Fresh Tomato Soup For Babies: Perfect For A Cold

Tomato soup for babies and toddlers is one of my favorite recipes for when my kids have a cold.

I started making it when my youngest was between 6 – 7 months old. 

He used to get sick from his older brother’s germs quite often. Because he was so young, cold medicines were not safe to give him, so I relied on natural cold remedies like soups, humidifiers, etc. 

That’s when I created this delicious tomato soup for baby-led weaning.

This tomato soup is rich with tons of veggies like celery and carrots. It also has savory herbs like thyme and basil to help enhance the flavor.

It’s thick enough that you can easily spoon-feed it to your baby or allow them to scoop up the bits with their hands.

Important Recipe Notes on BLW Tomato Soup 

You can use whole canned tomatoes

Most of the tomato soup for babies I’ve seen out there uses whole canned tomatoes.

I don’t use it because it requires you to blend the tomatoes with an immersion blender afterward. 

An immersion blender helps purée the whole tomatoes right in the pot. You could also transfer the tomato soup into a high-powered blender like the Vitamix to purée it. 

You can use diced tomato or purée 

To avoid the hassle of using whole tomatoes like other recipes, I prefer to use diced or purée tomatoes.

This way, you won’t have to blend it when you’re done cooking.

You can add some heavy cream to the soup

To help reduce the acidity of the tomatoes for your baby’s stomach, you can choose to add some heavy cream to the tomato soup.

This is optional. I have made tomato soup both ways in the past (with and without heavy cream), and both versions taste just as good.  

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Why Tomatoes Are Good For Babies and Toddlers

Tomatoes are high in vitamin A which helps in the development of your baby’s eyes. 

Tomatoes also contain vitamin C, which helps to boost the immune system and allows the body to absorb iron.

Tomatoes have tons of antioxidants called lycopene that help babies and toddlers remove free radicals from their bodies. 

Free radicals are molecules that can damage cells and affect the immune system. (source)

What To Serve With Tomato Soup For Babies 

Serve It With Toast

Toast is one of my favorite things to serve with tomato soup for babies. It makes the soup more filling to eat. 

Soak the toast in the soup and offer it to your baby. The soup should make the bread soft enough to chew.

You can add some shredded chicken to the soup 

If you want to add some protein to the tomato soup for your baby, you can shred some chicken into the soup.

Babies as young as 6 months can have shredded chicken.

Check out my chicken recipes below for some recipe ideas

• Baby-led Weaning Garlic Chicken Breast Bites 
• Easy Baby-led Weaning Breaded Chicken Breast 

How To Serve Tomato Soup For Baby-led Weaning

6-9 Months old

To serve tomato soup to babies ages 6 and 7 months old, you can purée it and serve it in a cup.

This way, they can independently drink it. I prefer to use a straw cup for young kids because it gives better control of liquids.

9-12 months old

Around ages 9, 10, 11, and 12 months old, you can help your baby eat tomato soup by preloading a spoon for them.

If they start getting frustrated because the soup keeps spilling, you can spoon-feed them instead.

12- 24 months and older

Between 10-24 months old, your baby will have developed the ability to self-feed themselves tomato soup.

If they’re still struggling, feel free to offer them the soup in a cup so they can drink it instead.

Tips for Picky Eaters

Don’t pressure

Give your baby or toddler a chance to say no. It’s okay if they don’t like what we serve them. Keep trying. 

It takes at least 30 exposures for a baby to begin liking a food, so don’t give up.

Make it into a game

Sometimes I create games around the food I serve to get my kids interested in eating. 

A game we’ve played in the past is called “Here comes the airplane… open the garage”. This encourages them to open their mouth as I bring the food in like an airplane.

Sometimes my kids will try new foods this way.

Ingredients For Tomato Soup For Baby 

Celery stick – celery gives this tomato soup a rich and deep flavor. Make sure to chop the celery very small so that it cooks quickly.

Carrots – Carrots help to provide some texture for the tomato soup. You can skip the carrots if you don’t want to add them but I really like the combination of flavors.

Onion – Onions are great for making tomato soup for babies. Combining them with garlic helps make the soup fragrant

Garlic – this is needed for various reasons. Garlic is known for reducing inflammation when you have a cold (source).

Oil – this is used to sautee the ingredients before adding the tomatoes.

Chicken broth – this is very important for making tomato soup. Tomatoes have a very acidic taste so the chicken broth helps to balance it out.

If you don’t have chicken broth, use 1 bouillon cube or 1 tsp of powdered bouillon mixed into a cup of water.

Tomato puree – I used tomato puree in place of whole tomatoes because I didn’t want to have to use an immersion blender to puree it afterward. This helps to save time.

Herbs and spices – for this tomato soup for baby-led weaning, I used spices like parsley, basil, thyme, and black pepper.

Cooking Directions For Tomato Soup For Babies 

• Heat a pot on medium heat, and add the oil. 
• When the oil is hot enough, add the onion and garlic. Sautee until fragrant 
• Add the celery and carrots and cook for about 3 minutes. Stir to prevent burning.
• Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until the celery and carrots have softened (about 10 min).
• Add the tomato puree and the seasonings. Cook for another 3 minutes. 
• If using heavy cream, you can add it at this time.
• Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and let all the ingredients cook until boiling. 
• Serve and enjoy.

FAQs About Tomato Soup For Baby

Can we give tomato soup to a baby with a cough?

You can give tomato soup to a baby with a cough and cold. Tomato soup will help hydrate them. 

The vitamins and minerals in tomato soup will also help boost their immune system to help fight the cold and cough.

Can babies eat tomato soup?

Babies can eat tomato soup as soon as they’re ready to start solids around 6 months of age.

Is tomato soup too acidic for babies?

Babies who suffer from reflux may have an upset stomach after eating tomato soup due to its acidity.

However, most babies can tolerate tomato soup without any issues. So don’t be afraid to feed it to your baby who has started solids. 

As long as you’re not serving it in huge quantities every single day, they will be fine to eat it. 

Can tomatoes make babies gassy?

Tomatoes have not been shown to make babies more gassy than other vegetables. So if you want to feed your baby tomatoes in the form of tomato soup or pasta sauce, feel free to do so.

Storage Tips For Tomato Soup For Babies 

Can I refrigerate Tomato Soup for babies?

You can refrigerate tomato soup for babies for up to a week in the fridge. Just make sure you store it in an airtight container. The natural acidity of the tomatoes will keep them fresh in the fridge for a long time.

Can I freeze tomato soup for baby-led weaning?

You can freeze tomato soup for as long as you want in the freezer. I sometimes make extra and freeze it for later use. I do this for both tomato soup and pasta sauce.

Reheating BLW Tomato Soup

To reheat frozen baby-led weaning tomato soup, place it on the counter until it defrosts. After it has defrosted, you can reheat it on the stove or the microwave.

Make sure the soup is hot after being reheated, this will let you know that no ice crystals are left. 

Did you make this baby-led weaning lunch recipe? 

Let me know in the comments how it turned out!