Roasted Red Pepper Soup is boldly flavored with tomatoes, parmesan cheese, herbs, seasonings, and of course plenty of freshly roasted red peppers! This silky smooth and creamy homemade soup is a whole lot easier to make than you may think.
Check out more of my favorite meatless soup recipes like Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Potato Leek Soup and classic Vegetable Soup.
Table of Contents
There are two key components to perfectly made Roasted Red Pepper Soup – the thick, rich consistency and the bold flavor!
My recipe is different from most because we are starting with fresh red peppers. Roasted peppers in the oven is not difficult, so there’s no need for this shortcut! We get big, fresh flavor and less oil by throwing them into the oven ourselves.
Truly, this Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup recipe is pretty foolproof.
If you take a quick look at the ingredients below, you may notice there are a good amount of veggies in this recipe! Red peppers, tomatoes, onions, carrots and celery are the key players that all offer amazing flavor as well as nutritional value.
This vegetarian soup recipe is equal parts comforting and healthy. The best of both worlds!
Why we love this Roasted Red Pepper Soup:
- Oh so smooth: The silky smooth consistency is pretty remarkable. You’ll love every creamy spoonful – or dip your grilled cheese or crusty No Knead Artisan Bread into it!
- Flavorful: Garlic, parmesan, herbs and seasonings help to enhance all of the natural flavors at play in this soup. No jarred, store-bought roasted red peppers needed for our recipe!
- Easy: You can have this homemade soup ready in under an hour with no fuss.
Roasted Red Pepper Soup Ingredients:
- Red Peppers – Don’t swap these with any other color of pepper (that goes without saying, right??)
- Tomatoes – If you’re not a tomato fan, you can omit them and substitute them with more red peppers, but they do help to round out the flavor.
- Celery – Always give your celery a light rinse with water to remove any residue.
- Onion – Use a white or yellow onion.
- Carrots – They’ll be blended with all of the other ingredients, so your chopping doesn’t need to be too exact.
- Broth – I always recommend using low sodium broth, then adding more salt as you see fit. Vegetable broth will keep this soup vegetarian, but you can use chicken broth instead if preferred.
- Parmesan – Freshly grated parmesan is preferred for the best flavor and consistency.
- Garlic – In a pinch, you can swap this with garlic powder.
- Herbs – If you’d prefer to use fresh herbs, simply add them at the very end of cooking, not at the beginning.
- Sugar – Just a little bit is used to create a very subtle sweetness in the recipe.
- Seasonings – All you’ll need is a little crushed red pepper and salt.
- Cream – Any kind of cream will work.
How to Make Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Here’s a quick look at how to make the very best red pepper soup! Scroll to the bottom of this page for exact ingredient measurements and step-by-step instructions.
- Chop the peppers and tomatoes. Spread them in even layers on prepared baking sheets.
- Roast the veggies at 400°F for 30-40 minutes until starting to char.
- Add some oil to a pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the carrots, celery and onions. Mix in the garlic, herbs, and seasonings.
- Stir in the broth and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
- Blend the roasted peppers and tomatoes until smooth.
- Stir all ingredients together with sugar, cream, and parmesan.
Variations and Substitutions
- Peel your roasted peppers: this is an extra step I’m just not worried about taking, but you can half your peppers and roast until well-charred, then place in a large glass bowl covered with plastic wrap. Let them sit for 10-20 minutes, uncover and the skin should peel right off.
- Change the broth: If you’re not worried about keeping this soup vegetarian, you can swap the vegetable broth with chicken broth.
- Use fresh herbs: Just be sure to add them at the end up cook time rather than at the beginning.
- Use your favorite cream: Heavy cream will create the thickest consistency while something like half and half is a bit lighter, but still gets the job done.
How to Store Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Refrigerate any leftovers you have in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. Honestly, this is one of those dishes that gets better with time!
Reheat it for 30 seconds at a time in the microwave, stirring each time it stops, until warmed all the way through.
Can I freeze Roasted Red Pepper Soup?
You sure can! Freeze the entire soup in a zip-top bag or portion it into individual servings. Also, be sure to let the soup fully cool to room temperature prior to freezing.
In the freezer, roasted red pepper soup will keep for up to 6 months. Let it defrost in the fridge prior to reheating.
Serving suggestions:
Serve your roasted red pepper and tomato soup with any of these amazing recipes!
- Your favorite Sandwich or Pizza
- Cheesy Garlic Bread or classic Garlic Bread
- Or just a piece of crusty toasted bread!
Roasted Red Pepper Soup
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 2 lbs red bell peppers (about 5) 900 grams
- 1 ½ lbs roma or cherry tomatoes (about 6 roma) 681 grams
- oil, salt and freshly cracked pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 medium onion (finely diced)
- 2 large carrots (peeled and finely diced)
- 1 rib celery (finely diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1-2 teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ cup cream (any kind)
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment or tin foil. Spray with non stick spray.
- Cut peppers and tomatoes into 1.5-2" chunks (not necessary if using cherry or grape tomatoes). Place on the prepared baking sheet, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
- Roast for 30-40 minutes, just until beginning to brown. You want a little color on them, but we don't want them burnt! If the tomatoes brown too quickly, you can remove them from the pan and continue cooking the peppers.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery.
- Cook until onion is translucent, then add the garlic, basil, oregano, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt and red pepper flakes and cook 2 minutes.
- Stir in the broth and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
- When the peppers and tomatoes are done roasting, puree them in a blender or food processor along with any juices. Remove all the contents from the pot and puree as well.
- Combine the two purees in the same soup pot, adding in the sugar, cream and Parmesan. Taste and add salt and freshly cracker pepper as needed.
Notes
- Red peppers: I know that many roasted red pepper soup recipes use jarred store-bought roasted red peppers, and that is fine — but roasting red peppers is so easy I don’t know why you wouldn’t! That being said, if you’d rather substitute with 2 jars of already roasted red peppers, you can do that.
- Tomatoes: I prefer to use the smaller, more flavorful varieties of tomatoes since they add so much to this soup! If you don’t like tomatoes, you could easily add more peppers, but you may want to add more carrots and celery to balance out the flavor.
- Broth: vegetable broth keeps this recipe vegetarian (if you opt for a vegetarian cheese), but you can sub for chicken broth if that’s what you have.
- Herbs: feel free to substitute with fresh herbs if they are in season! Stir them in at the end of the cook time, not at the beginning.
- Fridge: you can refrigerate this soup up to 4-5 days — it just gets better with time!
- Freezer: this soup freezes perfectly! You can freeze it altogether or in individual portions. Freeze for up to 6 months (frozen foods are safe to eat indefinitely, but the longer they are in the freezer the poorer the quality).
Nutrition Information
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Ashley says
Love this recipe!
The Recipe Rebel says
Thanks!