I Can't Stop Eating Nordstrom's Famous Tomato Soup

Quick, think fast: When you're trying to find a great recipe, where do you turn to? You might think of brands on the internet like Simply Recipes (oh hi!). You might also think of magazines, cookbooks, chefs, restaurants, and even TikTok. What you probably don't think of is department stores. You know, the place where you can buy clothes and handbags and perfume. Well, maybe you should start.

After trying out Neiman Marcus' chocolate chip cookie, it got me thinking—what other recipes have reached "iconic" status in the hidden cafés somewhere between the makeup counters and footwear?

It turns out there are quite a few, including this legendary tomato soup from Nordstrom. The cult-like following this soup has garnered makes sense—it's an easy recipe, super velvety, and just about the coziest weeknight dinner or lunch you could make. Here's more on the origin of the soup, how to make it at home, and a few helpful tips.

The Origins of Nordstrom's Famous Roma Tomato Soup

According to Nordstrom, their Roma Tomato Soup was created by chef Tony Colabelli—a now former employee—for the opening of their Oak Park Mall store in Overland, Kansas in 1998. In addition to the recipe being on Instagram (which you can see below), you can also find it in their cookbook published in 2003, Nordstrom Friends and Family Cookbook.

How I Made Nordstrom's Tomato Soup

To make this soup, I followed the official recipe that Nordstrom posted on their Instagram in April 2020. In the video, Nordstrom's Director of Food & Beverage, Chef Keith, makes the legendary soup with his family during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. "In trying times like these, this nostalgic recipe is meant to bring comfort and familiarity to each of your homes," Chef Keith explains.

For the full recipe, I'd recommend watching the video—Chef Keith provides a screenshot of the ingredients needed and then walks viewers through how to make the soup. But here's the gist of how the soup is made:

In a large pot over medium heat, add 1/3 cup of olive oil, one medium diced yellow onion, and five large diced carrots. Sauté for about 5 minutes until softened. Then, add a teaspoon or so each of dried basil, salt, and pepper. After that, add 56 ounces of whole, peeled Italian-style tomatoes and their juices along with one quart of vegetable stock to the pot. Let simmer for about 25 minutes.

Add 16 ounces of heavy cream to the pot and cook for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, throw in some fresh basil, and then use an immersion blender (or regular blender!) to blend the soup until smooth. Serve the soup with more fresh basil on top.

My Review of Nordstrom's Legendary Tomato Soup

I completely understand why people love this soup so much—it's super velvety, the carrots and tomatoes balance each other out with their acidity and sweetness, and the basil gives the whole thing a nice punch. It's the epitome of comfort food.

I also loved how simple the ingredients were, and how easy and fast the whole thing came together—about 45 minutes with all the chopping and puréeing and cooking. I wasn't terribly hungry when I made the soup, but I ate an entire bowl after photographing it like I was possessed. I just couldn't stop! Is it the most complex or delicious tomato soup you'll ever make? No. Does it lack some depth? Yes. Does it hit the spot? Absolutely.

My only complaint was the amount of heavy cream in the recipe—I love a rich, velvety soup, and this was almost too much for me. I think you lose a little bit of the taste of the vegetables with the amount of cream it requires.

3 Quick Tips for Making This Soup

1. Adjust Heavy Cream for Richness: If I were to make this soup again, I'd cut the heavy cream for this recipe by about half (8 ounces instead of 16 ounces). While I did enjoy the soup, it bordered on being too rich for my taste, and I wanted the tomato to shine through more. I know this will probably sacrifice some of the velvetyness of the soup, but I think it's worth the tradeoff. But hey, if rich is your thing, then keep the recipe as is.

2. Add Heavy Cream After Puréeing: Next time I make this soup, I'll add the heavy cream in after I purée everything and rewarm to serve. I felt a little trepidatious adding the cream in so early in the process and having it potentially curdle—and while that didn't happen in my first attempt at this soup, I'd rather not risk it next time.

3. Serve the Soup with Cheesy Toast: This soup can absolutely stand by itself for a meal, but I think it would really shine paired with some sort of cheesy bread situation—whether that's a grilled cheese or cheesy toast. In fact, in the official soup recipe video on Instagram, Chef Keith makes Parmesan crostini to accompany the soup—something traditionally done at Nordstrom.