Tomato Soup with Chili Crisp Grilled Cheese Bites
It’s hard to beat the classic grilled cheese + tomato soup combo, especially on these chilly fall days. But my new favorite way to elevate the whole thing is to add a generous drizzle of chili crisp into the grilled cheese! I love to use the Trader Joe’s Unexpected Cheddar in my grilled cheese.
This is a really simple tomato soup method (adapted from Pinch of Yum). But it’s endlessly customizable once you nail the basic version. Some variations I love: add some roasted red bell peppers, or sun-dried tomatoes along with the stock before you simmer everything. I also love to replace the whole garlic cloves with roasted garlic instead, for a totally different flavor.
Ingredients
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1” pieces
3 tbsp fresh or dried herbs (I used fresh thyme and rosemary, but oregano or basil work too)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 28-oz can whole san marzano tomatoes
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
½ cup cream or non-dairy milk
2 tbsp salted butter
4 slices sourdough bread
½ cup grated white cheddar cheese
½ cup grated gruyere cheese
2.5 tbsp chili crisp
2 tbsp mayonnaise
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Let’s Make It!
For the tomato soup:
In a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add diced onion and carrots. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Saute for 5-7 minutes until begin to soften and brown a bit on the edges.
Reduce heat to medium. Add smashed garlic & herbs. Saute until fragrant, less than a minute. Add tomato paste and mix thoroughly with the veg mix. Cook until the tomato paste slightly darkens.
Add the canned tomatoes and stock; stir. Bring the soup up to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook on medium-low (covered). Simmer the soup until the flavors have melded, about 40 minutes..
Carefully transfer the soup to blender (or use an immersion blender for this step, if you have one!). Add cream and butter, then gently blend the soup until totally smooth.
Add the soup back to the pot and bring up to heat over low. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed.
For the chili-crisp grilled cheese bites:
Grate the cheddar and gruyere cheese.
Mix ½ tsp of chili crisp with mayo, then spread the mayo mix on one side of each slice of bread.
Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Add 2 slices of bread mayo-side down on the skillet. Top with some cheese, then drizzle 1 tbsp of chili crisp. Top with a bit more cheese then the other slices of bread.
Cover the pan then cook grilled cheeses over medium-low heat until the cheese is about half melted. Uncover, then increase heat to medium-hight. Flip the grilled cheese over on both sides until deeply golden-brown and super melty.
Allow to cool slightly, then cut into 2-inch square bite-sized pieces.
To assemble:
Ladle some soup into a bowl, drizzle with chili crisp and a bit more cream. Top with 3-4 grilled cheese bites and serve.
