This kimchi tomato soup is velvety, and cozy, with a slightly funky, tangy kick from caramelized kimchi. It’s the perfect hybrid of comfort food— tomato soup and kimchi!
What is Kimchi (김치)?
Kimchi (김치) is a Korean side dish with salted/fermented napa cabbage or Asian radish. It’s seasoned with gochugaru (Korean chili pepper powder), green onion, garlic, ginger, and sometimes salted shrimp (새우젓).
Kimchi is a staple side dish in most Korean households, usually served at every meal. There are many health benefits of kimchi as well, you can check out this article I found from Medical News Today.


What you’ll need to make Kimchi Tomato Soup:
- Tomatoes: I used fresh tomatoes for this recipe, but canned tomatoes will work just as well.
- Onions: roasted onions add a wonderful sweet flavor to the soup.
- Kimchi: ripe kimchi works best for this recipe, it packs a big punch in flavor.
- Vegetable stock: for the base of the soup.
- Heavy cream: to add a bit of creaminess.
- Butter: for caramelizing the kimchi, plus a little butter never hurts 🙂
- Salt + pepper: to season, you can adjust the amount of salt to your taste.
- Red pepper flakes: if you like spicy foods like me, feel free to add some heat.
- Olive oil: for roasting the vegetables.
How to make Kimchi Tomato Soup:
This soup is pretty simple to make but packs so much flavor. It’s so yummy and comforting when paired with a grilled cheese sandwich!
- Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Place tomatoes and onion in a baking dish. Drizzle olive oil evenly over the tomatoes and onions. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the onions are translucent with golden edges.
- In a large pot, add butter and kimchi. Saute the kimchi on medium-high heat for 5-8 minutes. or until the kimchi is translucent and caramelized.
- Transfer the roasted tomatoes and onions to the large pot and add your vegetable stock.
- Using an immersion blender, blend the ingredients until it is smooth and velvety. *You can alternatively use a blender or food processor for this step as well.
- Add the heavy cream and red pepper flakes to the soup and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Serve warm with a grilled cheese sandwich. Enjoy!

Watch how to make this Kimchi Tomato Soup:
More Favorite Recipes with Kimchi!
If you enjoyed this recipe, check out some of my other recipes with Kimchi!
- Kimchi Cheese Biscuits
- Perilla Kimchi (Kkaennip Kimchi)
- Kimchi Cheese Quesadilla
- Kimchi Fried Rice with Corn Cheese
- Spicy Kimchi Vodka Sauce Pasta
- 10 Minute Kimchi-Jjigae (Korean Kimchi Stew)
- Mini Kimchi Pancake (Kimchi Jeon)
- Dong Geu Rami Kimbap
I hope you enjoy this kimchi tomato soup! Please leave me a star rating and comment to let me know your thoughts! Happy cooking, xoxo!!

Ingredients
- 6 Roma tomatoes, whole
- 2 medium-sized onions, peeled
- 1 cup kimchi, ripe
- 2½ cups vegetable stock
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ⅛ teaspoon salt, to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Place tomatoes and onion in a baking dish. Drizzle olive oil evenly over the tomatoes and onions. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the onions are translucent with golden edges.
- In a large pot, add butter and kimchi. Saute the kimchi on medium-high heat for 5-8 minutes. or until the kimchi is translucent and caramelized.
- Transfer the roasted tomatoes and onions to the large pot and add your vegetable stock.
- Using an immersion blender, blend the ingredients until it is smooth and velvety. *You can alternatively use a blender or food processor for this step as well.
- Add the heavy cream and red pepper flakes to the soup and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Serve warm with a grilled cheese sandwich. Enjoy!