce added just the right amount of kick. I served this soup with homemade blue cheese straws for a delicious, easy lunch.

The spiciness in this tomato and blue cheese soup is perfect for showing off the taste of the San Marzano tomatoes and underscoring the richness and depth that blue cheese can add to many a recipe. The soup is a cinch to throw together, and the creamy soup keeps well. Roth Käse was not readily available in my area, so I used Benedictine Bleu, a wonderful blue cheese from Quebec and a little more available here. If you’re after loads of flavour with a bit of a kick, this is it! However, for those with a slightly more reserved palate, you may prefer trying half of the Sriracha sauce in the pot, and placing the extra on the table to allow the more adventuresome souls to add a little extra to their own bowl. Be careful though, it can get overwhelming if misused!

This is a wonderful spicy tomato soup that is super easy to make. The cooking time is mostly unattended, so it comes together easily and simmers and while you make the rest of a meal. Other than the specific cheese called for, and fresh oregano, both of which can easily be substituted for, the other ingredients are pantry staples, so this soup can be made with little notice. The result is very flavorful and rich and much more than the sum of the ingredients. I’ll be making this one again.

Though I may squabble with some of the text, the soup is delicious—an adult version of one of my childhood favorites, cream of tomato soup. When I make this in the future, and I will make it again, I would seek out but not belabor the San Marzano specification, as I think this soup will be delicious with any good-quality canned tomato, San Marzano or otherwise. This soup is also delicious with a rich and creamy blue cheese that is not necessarily the Roth Käse Buttermilk blue cheese the ingredients listing specifies, as it notes the option to substitute. The flavor key here lies in the combined addition of the Sriracha sauce and blue cheese to the tomatoes and cream combination, just enough spiciness to enliven the dairy-rich tomato base.

The flavors of this tomato soup worked very well together. The heavy cream added a nice richness. There was a kick of spice from the Sriracha sauce, and the blue cheese gave it a subtle taste without overpowering the recipe. I also liked that the flavor of the oregano did not get lost in the recipe. This is a recipe anyone can make and have most of the ingredients on hand.

This tomato soup is delicious! My husband and I both loved it. He’s not a blue cheese fan, as I am, but the blue cheese does not stand out in this soup. Instead, it lends richness and complexity, without jumping out at you. The Sriracha adds just a subtle bite to the mix, but again, doesn’t call attention to itself. The flavors blended wonderfully. This is a soup that is more than the sum of its parts.

This is a great soup, as Michael Symon says, for any time of the year. The balance of the San Marzano tomatoes, the aromatics, the siracha and the blue cheese is absolutely perfect. Not too spicy, but just enough to make the dish interesting. I would serve it with a garnish of crumbled blue cheese and a few fresh oregano leaves.

Not your mother’s tomato soup recipe, unless your mother played roller derby on Friday and Saturday nights and cooked gourmet meals during the week. This easy, richly flavored recipe is one that I look forward to making again and again. It’s so simply, you’ll probably have it memorized after the first or second time you prepare it. Served with a salad, or a grilled aged cheddar on sourdough sandwich like I did, this makes a very satisfying meal. One change though, in the future I’ll start with one tablespoon of Sriracha and adjust up from there!

This creamy tomato soup has a lot of heat but also subtle earthy undertones from the oregano and blue cheese. A very rich flavor that is even better the second day. You might consider starting with 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce, and adding to taste. Quite easy to put together and definitely unusual.

This soup is not for the meek. In fact, I recommend it as a Testers Choice recipe with one caveat for those who are more sensitive to spicy “heat”: start with less (maybe half?) the amount of Sriracha called for, then work your way up from there, depending on your tolerance. But even if you have to cut the level of hot sauce, PLEASE DO take the time to make this recipe: it’s a winner. The reliance on commonly stocked pantry items, available year-round, is part of what makes it simple to prepare. The flavor combination is addictive. Sriracha was one of the year’s attention-grabbing ingredients, for good reason. Adding creamy, rich blue cheese (I used gorgonzola dolce) is a stroke of genius. It cools the palate after the initial spice wallop. I know I’ll make this soup many times more—passing the Sriracha on the side if need be—to get my fix.

I loved this tomato soup. For such a quick and easy recipe, the flavor development was amazing. The name is accurate—it is a very spicy soup. I served it at a ladies’ lunch group and had a few comments that it was too spicy. In the future, I’ll cut the soup with a bit more cream to serve to those with a sensitive palate. I also think that you could cut back a bit on the Sriracha if you knew that guests may be faint of heart.

This soup is more than just a bit zesty – it’s a spicy kick in the pants! I love the way tomato blends with cream blends with Sriracha blends with blue cheese to create a full-bodied soup. Its rich and velvety texture helps offset the hotness of the dish without distracting from the zing. The only thing I can think of doing to improve this tasty creation is to add strips of organic corn chips as a garnish for a bit of texture.

This tomato soup recipe is so simple to follow and yields delicious, rich, velvet smooth results. The addition of Sriracha sauce gives a lovely kick that cuts through the richness of the cream and blue cheese—all in all a great balance of flavours and a soup I will definitely add to my repertoire.

Loved it. Super easy and an excellent taste. Perfect soup on a cold snowy day. The way the flavors came together made a thick, hearty, tasty, and rich soup. I really loved the Sriracha sauce addition—gave it a nice zing. Not even too hot for my girls, who are getting used to the way Daddy cooks. The garlic was great. This soup is just a cool idea. Thanks!

Note: Blend SMALL batches in the blender so if it’s too hot it doesn’t explode all over your kitchen. I’ve made that mistake before.

Soup with a saucy attitude? Well, this spicy tomato and blue cheese soup gives a tongue lashing…but in a good way. The furious heat of Sriracha sauce and the distinct flavor of blue cheese raises the bar for this cream of tomato soup. It’s unlike anything I’ve had in the past…it’s creamy and so, so hot and steamy! When I’m thinking about what to make on a cold winter’s night, I’ll be sure to keep this recipe close at hand. It’s a warm-your-tummy soup that likes takers who are up to a spicy eating challenge. If you’re game, this recipe is for you.

I thought this was a wonderful spicy tomato soup, creamy and rich. It was comfort food on a cold night.

While I love blue cheese, my husband doesn’t. I made this thinking the spiciness of the sriracha would mute the blue cheese but also complement it. I could not taste the blue cheese as a separate flavor; it melded with the rest of the ingredients. He could tell there was blue cheese in it, but, nonetheless, ate an entire bowl of soup.

Finding the cheese required a trip to a specialty cheese shop but was worth it. This is a very good tomato soup. It might be helpful, though, to give the names of other blue cheeses that could be substituted for this, as I didn’t know what would compare to it and “a rich and creamy blue cheese” didn’t really help me envision what to substitute if I couldn’t find the specified cheese.

The recipe was quite simple and relatively quick to prepare. I was able to use the simmering time to work on preparing other parts of the meal. I started this earlier than other things so the soup had time to cool a bit before going into the blender.

When I make this again, I think I might crumble some extra blue cheese over the soup (well, over mine!) to add a separate layer of flavor.




About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. My work has also appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and more.


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Recipe Rating




33 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    After making this it’s the only tomato soup I will ever make. Everyone I’ve had over loves it and I’ve shared the recipe with so many people. The creaminess and spicy are perfect. Though I always add a little extra ?

    1. I love this, Josephine! How could anyone resist a bowl of soup with a smiley face in it? Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and share your photo.

  2. 5 stars
    This tomato soup is the ultimate tomato soup and is a total flavour bomb. It’s rich in a tomato flavour with a spice kick from the Sriracha and salty from the blue cheese. Even though it’s spicy the tomato shines through. If you don’t like blue cheese still give this soup a go as the blue cheese adds more of a salty, creamy taste, it doesn’t overpower the tomato which is the actual star of the soup. We love spice in our house so the 2 tablespoons of Sriracha was perfect for us however if you’re not a spicy fan, just add 1 tablespoon and then add more if needed. This soup is an absolute keeper! I made the Classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich to go with it because really, what’s tomato soup without a grilled cheese sandwich and the combo made for a perfect dinner on a cold rainy night.

    1. Right, Aryn?! What is tomato soup without a grilled cheese sandwich alongside? It sounds like you found the perfect pair. Thanks so much for commenting.

  3. 4 stars
    Oooh, such a different take on tomato soup, an upgrade for sure, and I loved it. To gild the lily I made croutons spread with blue cheese of course as an accompaniment. Can’t wait to make it again!

    1. Croutons made with blue cheese? Linda, that’s amazing! We’re definitely going to have to try that.