My grandmother made this velvety 3-ingredient bowl every spring. It tastes like a warm hug and costs almost nothing to throw together.

This slow cooker 3-ingredient depression era tomato soup is my modern spin on something my grandmother used to make every spring when money was tight but tomatoes were plentiful. It’s silky, comforting, and tastes like a warm hug, yet it costs almost nothing to throw together and quietly bubbles away while you live your life. With just canned tomatoes, a splash of milk, and a generous knob of butter, the slow cooker does all the work, turning pantry basics into a velvety orange-red soup that feels way more special than the ingredient list lets on.

I like to ladle this tomato soup straight from the slow cooker into warm bowls and serve it with grilled cheese sandwiches or buttery toast for dunking. A simple green salad or sliced cucumbers on the side makes it feel like a complete meal without much extra effort. If you want to stretch it further, serve with crusty bread, crackers, or a scoop of cooked rice or small pasta stirred into each bowl. A little black pepper or a sprinkle of grated cheese on top is nice, but totally optional.

Servings: 4

2 cans (28 ounces each) whole peeled tomatoes, undrained

Add the canned whole peeled tomatoes with all their juices to a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. If you want a smoother texture from the start, gently crush the tomatoes in the slow cooker with a spoon or potato masher.

Dot the butter pieces evenly over the tomatoes. Cover the slow cooker with the lid.

Cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until the tomatoes are very soft and the butter has melted into the juices. You should see small golden pools of butter on top and steam when you lift the lid.

Blend the soup directly in the slow cooker with an immersion blender until completely smooth and velvety. Take your time here; the longer you blend, the silkier it will be. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, carefully transfer the hot mixture to a regular blender in batches, venting the lid and covering it with a towel, then return the blended soup to the slow cooker.)

Once the tomato-butter mixture is smooth, switch the slow cooker to the WARM setting, or LOW if your slow cooker does not have a WARM option.

Slowly pour in the room-temperature or slightly warmed milk while stirring constantly. This helps create that bright orange-red color with a gentle creamy swirl and keeps the milk from curdling.

Taste and season with salt and black pepper if using. Stir again until everything is well combined and you see a few melted pools of butter resting on the surface.

Cover and let the soup sit on WARM for 10 to 15 minutes to let the flavors meld and the texture become even more velvety. Ladle into bowls and serve hot, straight from the slow cooker.

To keep this close to the old-fashioned, almost-free version my grandmother made, the core recipe sticks to just tomatoes, butter, and milk, but you can still tweak it a bit without losing the spirit of the dish. For extra richness, swap part of the milk for half-and-half or evaporated milk; just warm it first and add it at the end the same way. If you only have crushed or diced canned tomatoes, those will work too—just follow the same directions and blend until smooth. For a slightly deeper flavor, you can stir in a small pinch of sugar or baking soda after blending if the tomatoes taste very acidic. To bulk it up, add cooked rice, small pasta, or leftover roasted vegetables to individual bowls right before serving so they don’t overcook in the slow cooker. If you need a dairy-free version, use a neutral, unsweetened plant milk with some fat (like oat or soy) and a plant-based butter; note that the flavor and look will change slightly, but the method is the same. Food safety tips: Keep the soup out of the temperature “danger zone” (40°F–140°F) by refrigerating leftovers within 2 hours of cooking. Cool it in shallow containers so it chills faster, and use within 3 to 4 days, reheating until steaming hot before serving. When blending hot soup, never fill a blender more than halfway, and always vent the lid and cover it with a towel to avoid steam buildup and splatters. Add the milk only after the long cooking time is finished and the heat is turned down to WARM or LOW to reduce the risk of curdling. If the milk does separate slightly, you can usually bring it back together by blending again until smooth.