Plan B Forum

4Bs is a family restaurant in Montana, multiple locations. Just a Friendly’s type menu with a few special standouts - primarily their tomato soup.

I’m making my second batch this month it’s so yummy I crave it.

2 tablespoons butter
One medium onion finely diced
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
28 ounce can diced tomatoes - I prefer petite cut
10.5 ounces chicken broth - I sometimes use stock for a richer flavor
2 pints heavy whipping cream


In a soup pot, sauté the onions in the butter until golden, add the tomatoes sugar baking soda and broth/stock and simmer for 3-4 hours. Add the cream without scorching/curdling. Garnish with fresh ground pepper- Feast!

(I usually leave the cream out while the rest is simmering so it’s room temp when it goes in, or you can warm it in a double boiler before adding it in.)


Goes fantastic with grilled cheese or even just some warm crusty bread to clean your bowl with. Enjoy!

Okay, now I'm having tomato soup for lunch.

Sue U wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 20, 2022 3:27 pm

Okay, now I'm having tomato soup for lunch.

I just finished a bowl for brunch! Definitely one of the top comfort foods, tomato soup!

BoSoxGal wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 19, 2022 11:42 pm

2 tablespoons butter
One medium onion finely diced
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
28 ounce can diced tomatoes - I prefer petite cut
10.5 ounces chicken broth - I sometimes use stock for a richer flavor
2 pints heavy whipping cream

Christ on a pogostick, that's possibly the least healthy tomato soup recipe I've ever read. Try this one, the one I use.

Gob wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:05 am

that's possibly the least healthy tomato soup recipe I've ever read.

I had a similar take to Gob -- sounds like it will taste good but not going to be on any healthy living menu. But that would be comfort food in general.

I thought the same thing, tasting good is the point of the recipe. Although, if you wanted to make it appear more healthy, you could use fresh tomatoes (or, even better, fresh organic tomatoes).

And, of course, you could substitute skim milk for the cream

Tomato soup is not cream of tomato soup. Not sure how anything can be described as creamy without dairy content no matter how much it is blended, but I understand that vegans have to trick their minds into thinking they’re getting the good stuff even though they ain’t.

I’ll take the loss of a year (or a few) where I can’t shit or piss without the help of a nursing assistant if it means I can, in this present moment, eat cream of tomato soup and butter chicken curry made with real cream.

When I want food to appear more healthy I just close my eyes. Saves a lot of time and effort

Big RR wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 21, 2022 1:00 pm

, you could use fresh tomatoes (or, even better, fresh organic tomatoes).

fresh heirloom organic free-range tomatoes!

I think some here are mistaking "tasty" for "loaded with fat and sugar". Both healthy and tasty are possible in the same tomato soup.

*Though why vegans are introduced into the discussion is beyond me. Are vegans made of straw perhaps? )

Both healthy and tasty are possible in the same tomato soup.

While you're undoubtedly right, there are different kinds of tasty. I make a butternut squash soup which is dairy free except for a little butter (and could be made vegan by substituting some sort of oil for the butter and vegetable stock for chicken stock) which most would describe as "creamy" (indeed, a friend decline it because he didn't want the heavy cream he thought was in it (after tasting it)), there are times I'm happy for the indulgence of something which is decadently creamy and not so healthy. It's not that one taste is necessarily better than the other to me, but they are clearly different.

FWIW, if I try this recipe, I would be likely to delete the sugar since I generally don't like things quite as sweet, but I would have to experiment a bit. That experimentation is just part of the fun of cooking.

If you run the recipe through a nutrition analyzer you’ll find that at 4 servings it’s a perfectly healthy food as part of a balanced diet. There is no reason whatsoever for a person in good health with no cholesterol or cardiac or lactose intolerance issues to feel compelled to eliminate dairy entirely from their diet. The war on saturated fats is one of the major factors at the root of the modern obesity crisis.

I’m not sure why this debate is even necessary, the recipe wasn’t posted as ultra health food it’s just posted to share with anyone who might want to try a very yummy CREAM of tomato soup. My apologies for neglecting to include CREAM in the thread title. I won’t ever make that mistake while making tomato soup, I promise!

You didn't fool me; I saw the cream right away.

Gob wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 21, 2022 2:51 pm

I think some here are mistaking "tasty" for "loaded with fat and sugar". Both healthy and tasty are possible in the same tomato soup.

*Though why vegans are introduced into the discussion is beyond me. Are vegans made of straw perhaps? )  

When the Apocalypse arrives, remember to eat the vegans first, because they will be the closest thing there is to grass-fed beef.

-"BB"-