Canned tomato soup has a flavor all its own. As the occasional snack or meal, you may enjoy it exactly as it comes. If you eat it often, however, chance are you will begin to want more variety in your soup. You do not need to switch to a different type of soup for this culinary complexity, however. Using basic kitchen ingredients, you can make endless variations on your basic canned tomato soup.

Decide on a flavor theme for your canned tomato soup. While you might enjoy garlic, cream, smoked paprika, chili flakes, onions and basil, adding all of them to your soup will overwhelm it. Instead, select a few flavors that work together. For example, you might decide to go with garlic and chili flakes.

Prepare any ingredients you wish to add to your soup, if necessary. If you only want to add spices, this is not necessary. If, however, you want to add garlic, you must chop and saute (or roast) it first.

Heat the soup in a saucepan along with the other ingredients you choose to add. There are a few exceptions to this. Delicate items like fresh basil leaves or chopped chives should go on last as a finishing touch. If you wish to add items that should not be incorporated into the soup, like a dollop of creme fraiche or goat cheese, leave these out for now too.

Stir the soup frequently as you heat it, and taste it regularly to assess whether to add more of any ingredient. Do so if necessary.

Remove the soup from the heat and ladle it into a bowl when it is done to your liking. Top it with any final touches such as creme fraiche, basil leaves, crostini or sprinkled breadcrumbs.