The 5-Ingredient Soup Jamie Oliver Says ‘Everyone Should Try’

When that first cool, crisp fall breeze passes through the air, many of us like to whip out our stockpots and Dutch ovens for a big batch of soup. A hearty, comforting bowl of warm soup is the perfect way to ring in the season—and we’ve been saving recipes to try all summer long. 

Now that the first few days of cooler weather have hit, we’ve fallen in love with creamy Tuscan Chicken Soup and Carole King’s Sweet Pea Soup. Next on our must-try soup list is a recipe that “The Naked Chef” Jamie Oliver says “everyone should try.”

The soup, which also hails from Tuscany, is found in Oliver’s 2005 cookbook, “Jamie’s Italy.” However, unlike the creamy Tuscan soup that’s made with noodles, heavy cream, chicken, spinach, and more, Oliver’s go-to Tuscan soup is only five ingredients and relies on the “intense sweet” flavors of tomato and basil. 

The “family-friendly” soup that Oliver calls “delicious” is a simple Pappa al Pomodoro, or Tuscan Tomato Soup.

Jamie Oliver’s Pappa al Pomodoro Soup

Tuscan tomato soup, or what Oliver calls “bread and tomato soup,” is loved by many, including Stanley Tucci, for its ease and overall flavor. Tucci agrees with Oliver that the soup is a family-friendly staple, writing that it has always been “one of those things the kids loved to eat” in his cookbook, “The Tucci Table.”

Pappa al Pomodoro isn’t your tomato soup from a can—or even like some fresh tomato soups. Oliver’s Tuscan tomato soup is simply made with fresh or canned tomatoes, garlic, basil, and stale bread. 

The tomatoes first get roasted for an “intense and concentrated” flavor, then cooked down in the pot with garlic, olive oil, basil, salt, and pepper until they reach a “thick, silky porridgey texture.” Finally, the stale bread, which Oliver uses in the form of a white cottage-style loaf, is added to soak up all the tomato flavors and thicken the soup.

“Babies and grandparents (both without teeth!) can eat it with gusto,” Oliver writes. “Just thinking of it makes me salivate!”

How To Make Jamie Oliver’s Pappa al Pomodoro Soup

For Pappa al Pomodoro soup, the British celebrity chef uses 18 ounces of cherry tomatoes, three cloves of garlic, “a large bunch” of fresh basil with the leaves picked and the stalks finely chopped, “the best extra virgin olive oil you can find,” sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, two 14-ounce cans of plum tomatoes, and two “large handfuls” of stale good-quality bread.

First, Oliver pricks the cherry tomatoes, then adds them to a roasting tray with one sliced clove of garlic, a quarter of the basil leaves, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then, he roasts them in a 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) oven for 20 minutes. 

As the cherry tomatoes roast, Oliver heats a “glug” of olive oil in a stockpot, adds the remaining garlic and the basil stalks, and fries them until softened. Then, he adds the canned tomatoes and one can of water. He breaks up the tomatoes, brings them to a boil, then lets them simmer for 15 minutes. 

Next, Oliver tears the bread into pieces and adds it to the pot, along with the basil leaves. The bread and basil cook for about 10 minutes before he adds the roasted cherry tomatoes. 

To finish, he stirs the soup, removes it from the heat, and tops it with 6 or 7 tablespoons of olive oil before serving.