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A true comfort classic, this meal of Vegan Grilled Cheese and Instant Pot Tomato Soup is a healthy yet still delicious entree thatâs perfect for lunch or dinner. Dunk that grilled cheese right in the soup or enjoy it on the side. Stovetop instructions provided and use what youâve got!
Hey Internet, I hope you know by now that weâre all about comfort food on this blog. Hence the tagline: Easy plant-based comfort food.
And I ask you, whatâs more comforting than grilled cheese with tomato soup? I mean, maybe a lot of things. Comfort food is totally subjective.
If Iâm being totally honest, my favorite comfort food is creamy mushroom pasta or mac and cheese.
But thereâs definitely a soft spot in my heart for a gooey, toasty, grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of hot tomato soup to dunk it in.
Grilled cheese sandwiches are fortunately very easy to make for vegans nowadays, There are so many awesome vegan cheese brands in more and more supermarkets. However, oftentimes these cheeses are heavily processed, containing oil, high sodium, and they can be very expensive.
As you probably already know, I have my own melty, gooey, stretchy cheeses available on my blog: melty mozzarella and melty cheddar. They are PERFECT for grilled cheese sandwiches and get so gooey and delicious.
I made a full batch of my 5 minute homemade cheese and because I was prepping for a few days. Or maybe Mr. Zardyplants just ate most of them, but you can also just make a half batch or a quarter batch just as easily.
As for the tomato soup, Iâve made this multiple times using combinations of whatever kind of tomatoes I have on hand: fresh, canned, diced, stewed, whole, etc. You can make less if you like, but I like to have enough for a few days, and it freezes well if I donât manage to eat all of it before it goes bad.
I also like to include a few other veggies since theyâre all getting blended up anyway and it enriches the flavor. You do you, though.
TL;DR this recipe makes 6 bowls of soup and 6-8 sandwiches. Feel free to cut in half or even fourths!
Alright, enough yapping, letâs get into it!
What Youâll Need
Well, letâs start with the grilled cheese.
Youâll definitely need bread. If youâre gluten-free, the only modification you need to make to this recipe is buy gluten-free bread. That doesnât even count as a modification because yâall can choose whatever bread you want anyway.
Use regular sandwich bread, french bread, rye bread, pumpernickel bread, even challah! Seriously though, challah is great in grilled cheese.
For the cheese, I already mentioned I have a couple of options for you. Thereâs a melty vegan mozzarella and a melty vegan cheddar and theyâre both sooo good.
But what would take this grilled cheese to the next level? How about Vegan Brie! I One of my favorites, vegan brie is a smooth and creamy cheese that would be amazing with a little apricot and basil in there too. Ooph.
But I digress. Letâs talk about tomato soup.
So the bulk of the tomato soup is, well, tomatoes. You can use any combination of fresh or canned.
For fresh, try roma tomatoes, grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, or heirloom tomatoes. Beefsteak tomatoes arenât usually as flavorful, unless theyâre straight from your garden.
Garden tomatoes are the best. I wish I had a garden⌠sigh.
AnywayâŚ
You can certainly use canned tomatoes (I did). You can use stewed, diced, whole peeled, even fire roasted for a smoky kick--I highly recommend trying this, my friend.
Like a lot of my dishes, this soup starts with a base of sauteed onions and garlic. Thereâs just so much flavor packed in there!
For veggies, I also added some roasted red peppers (I cheated and used the jarred in water kind) and carrots. You donât really taste the carrots, but they do add a slight earthiness to the soup, plus a shot of beta carotene!
To amp up the tomato flavor, I added a little tomato paste. Optional, but recommended. And I used a whole 6 oz can of tomato paste because I hate dealing with the leftovers.
And for herbs and spices, which I highly recommend, I added parsley, basil, oreganoâand I also added smoked paprika. I love the smoky flavor in this soup, but you can certainly use regular sweet paprika.
How to Make Instant Pot Tomato Soup
Note: this recipe will work in any pressure cooker, but buttons may be called by other names on non-Instant Pot brand pressure cookers (and in some cases on other models of the Instant Pot brand!). Consult your manual for any questions based on your specific brand of pressure cooker.
The Instant Pot Iâm using is an Instant Pot Duo 6qt. You will need a 6qt or larger to make this soup. If you have a smaller pressure cooker, halve the recipe and you should be good.
If your Instant Pot has a âSaute functionâ, saute your onions and garlic (in a few tablespoons of water, vegetable broth, or oil if you use that) before adding everything else in.
If your Instant Pot or pressure cooker does not have that function, you can either saute your onions and garlic on the stove top and add them in, which adds more flavor to your soup, or you can just chuck everything in the potâit will still be delicious.
After youâve sauteed (or not) the onions and garlic, add everything else in: tomatoes, tomato paste, carrots, roasted red bell pepper, vegetable broth, and herbs and spices.
Set the pressure valve to âsealingâ and press High Pressure or Pressure Cook for 6 minutes.
When the soup is done, carefully release the pressure by using a cooking spoon to switch the pressure valve to âventingâ and allow all the pressure to release.
If you have an Instant Pot, wait until the pressure button has clicked down (if you have another brand pressure cooker, this may look different so please consult your manual).
Open the lid carefully and set aside. Taste the soup and add any additional salt or spices.
Skip to the âBlending the Soupâ section for further instructions.
How to Make Stovetop Tomato Soup
Start by sauteing your onions over medium high heat in a large pot with a splash of water, broth, or oil if you use it. After about 3-4 minutes and the onions become somewhat translucent, add the garlic. Saute for another minute.
Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Put on a lid and turn down the heat to a medium low.
Simmer the soup for about 20-30 minutes, until the carrots are fork tender. Then you are ready to blend the soup.
Blend the Soup
Blend up some or all of the soup either using an immersion blender or a regular counter blender.
If using an immersion blender, also called a hand blender or stick blender, simply stick the blender in the pot and blend until smooth. You can leave chunks if you like, but I prefer it smooth.
The immersion blender is one of my favorite kitchen tools. Itâs annoying and can be risky pouring a pot of hot soup in a blender. Sometimes it all wonât fit and you have to do it in batches.
How to Serve the Soup
I of course recommend serving this soup with vegan grilled cheese sandwiches, which Iâll talk about in a moment, but you have some other options.
You can top your soup with homemade croutons, crunchy roasted chickpeas, crackers, or a little fresh basil.
Add a swirl of coconut cream or cashew cream if youâre feeling fancy.
I also recommend some toasted (or not) French bread or crackers to dip in your soup. Yummy and cozy!
A Note on Equipment
You can use a pan to make grilled cheese, but I find it is faster and heats more evenly with a griddle. I particularly like this Cuisinart 5-in-1 Griddler and Iâll tell you why:
- You can open it all the way and have double the griddle surface
The other side of the griddle pans have the grill lines so you can make a panini or grilled vegetable. - There are waffle plates you can change out and make easy waffles.
- Itâs not super expensive.
- It heats really evenly which is great because sometimes when you have a large pan on a small burner on the stove, it doesnât really heat evenly
Thereâs more surface area than a pan. - Itâs not heavy so it stores easily and doesnât take up a whole lot of space
The only thing I didnât like about this griddler is that the waffle plates are an extra costâI think they should have come with it. But everything in the list above makes it definitely worth it for me, and honestly I think it was a great purchase (that I made with my own money).
How to Make Vegan Grilled Cheese
While the soup is cooking, you can prepare the vegan grilled cheese.
If using one of my cheese recipes, make it now. The vegan mozzarella and vegan cheddar each only take 5 minutes to make.
If using store bought vegan cheese (I recommend a brand like Field Roast Chao), lay out all your ingredients.
I did not need to butter my grilled cheese to get it crispy on the outside. If youâre looking for that taste but donât want to use vegan butter, you can use canned coconut cream. Sounds weird, but it works! Iâve actually tried this and itâs delicious (it doesnât taste like coconut).
I prefer to use a countertop griddler for making grilled cheese as it heats more evenly. I like the Cuisinart 5-in-1 Griddler and Iâm not sponsored by them; I just really like their product.
You can also cook it on the stove top or in a toaster oven.
Most importantly, you donât need to worry about the cheese melting if youâre using my recipe.
If you have been refrigerating the cheese, cook the sandwich long enough for it to heat up. If using a store-bought vegan cheese, you may need to cook it a bit longer.
Repeat until you have enough sandwiches.
You can refrigerate the cheese in an airtight container for up to 5 days if you have leftovers.
Other Awesome Vegan Comfort Food
Weâre all about vegan comfort food in our house. Whether your comfort food is pasta, soup, etc. we have many different cozy recipes.
- Creamy Mushroom Pasta
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Vegan Brisket
- Spinach Noodle Kugel
- Chickpea Florentine Pasta
- Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Creamy Mushroom Lasagna Soup
- Ranch Pasta Salad
Anything Else?
As always, I hope you love this recipe--I know I do, and Mr. Zardyplants does too. The grilled cheese sand
This meal of Vegan Grilled Cheese and Instant Pot Tomato Soup is:
- Nostalgic
- Comforting
- Savory
- Cheesy
- Zesty
- Luscious
- Rich
- Cozy
- Satisfying
- And perfect for meal prep or a holiday meal. Itâs a crowd pleaser!
Let me know in the comments below if you make this recipe or tag me @Zardyplants on Instagram so I can see your beautiful recreations! If you tag me on IG, I will share your post in my stories :)
Also, one quick request: if you love how this recipe looks or tastes, please leave me a 5-star rating and a nice commentâratings help more people find my recipes which helps me keep providing them! Thank you!
<3 Liz
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Vegan Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Instant Pot Tomato Soup
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 sandwiches + 8- 8oz bowls of soup (64 oz) 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Warm up this winter with some of my Vegan Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Instant Pot Tomato Soup. Easy to make and easy to dip!
Vegan, Oil-free, Sugar-free Nut-free, Can be gluten-free, Can be soy-free
Ingredients
Soup
- 2â 28 oz cans tomatoes (any, or equiv. fresh)
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 1 large white or sweet onion, diced
- 3â4 cloves garlic
- 2 medium carrots, sliced (see note 2)
- 1 roasted red pepper, diced (use jarred or homemade)
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tsp each dried parsley, oregano, and basil
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Âź cup chopped fresh basil for garnish, optional
Sandwiches
- 1 batch of my vegan mozzarella or vegan cheddar (or 8 slices store bought vegan cheese) (see note 3)
- 16 slices of bread (see note 4)
Instructions
- Instant Pot Instructions for Soup: If your Instant Pot has a âSaute functionâ, saute your onions and garlic (in a few tablespoons of water or vegetable broth) before adding everything else in. If not, you can either saute onions and garlic on the stove top and add them in, which adds more flavor to your soup, or you can just chuck everything in the potâit will still be delicious. After youâve sauteed (or not) the onions and garlic, add everything else. Set the pressure valve to âsealingâ and press High Pressure or Pressure Cook for 6 minutes. When the soup is done, carefully release the pressure by using a cooking spoon to switch the pressure valve to âventingâ and allow all the pressure to release. Wait until the pressure button has clicked down (if you have another brand pressure cooker, this may look different so please consult your manual). Open the lid carefully and set aside. Taste the soup and add any additional salt or spices. Skip to the âBlending the Soupâ section for further instructions.
- Stovetop Instructions for Soup: Start by sauteing onions over medium high heat in a large pot with a splash of water or vegetable broth if you use it. After about 3-4 minutes and the onions become somewhat translucent, add the garlic. Saute for another minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Put on a lid and turn down the heat to a medium low. Simmer the soup for about 20-30 minutes, until the carrots are fork tender. Then you are ready to blend the soup.
- Blend the Soup: Blend up some or all of the soup either using an immersion blender or a regular counter blender. If using an immersion blender, also called a hand blender or stick blender, simply stick the blender in the pot and blend until smooth. You can leave chunks if you like, but I prefer it smooth.
- Make the Vegan Grilled Cheese: While the soup is cooking, you can prepare the vegan grilled cheese. If using one of my cheese recipes, make it now. The vegan mozzarella and vegan cheddar each only take 5 minutes to make. If using store bought vegan cheese (I recommend a brand like Field Roast Chao), lay out all your ingredients. I prefer to use a countertop griddler for making grilled cheese as it heats more evenly. You can also cook it on the stove top or in a toaster oven. Most importantly, you donât need to worry about the cheese melting if youâre using my recipe. If you have been refrigerating the cheese, cook the sandwich long enough for it to heat up. If using a store-bought vegan cheese, you may need to cook it a bit longer. Repeat until you have enough sandwiches.
- Serve:Â Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with a vegan grilled cheese sandwich. You can cube up the sandwich into little âcroutonsâ or just dunk the sandwich into the soup, which is what we do. You can also top your soup with homemade croutons, crunchy roasted chickpeas, crackers, or a little fresh basil. Add a swirl of coconut cream or cashew cream if youâre feeling fancy.
- Store: You can refrigerate the cheese in an airtight container for up to 5 days if you have leftovers. The soup will store very nicely in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or a freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Note 1:Â This recipe will work in any pressure cooker, but buttons may be called by other names on non-Instant Pot brand pressure cookers (and in some cases on other models of the Instant Pot brand!). Consult your manual for any questions based on your specific brand of pressure cooker.
- Note 2: The onion, garlic, carrots, and roasted red pepper add flavor and balance to this recipe, but theyâre also a great way of hiding veggies for picky eaters! You can leave them out if you choose.
- Note 3: You can use storebough vegan cheese but theyâre kind of expensive and not always the heatlhiest. Some of them donât melt well either. I have recipes for a melty vegan mozzarella and a melty vegan cheddar and theyâre both sooo good. Pictured above is our melty mozzarella. But what would take this grilled cheese to the next level? How about Vegan Brie! I One of my favorites, vegan brie is a smooth and creamy cheese that would be amazing with a little apricot and basil in there too. Ooph.
- Note 4: Youâll definitely need bread. If youâre gluten-free, the only modification you need to make to this recipe is buy gluten-free bread. That doesnât even count as a modification because yâall can choose whatever bread you want anyway. Use regular sandwich bread, french bread, rye bread, pumpernickel bread, even challah! Seriously though, challah is great in grilled cheese.
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Sandwich, Soup
- Cuisine: Vegan, Plant-based, Soup, Sandwiches
Keywords: Vegan, Oil-free, Sugar-free Nut-free, Can be gluten-free, Can be soy-free, Tomato Soup, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Jenn
This looks like the perfect comfort food dish! Yum!
Melissa Latin
This looks amazing!
carol howell
This is the real deal, just like when I was a kid. Melty, stretchy cheese and tangy tomato soup. To steal a slogan: Mm, mm, good!
★★★★★
Becky
This recipe is perfect!! The perfect meal on a cold day!
★★★★★