Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Soup — The Richest, Most Deeply Flavored Vegan Dinner You Will Make All Winter

There are soups and then there are soups that make you close your eyes and sigh with complete contentment after the very first spoonful. This Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Soup is absolutely the latter — a deeply rich, intensely flavored, gloriously comforting bowl of everything wonderful about Italian-inspired cooking, all in a single pot that comes together in just 30 minutes and fills your kitchen with the most extraordinary aroma imaginable.

The hero of this recipe is the sun-dried tomato. Unlike fresh tomatoes which are mild and watery, sun-dried tomatoes are concentrated flavor bombs — sweet, deeply savory, slightly tangy, and packed with a rich, almost caramelized tomato intensity that transforms this soup from something ordinary into something genuinely extraordinary. Combined with roasted garlic, fresh basil, a generous splash of red wine, and a swirl of coconut cream that adds a velvety richness to the broth — this soup has layers of flavor that taste like they have been developing for hours rather than the 30 minutes they actually take.

The pasta is cooked directly in the soup — absorbing all that incredible flavor as it cooks and releasing its starch to thicken the broth into something that is halfway between a soup and a pasta dish — deeply satisfying, hearty, and warming in the most profound way. Serve it with warm garlic bread, a generous shower of vegan parmesan, and a glass of the same red wine you used in the soup for a dinner that is genuinely, completely, memorably extraordinary.

This recipe is 100% vegan, easily made gluten-free, packed with plant-based nutrition, and ready in just 30 minutes. It is the kind of dinner that becomes a household staple the very first time you make it — requested week after week, season after season, for as long as you cook.

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Recipe Information

Prep Time	Cook Time	Total Time	Servings	Calories
10 mins	20 mins	30 mins	6	~380 kcal

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Ingredients

For the Soup

• 1 cup (150g) sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and roughly chopped (reserve 2 tbsp of the oil)
• 1 can (400g / 14 oz) chopped tomatoes
• 1 can (400g / 14 oz) white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 200g (7 oz) short pasta (ditalini, small penne, orzo, or small shells work best)
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 stalks celery, finely diced
• 1 medium carrot, finely diced
• 200ml (¾ cup) vegan red wine (or replace with extra vegetable stock)
• 1.2 litres (5 cups) vegetable stock
• 200ml (¾ cup) full-fat coconut cream or oat cream
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp chili flakes (adjust to taste)
• ½ tsp salt (or to taste)
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp maple syrup or sugar (balances the acidity)
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

For the Herb Oil (Optional but Extraordinary)

• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
• ¼ tsp chili flakes
• Pinch of salt

To Garnish

• Fresh basil leaves, torn
• Vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast
• Extra chili flakes
• A generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or herb oil
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• Fresh lemon zest

To Serve

• Warm crusty sourdough bread
• Garlic bread
• Vegan parmesan for grating at the table
• A simple green salad

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Instructions

1. Make the herb oil if using. Combine the extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, fresh basil, fresh parsley, chili flakes, and salt in a small bowl. Stir well and set aside to infuse while you make the soup. This herb oil is the finishing touch that elevates this soup from outstanding to completely extraordinary — drizzled over each bowl just before serving it adds an intense fresh herb and garlic fragrance that is breathtaking.
2. Build the soup base. Heat the reserved sun-dried tomato oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. The sun-dried tomato oil is infused with an extraordinary concentration of sweet tomato, herb, and garlic flavor — using it as your cooking oil immediately gives the soup base a depth and richness that plain olive oil cannot match. Add the finely diced onion, celery, and carrot. Cook for 6–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft, golden, and beginning to caramelize.
3. Add the garlic and tomato paste. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1–2 minutes until wonderfully fragrant. Add the tomato paste and stir constantly for 1–2 minutes until it darkens slightly in color — this caramelization of the tomato paste adds a deep, roasted tomato complexity to the finished soup that is one of the most important flavor-building steps in the entire recipe.
4. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and spices. Add the roughly chopped sun-dried tomatoes to the pot. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until they release some of their concentrated oils into the base. Add the dried oregano, basil, thyme, smoked paprika, chili flakes, salt, and pepper. Stir well and cook for 1 minute to toast the herbs and spices.
5. Deglaze with red wine. Pour in the vegan red wine and let it bubble vigorously for 2–3 minutes until reduced by half. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to lift any caramelized bits — these are pure concentrated flavor. The kitchen will smell absolutely incredible at this point.
6. Add the tomatoes and stock. Add the canned chopped tomatoes and vegetable stock. Stir everything together and bring to a boil. Add the maple syrup and balsamic vinegar. Taste the broth at this point — it should be deeply flavored, slightly tangy, and wonderfully aromatic. Adjust seasoning as needed.
7. Cook the pasta directly in the soup. Add the pasta directly to the boiling soup. Stir well to prevent sticking. Cook for 2 minutes less than the package instructions specify — the pasta will continue cooking in the residual heat after the soup comes off the heat and you want it to remain al dente in the finished soup. Stir occasionally during cooking to prevent the pasta from sticking together or to the bottom of the pot.
8. Add the beans and cream. In the last 3 minutes of pasta cooking add the drained cannellini beans and coconut cream. Stir to incorporate. Add the nutritional yeast and stir well — it dissolves into the broth adding a beautiful savory, slightly cheesy depth. Simmer gently for 3 minutes until the beans are warmed through and the cream is fully incorporated.
9. Finish with lemon. Remove from heat and stir in the fresh lemon juice. Taste one final time and adjust all seasoning generously — the soup should be deeply rich, tomato-forward, creamy, slightly tangy from the lemon and balsamic, and warming from the chili flakes. Add more salt, more chili, more lemon, or more nutritional yeast as needed.
10. Serve immediately. Ladle generously into deep bowls. Drizzle the infused herb oil over each bowl — do not be shy, this is the finishing touch that transforms the soup. Scatter torn fresh basil, a shower of vegan parmesan, extra chili flakes, and a crack of black pepper. Serve with warm crusty bread and enjoy immediately.

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Pro Tips for the Most Deeply Flavored Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Soup

• Use the sun-dried tomato oil for cooking. This is the single most important flavor tip in the entire recipe. The oil that sun-dried tomatoes are packed in is one of the most intensely flavored cooking oils available — sweet, herby, deeply tomato-rich. Using it as your base cooking oil gives the soup a foundation of flavor that is simply impossible to achieve with plain olive oil.
• Caramelize the tomato paste. Cooking the tomato paste in the oil for 1–2 minutes before adding liquid concentrates and caramelizes it into a deeply roasted, complex tomato flavor that adds an extraordinary dimension to the broth. Never add tomato paste directly to liquid — always cook it in oil first.
• Reduce the red wine properly. Allow the wine to bubble vigorously and reduce by at least half before adding the stock. Properly reduced wine adds deep, complex flavor. Under-reduced wine adds a raw, harsh taste that competes with rather than enhances the other flavors.
• Cook the pasta in the soup — not separately. Cooking pasta directly in the soup allows it to absorb the deeply flavored broth as it cooks, releasing its starch to naturally thicken the soup and creating a more cohesive, integrated, deeply satisfying dish than separately cooked pasta added at the end.
• Cook the pasta 2 minutes less than the package says. Pasta continues cooking in the residual heat of the soup after it is removed from the stove. Under-cooking by 2 minutes ensures perfectly al dente pasta in the finished bowl rather than soft, overcooked pasta.
• Make the herb oil. This takes 2 minutes and makes an enormous difference. Fresh garlic, basil, and parsley infused in good olive oil drizzled over the hot soup immediately before serving adds a burst of fresh, vibrant, aromatic freshness that lifts the entire dish to a completely new level.

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Flavor Variations

• Creamy Roasted Red Pepper: Add 2 roasted red peppers blended into the soup along with the canned tomatoes for a sweeter, smokier, more complex broth with a beautiful deep orange-red color that is absolutely stunning in the bowl.
• White Bean and Kale: Add 2 large handfuls of torn curly kale along with the cannellini beans in the last 5 minutes of cooking for an even heartier, more nutritionally dense version that is particularly extraordinary in cold winter months.
• Spicy Arrabbiata Style: Double the chili flakes and add 1 tablespoon of chili paste to the soup base for a fiery, bold, intensely spiced version that is extraordinary for heat lovers.
• Mushroom and Sun-Dried Tomato: Add 200g of sliced cremini mushrooms sautéed in the sun-dried tomato oil until golden before building the soup base for a heartier, meatier, more deeply umami-rich version.

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Nutritional Highlights (Per Serving)

Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fiber	Vitamin C
~380 kcal	14g	58g	10g	45% DV

Sun-dried tomatoes are one of the most nutrient-dense forms of tomato available — extraordinarily rich in lycopene, Vitamin C, potassium, and iron. The concentration process intensifies all of these nutrients dramatically compared to fresh tomatoes — a tablespoon of sun-dried tomato contains the nutritional equivalent of several fresh tomatoes. Cannellini beans provide complete plant-based protein, iron, and extraordinary amounts of soluble fiber that supports gut health and lowers cholesterol. Pasta provides complex carbohydrates for sustained energy. Nutritional yeast adds B vitamins and complete plant protein. Together this soup delivers a beautifully balanced and genuinely nourishing vegan dinner that is as good for your body as it is profoundly delicious.

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Storage and Reheating

• Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Note that the pasta continues absorbing liquid as it sits in the soup — the soup will thicken significantly overnight. Simply add a splash of vegetable stock or water when reheating to restore the original consistency.
• Reheat: Reheat in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently and adding vegetable stock or water as needed. Can also be microwaved in 2-minute intervals stirring between each. Always add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil after reheating to revive the freshness of the soup.
• Freezer: For best results freeze the soup without the pasta — cooked pasta does not freeze and thaw well and becomes mushy. Make the soup base with beans and freeze it, then cook fresh pasta directly in the reheated soup when ready to serve.
• Meal prep: Make the complete soup base — without pasta — and freeze in individual portions. When ready to serve simply thaw, bring to a boil, and add fresh pasta to cook directly in the soup. This gives you an almost instant restaurant-quality dinner in under 15 minutes on any weeknight.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use gluten-free pasta?

Yes — gluten-free short pasta works beautifully in this soup. Chickpea pasta, lentil pasta, and brown rice pasta are all excellent options that add additional protein and fiber. Note that gluten-free pasta tends to release more starch and may thicken the soup more aggressively — add extra vegetable stock as needed to maintain the right consistency.

What wine works best in this soup?

A medium-bodied Italian red wine works best — Chianti, Montepulciano, or Barbera all complement the sun-dried tomato flavors beautifully. If you prefer not to use wine replace it with an equal amount of vegetable stock plus 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce for a similar depth and complexity without the alcohol.

Can I use fresh tomatoes instead of canned?

Fresh tomatoes can be used but you need approximately 600g of very ripe fresh tomatoes to replace one can. Chop roughly and cook for slightly longer — about 5 extra minutes — to break them down. Canned tomatoes are actually preferable in this recipe as they have a more concentrated, consistent flavor and produce a richer, deeper-colored broth.

How do I prevent the pasta from getting too soft?

Cook the pasta directly in the soup for 2 minutes less than the package directions. Remove the soup from the heat the moment the pasta is just al dente. The residual heat will continue cooking it slightly. If you know you will have significant leftovers cook the pasta separately and add it to individual bowls rather than cooking it all in the soup — this prevents the pasta from over-absorbing liquid and becoming mushy during storage.

Can I add protein to make this more filling?

Yes — crumbled Italian-style vegan sausage sautéed with fennel seeds and sage added to the soup base is extraordinary. Alternatively add an extra can of cannellini beans or stir in 200g of firm tofu crumbled and sautéed in olive oil and Italian herbs. All three options add significant protein while complementing the Italian flavors of the soup perfectly.

What makes sun-dried tomatoes so much more flavorful than fresh?

Sun-dried tomatoes have had approximately 90% of their water content removed through drying — which concentrates all of their sugars, acids, and flavor compounds into a dramatically smaller volume. This concentration produces a tomato with approximately 8–10 times the flavor intensity of a fresh tomato. The drying process also creates new flavor compounds through the Maillard reaction that give sun-dried tomatoes their distinctive sweet, slightly caramelized, deeply complex flavor that is unlike anything fresh tomatoes can produce.

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Tried this recipe? Leave a comment below and let us know how it turned out! Tag us on Instagram and Facebook — we love seeing your plant-powered creations. Looking for another warming winter vegan dinner? Our Chickpea Lentil Quinoa Spinach Stew is hearty, protein-packed, and tastes like it simmered all day.