Easy Healthy Tomato Soup Recipe for Toddlers and Kids

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A Kid-friendly tomato soup recipe for toddlers and rest of the family! This easy tomato soup is the ultimate comfort food and my go-to for a quick nutritious meal. The best part of this simple soup is the variety of vegetables that I am able to pack in. My Instant Pot is also my secret weapon. During this season of my life, I’m quite a distracted cook. I do not need meals that need to be watched cautiously or frequently stirred because at any time I am rescuing baby dolls from toilets or rocking out with my tiny ballerinas, thus, my tomato soup recipe.

Have a sick child or need to soothe sore throats? This soup is an excellent option.

Jump to Easy Healthy Tomato Soup Recipe

Pure Goodness!

This is a delicious tomato soup recipe for toddlers, well, it is truly a recipe for the whole family. I specify toddlers because they are the ones that often hold the title of “picky eaters” or “fussy eaters.”

How do you prepare food for picky eaters?

This question has been heavily asked over my years of working with younger children. Often, kids do have sensory processing disorders and caregivers are lost on where to start. Vitamins and minerals are best achieved by eating a variety of vegetables and fruits. This can seem a daunting statement when your kiddo only want one specific meal.

10 Tips for Satisfying those picker eaters:

1. Limit textures and aim for a smoother consistency
2. Keep flavors a bit on the sweet side (I am not recommending process sugar here)
3. Offer new food with their favorite food
4. Provide healthy dippers (crackers, veggie slices etc.)
5. Deconstruct the meal (leave toppings on the side)
6. Involve kids in the planning, preparing, and/or cooking process
7. Base the meal off food they already love
8. Stay consistent and firm (no alternative meal for the picky eater)
9. Offer at least one thing that everyone enjoys
10. Don’t give up on a food after one meal

Picky Eater tips in more detail

Furthermore, do not fret. In this recipe, the immersion blender helps achieve a smooth consistency which often helps pickier eaters. This allows the different vegetables to flavor the soup but remain incognito: flavor without the texture. Try to limit bitter flavors. Carrots have a sweeter taste. It is odd to say but this recipe is sweeten with carrots. You could always sweeten the soup with honey (if kids are over one year of age), coconut sugar, or whole milk/coconut milk. I like to offer a crusty bread with this meal. You could slice the bread into little dippers or offer crackers to dip. Sourdough crackers are our favorite dipper.

Baby Led Weaning taught me to deconstruct the meal. Thus, deconstruction is my-go with little ones and picky eaters. Keep the meal simple and offer all the fun toppings on the side.

Kids are also more likely to eat the food when they have helped prepare it. If your kids love chicken, you could add chicken in the soup or if they love cheese, offer a slice of cheese toast to dip into the soup.

Stay firm. I think this is the hardest part but as parents and caregivers, we are to help our kiddos along the way and remind them that we can do hard things. If your kid is struggling with eating, seek advice from your pediatrician, a specialized pediatric occupational therapist can help with techniques to overcome sensory sensitizes with food.

Can babies eat tomato soup?

Yes, babies can eat tomato soup as long as there is no history of allergy reactions to the listed ingredients. If your baby has started purees, you can offer the soup by spoon. If your baby is self-feeding, soup is a hard food to manipulate with the spoon; thus, you could add cooked rice or quinoa to help thicken the soup. At about nine months of age, I crumbled (smaller than bite size) crackers into the soup to thicken it for my babies.

Lessons in the Kitchen

Matter of fact, making this easy tomato soup recipe for toddlers and kids is a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen and learning the life skill of cooking.

Here are some teaching ideas for cooking this tomato soup recipe:

• Discover and gather the different ingredients in the recipe
• Learn to sequence the different steps of the recipe
• Count the ingredients
• Measure the ingredients to teach volume
• Safely Drop each batch of ingredients into the pot (assist as needed)
• Follow one-step to multiple step directions
• Pour out serving size portions into bowls
• Set the table
• Clean the kitchen with assistance as needed

Disclaimer: As with any of the recipes on this site, these are suggestions. You know your kid best. Thus, please use your judgment.

Healthy and Easy Tomato Soup Recipe for Toddlers and Kids

Equipment:

• Pressure Cooker (I use my Instant Pot.)
• Immersion Blender (alternative is to use a food processor or blender)
• Cutting board
• Sharp Knife
• Wooden Spoon

Ingredient List:

• 2 tbsp olive oil (or butter)
• 1/2 medium yellow onion (peeled and chopped)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 2 large carrots
• 2 cups of spinach
• 28 ounce can of diced “fire roasted” tomatoes (2 1/2 cups)
• 1-2 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 1/2 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 cups of bone broth (bone, chicken, beef or vegetable works)

Step by Step Instructions for Easy and Healthy Tomato Soup Recipe for Kids

Gather, Chop, & Sauté

1. First, gather all ingredients together. When my littles are helping, I find it best to start by cleaning and chopping the ingredients as needed per recipe. In this delicious soup recipe, I start by peeling and chopping 1/2 yellow onion, peel and chop 2 carrots, peel and mince 3 garlic cloves, and open the can of tomatoes and tomato paste (See “top tips” if using fresh tomatoes). Roughly chop these ingredients.
2. Second, press the Sauté button on the Instant Pot. Heat olive oil in the insert pot. Once, the Instant Pot reads “hot,” add the chopped onion and carrots. Cook for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, add minced garlic and sauté for about 2 minutes.
3. Next, pour in broth to deglaze the pot (this helps any stuck pieces to come off). With a wooden spoon, scrap the bottom of the pot to remove any stuck pieces.

Add the reaming ingredients & Cook

1. Then, add the remaining ingredients to the pot (if you want to add milk or cream, do not add that until after the soup has been cooked). Press the Cancel button on the Instant Pot (I keep the pressure cooker sauté function on until I’m ready to put the lid on because I have found that it takes less time for the pressure to build up. BUT, turn off before putting lid on).
2. Now, place the lid on the Instant Pot and lock it into place. Make sure that the valve on the top is pushed to “seal.” Turn the pressure cooker function on HIGH and manual time for 15 minutes. It will take the Instant Pot approximately 12 minutes to pressurize.
3. Next, allow the Instant pot to naturally release for 10-15 minutes. Then, following your Instant Pot manual, quick release the rest of the remaining pressure from the Instant Pot. I do not allow my kids to ever assist with this function. The steam is too hot and the risk too great.

Time for blending

1. Then, carefully use an immersion blender to puree the soup to your desired consistency (See Top Tips if using a regular blender).
2. Lastly, ENJOY a warm nutritious meal with your whole family.

Notes and Top Tips for making this yummy comfort food

What are other ingredients I can use in tomato soup?

Use what is Available, what is in season, and what you can budget.

Use this recipe as your blueprint for an easy and healthy tomato soup recipe for your family. Remember “mama-make-do.” Use what is available, what is in season, and what you can budget. If you have vegetables that are about to go bad or you find a good sale, use them here. Root vegetables would work lovely (Kale is not my friend but go for it). Zucchini, squash, corn, and bell peppers are all the different vegetables I have tried with this soup.

What if I do not have an immersion blender or an Instant Pot?

If you do not have an immersion blender, then once the soup is cooled and safe to handle, remove the soup by batches into the blender (or food processor) and blend each batch to the desired consistency.

If you do not have an Instant Pot, then grab a stock pot (or your favorite soup pot) and sauté your onions and carrots until soften. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients to the pot. Bring pot to a simmer (not boil) and cook for 25-30 minutes on the stove top on medium heat, stirring the soup as needed. Follow the instructions above for the immersion blender or food processor in order to adjust the consistency of the soup.

How do I use fresh tomatoes to make tomato soup?

If using fresh tomatoes, you will want to roast 2 pounds of tomatoes in the oven first. Preheat your oven to 450F. Spread your quartered tomatoes on a large pan. Add the onions and carrots to speed up the cooking process. It is good to note that 450F is too high of a heat to use olive oil, so I recommend using avocado oil or another oil that has a smoke point higher than 400F. Roast for about 25 minutes. Broil for the last 3-4 minutes to achieve a bit of char. Now, your tomatoes are good to go.

How do I make a creamy tomato soup?

If you want a creamier soup, add about 3/4 cup of full fat coconut milk (or cream) after the soup is cooked. Remember dairy is not a friend to pressure cookers, the quick heat function will cause the milk product to curdle and any cheese to clump together. Always add diary products after the pressure cooking is complete.

Thanks for stopping by!

Finally, I want to thank you for stopping by! Please say Hi in the comment section. If you make this kid-friendly tomato soup recipe, please leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I would love to know the variety of vegetables you and your kiddo loved.

– With Great Joy, Katie

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Need another yummy tomato recipe for kids. Try this kid friendly salsa.