
Tomato Soup and Gluten-Free Bacon Grilled Cheese
Cheap, Easy Weeknight Meal
I have been loving the idea of soup and sandwiches with the fall weather cooling down. However, I wanted something easy to make that I could still control the ingredients.
So, I found a great recipe for a copycat version of Panera tomato soup, and I modified some of the ingredients. Then, I put a fun spin on the classic grilled cheese and purchased ingredients I felt comfortable with.
Even with grass-fed, gluten-free, and organic ingredients, the meal per person was less than $6.50, and I am sure that many people could find even better deals on some of the ingredients than I did.
Watch Noah and I make the recipe!
Ingredients
Panera Copycat Recipe found here.
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 tbsp crushed garlic
- 1 14 oz can chicken broth {or 2 cups}**
- 2 Tbsp coconut sugar
- ⅓ cup grass-fed butter
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk/cream
- 1 tsp dried basil
**Note: It is ideal to make it using chicken bone broth.
Directions
- Combine the tomatoes, broth, and garlic. Bring to a boil, and let boil for 10 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low and stir in the sugar and butter and mix until they are completed mixed in.
- Stir in the basil and coconut milk. For the coconut milk, select the portion that is the cream.
Cost of Ingredients
I bought the ingredients that I could on Thrive Market.
- 1 14 oz can chicken broth {or 2 cups} – ideal to make it with bone broth – $5.29/32 oz – $2.65
- 2 Tbsp coconut sugar – $4.55/16 oz bag = $0.30
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk/cream – $2.39/can – use about half the can – $1.20
- 1 TBSP dried basil – $3.45/container – estimate $0.20
- Schar multi-grain bread – $4.99/loaf
I bought the rest of the ingredients from the local store.
- ⅓ cup grass-fed butter – average price for 8 oz Kerrygold is $3.50. So, I am going to estimate $1.25 spent on the butter that actually goes into the recipe.
- 1 tbsp crushed garlic – $4/container – estimate $0.25
- Raw grass-fed cheese – $8.00 for one block (and I will use half of it probably)
- Pederson Farm’s pasture raised bacon – $7.00/package – if it isn’t all put on the sandwiches it will get eaten anyway
- 1 28 oz can organic crushed tomatoes – $1.99
- 1 28 oz can organic diced tomatoes – $1.98
Note: use cooked off bacon fat and extra butter while cooking the sandwiches
Cost per Person (Family of 4)
1.99 + 1.98 + 2.65 + 0.3 + 1.2 + 0.2 + 4.99 + 1.25 + 0.25 + 4 + 7 = 25.61/family of 4 = $6.40/plate