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Italian

Pappa al pomodoro

Vegetarian

A thick Tuscan soup of ripe tomatoes, garlic and basil cooked down with stale unsalted bread until it becomes a soft, spoonable porridge, finished with good olive oil.

Pappa al pomodoro is an Italian soup from Italy, ready in about 1 hour 10 minutes and made with tomato, crusty bread / baguette and basil. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Bowl of pappa al pomodoro, thick Tuscan tomato and bread soup with basil
Photo: Ɱ / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-3.0
Prep
15 min
Cook
40 min
Rest
15 min
Total
1 h 10 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
376

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Warm the olive oil (opens in a new tab) in a heavy saucepan (opens in a new tab) and gently cook the garlic (opens in a new tab) (and onion, if using) until soft and fragrant but not brown.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Add the tomatoes (opens in a new tab), salt and chilli flakes (opens in a new tab) and simmer for 15 minutes until saucy.

    • 15 min
    • medium heat
    A sauce simmering in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Nanda Mends on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Add the stock and bread, pressing the bread under the liquid. Simmer very gently, stirring often, until the bread has broken down into a thick, porridge-like soup.

    • 20 min
    • low heat

    Beat with a wooden spoon or whisk to break up any large pieces.

  4. Step 4

    Stir in most of the basil (opens in a new tab) and the pepper (opens in a new tab), then leave to rest off the heat for 15 minutes until thick enough to hold a spoon. Serve warm or at room temperature with a generous drizzle of olive oil (opens in a new tab) and the remaining basil.

    • 15 min

About this dish

Origin
Tuscany, Italy · Well documentedMore food from Italy
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Soups
Cooking method
Simmered, Sautéed
Taste
fresh, tangy, herby, garlicky
Diet
Vegan · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Budget-friendly · One-pot · Uses leftovers
Cook more with
Tomato · Crusty bread / baguette · Basil · Garlic · Vegetable stock
Techniques
Sautéing · Simmering

Allergens

  • Contains: Wheatfrom crusty bread / baguette
  • Contains: Glutenfrom vegetable stock, crusty bread / baguette
  • May contain: Sesamefrom crusty bread / baguette
  • May contain: Celeryfrom vegetable stock

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

376 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 502 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 10%
  • Carbohydrate 46%
  • Fat 44%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy376 kcal75 kcal
Protein9.6 g1.9 g
Carbohydrate44.5 g8.9 g
Net carbohydrate40.2 g8 g
Sugars9.9 g2 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre4.3 g0.9 g
Fat19 g3.8 g
Saturated fat2.8 g0.6 g
Trans fat0 g0 g
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium1235 mg246 mg
Salt equivalent3.1 g0.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
675 mg
Calcium
78 mg
Iron
3.5 mg
Magnesium
51 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
130 µg
Vitamin C
34 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
144 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: red onion, red chilli flakes.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Taste the tomatoes first: if they are not sweet and ripe, a pinch of sugar helps.

Common mistakes

  • Using fresh soft bread, which turns gluey instead of melting into the soup.

Serve with

  • Traditionally eaten lukewarm in summer, with a final pour of new-season olive oil.

Storage

  • Keeps 2 days chilled.

Reheating

  • Warm gently with a splash of stock, or simply bring back to room temperature.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 2, 3

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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