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Tomato soup mac and cheese baked until golden and bubbly, made with rigatoni pasta in a rich roasted tomato sauce, topped with melted cheddar and mozzarella, and finished with fresh basil leaves.
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5 from 5 votes

Tomato Soup Mac and Cheese Recipe

Learn how to make tomato soup mac and cheese with cheddar, cooked in one pot and baked until golden and melty.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian, Mediterranean
Keyword: cheesy, comfort food, one pot, Vegetarian
Servings: 6 serves
Author: Karina Carrel

Ingredients

  • 2½ pounds Roma tomatoes halved lengthwise
  • 1¼ pounds grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
  • 8 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
  • 3 tbsp olive oil 60 ml
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 pinch ground black pepper
  • 1 large yellow onion chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper deseeded and diced
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • ¼ cup basil leaves plus extra for topping
  • 16 oz rigatoni pasta or pipe rigate 500
  • 2 cups light mozzarella cheese shredded
  • 2 cups high-protein cheddar cheese shredded
  • ½ tbsp sugar
US - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 430°F / 220°C. Place the Roma tomatoes and garlic cloves on a baking tray and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and sugar.
    Roma and cherry tomatoes with garlic on a baking tray, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper before roasting.
  • Roast for about 25 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft and charred on top.
    Roasted Roma and cherry tomatoes with garlic, caramelized and slightly charred after baking with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
  • While the tomatoes roast, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saucepan or pot over medium-high heat.
    Olive oil drizzled into a pan over medium heat before cooking ingredients
  • Add the chopped onion and red bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion becomes soft and translucent.
    Chopped onion and red bell pepper cooking in a pan until soft and slightly translucent.
  • Stir the tomato paste through the onion mixture.
    Chopped onion and red bell pepper sautéing in a pan with tomato paste, cooking until soft and fragrant.
  • Pour in the vegetable broth, season with a little extra salt if needed, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes.
    Vegetable broth being poured into sautéed onion, red bell pepper, and tomato paste, creating the base for the tomato soup.
  • Add the roasted tomatoes, garlic, and basil to the broth and continue simmering for about 2 minutes, until the basil softens.
  • Blend the soup using a stick blender until smooth.
    Roasted tomato, onion, garlic, and broth mixture in a blender, ready to be blended into a smooth tomato soup.
  • Add the dry pasta directly to the soup and simmer slowly for about 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta cooks and begins absorbing some of the soup, slightly thickening the texture.
    Dry rigatoni pasta added directly into the blended tomato soup, ready to cook and absorb the sauce.
    • Cooking the pasta directly in the sauce lets it absorb all that tomato and seasoning flavor as it softens, instead of just tasting like boiled pasta. It also releases starch into the sauce, making everything naturally thicker and creamier without extra ingredients.
  • Once the pasta is cooked, add ¾ of the cheddar and mozzarella and stir until fully melted and combined.
    Creamy tomato mac and cheese as the pasta finishes cooking directly in the sauce, creating a rich, thick texture with perfectly coated noodles.
  • Transfer the pasta mixture to an oven-safe dish and top with the remaining cheese.
    Tomato pasta mixture transferred to a baking dish and topped with shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese before baking.
  • Bake at 430°F / 220°C for about 10 minutes, just until the cheese melts and develops a light golden colour.
    Baked tomato soup mac and cheese topped with melted cheese, golden and slightly crisp on top while staying creamy underneath.
  • Serve topped with fresh basil.
    Tomato soup mac and cheese baked until golden and bubbly, topped with melted cheese and fresh basil.

Video

Notes

When it comes to storing this, it actually holds up really well, especially because the pasta is already coated in the sauce. I like to let it cool completely before covering it, so it doesn’t trap extra moisture and get watery later.
  • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3–4 days.
  • When reheating, add a splash of milk or broth to loosen the sauce and bring back that creamy texture.
  • Reheat gently on the stove over medium-low heat or in the microwave in short intervals, stirring in between.
  • If you baked it, you can reheat it in the oven covered with foil to keep it from drying out.
Always add the cheese off the heat or on low heat. Too much heat can make the sauce split and lose that smooth, creamy finish.

Nutrition

Calories: 681kcal | Carbohydrates: 90g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 2301mg | Potassium: 1294mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 4646IU | Vitamin C: 78mg | Calcium: 949mg | Iron: 3mg