The Tomato Soup Breakfast Shortcut That Turns Leftovers Into A Bistro-Worthy Meal

In my humble opinion, there is just one tomato-based dish more comforting than tomato soup: shakshuka. The dish originated in North Africa and is now popular across the Middle East, and it consists of perfectly poached eggs in a flavorful tomato sauce. Sometimes topped with ingredients like feta and fresh parsley, it's best served with pita or crusty bread and makes for a perfect breakfast. Thankfully, you can actually use leftover homemade or store-bought tomato soup to make it and save a ton of time in the process.

Normally, to make shakshuka, you'd start by sauteing vegetables like onions, garlic, and peppers before adding spices and canned or fresh tomatoes. But when you use tomato soup, you can skip all that. Just warm it up and season it to taste. Shakshuka most commonly includes spices like cumin, coriander, or paprika, all of which will immediately take your tomato soup in a North African direction. You could also throw in mild chili powder for extra flavor, or if you want it spicy, add a pinch of cayenne.

Then make little wells in the sauce and gently drop a cracked egg in each. (Pro tip: Crack your eggs in a separate bowl before adding them so you can easily pick up any stray shell pieces.) A chef once told me the secret to great shakshuka is that it should feel like a hug. Thanks to leftover comfort food tomato soup, it can.

Rather than using North African and Middle Eastern flavors, you can also give eggs the pizza treatment for an Italian twist on shakshuka. With eggs alla pizzaiola, you can season your tomato soup with basil and finish it with fresh mozzarella. If shakshuka isn't your thing, there are so many other meals you can make with leftover tomato soup. Pasta sauce is the easy answer — just add Italian seasonings and a little acid in the form of wine or fresh lemon to make it pop and taste less soup-like. Another easy answer is to use it as a base for a richer soup like lasagna soup or minestrone.

Basically, anywhere you'd usually use tomato sauce is a good idea: meatloaf, tacos, sloppy Joes, or even stir-fries. There is one more unexpected option: tomato soup cake. Sure, be skeptical, but it's actually a vintage cake you need to make. Flavored with warm flavors like allspice, cinnamon, and cloves, this old-school classic is a real treat. Whether in shakshuka, cake, or by itself with a grilled cheese, there are so many things you can do with tomato soup.