Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
This recipe for roasted red pepper and tomato soup celebrates the end of summer heat. Make a giant batch to freeze for cooler weather!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 10, 2024
This roasted red pepper and tomato soup is more than just a recipe—it’s a celebration of the end of the summer heat. It’s the option in between gazpacho and creamy tomato soup. As the temperature finally calms down, I implore you to make this soup with the last ripe bell peppers and tomatoes.
This lovely, light soup is slightly spicy. It tastes more strongly of roasted red peppers than tomatoes, and the light smokiness brings Spanish cuisine to mind. It’s vegan as written, though you certainly add cream for a creamier soup. Perhaps the best thing about this soup is that it freezes well for later.
I originally shared this recipe over ten years ago on a rainy day with my dog, Cookie, by my side. It’s still one of my favorites, and revisiting it brings those moments back to life. I really miss my pup.
We’re growing both peppers and tomatoes in our backyard garden this year, though not enough to make a proper batch of this soup. Grace’s favorite thing to do is, “Pick some ’matoes,” and she checks for more cherry tomatoes at least twice a day. She pops them straight into her mouth and can’t get enough.
Now that I’ve bottled up my favorite summer flavors, I’ll soon be ready for creamy fall bisques and hearty vegetarian chili. What are you making next?
How to Make Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
You’ll find the full recipe below. To summarize, you’ll first roast all of the produce on two baking sheets—tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and garlic. Then, you’ll bring vegetable broth to a boil, add all of the roasted veggies, and simmer for about 10 minutes to meld the flavors. Lastly, blend the soup with an immersion blender or stand blender.
Recipe Variations
This red pepper and tomato soup is wonderfully flavorful and light as written. Here are a couple of variations that you might enjoy as well.
Make it creamy: For a more creamy texture and mellow flavor, blend some heavy cream or half and half into the soup (see the recipe notes for suggested amounts). Or, you can serve individual bowls with a drizzle of cream, or a dollop of sour cream or vegan sour cream.
Add fresh basil: For even more garden-fresh flavor, add anywhere between 5 to 15 fresh basil leaves to the blender at the end. Start with 5, blend, and add more if desired.
Watch How to Make Red Pepper & Tomato Soup
How to Freeze Soup for Later
This soup yields a large batch and freezes well. I recommend freezing soup in glass canning jars. Fill them no further than the freezer line (they need at least one inch of room at the top for expansion). Lightly screw the lids on, freeze fully, and then finish screwing the lids on (otherwise, pressure will build during the freezing process).
To defrost, transfer the jar to the refrigerator overnight. I love to use small, half-pint canning jars for freezing single servings of soup, which defrost more quickly than larger containers.
What to Serve with Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
I’ll vouch that this soup goes great with grilled cheese sandwiches and simple quesadillas. For a dairy-free option, try my hummus quesadillas. I also love it with avocado toast and basically any green salad.
More Warming Soups to Make
Here are just a few more of my favorite tomato-based soups and stews on Cookie and Kate. These are all designed for canned tomatoes rather than fresh.
- Classic Minestrone Soup
- Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Pasta and Beans)
- Seriously Good Vegetable Soup
- Tomato Soup (Lightened Up!)
- Tortilla Soup
View more soup and stew recipes here. As always, please let me know how your recipe turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
Roasted red pepper and tomato soup to celebrate the end of summer heat. Make a giant batch to freeze for cooler weather! Recipe yields a lot of soup (about 12 cups), and leftovers freeze well.
Ingredients
- 8 to 9 medium tomatoes (about 5 pounds), cored and quartered
- 3 red bell peppers (about 1 pound), seeded and quartered
- 2 small yellow onions, cut into wedges about ¾″ wide on the outer edges
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 4 cups (32 ounces) vegetable broth
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- Pinch of cayenne pepper (omit if sensitive to spice)
- Fine salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit with racks in the upper third and middle of the oven. Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the tomatoes on one of the prepared baking sheets. Place the bell peppers and onions on the other baking sheet. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over each baking sheet.
- Gently toss the tomatoes until lightly coated in oil, then position the tomatoes so the skin sides are facing down. Set aside.
- Gently toss the onions and red peppers until they are lightly coated in oil (try to keep the onion wedges intact as best you can). Position the red peppers with the skin sides facing down. Place the unpeeled garlic cloves on the sheet, too.
- Place the tomatoes on the top rack of the oven and the peppers and onion on the middle rack. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the vegetables are tender throughout and turning nicely golden on the edges.
- When the vegetables are done, bring the vegetable broth to boil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Peel your garlic and toss it in. Add the roasted vegetables, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, if using, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Simmer for 10 minutes, reducing heat as necessary to maintain a steady simmer.
- Purée the soup using an immersion blender or transfer the soup to a blender in batches, several cups at a time. Season to taste with salt (I added another ½ teaspoon) and pepper. This soup keeps well, covered and refrigerated, for 4 days in the refrigerator, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Notes
Adapted from Heidi Swanson’s recipe for roasted tomato and red bell pepper soup in Super Natural Cooking and Sara of Sprouted Kitchen’s recipe for roasted tomato soup.
Make it creamy option: Add 2 tablespoons heavy cream or ¼ cup half and half to the soup for a more creamy texture and mellow flavor (add more to taste). Or, serve bowls with a dollop of sour cream or vegan sour cream.
Basil variation: Add anywhere between 5 to 15 fresh basil leaves to the blender (start with less, taste, and add more as desired).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I add fresh cilantro to my tomato soup recipe for a Mexican flavor.
question, do you leave the roasted tomatoe skins on?
Hi Sharon, I leave the skins on. The texture doesn’t bother me.
Made this soup & my husband told me it is the best tomato soup he’s ever had!
Made this soup & my husband told me it is the best tomato soup he’s ever had!
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but wonder – will the tomatoes cause the cream to curdle?
Hi Sherri, the basic recipe doesn’t call for cream, but I have tested adding it in this way: Add 2 tablespoons heavy cream or ¼ cup half and half to the soup for a more creamy texture and mellow flavor (add more to taste). Or, serve bowls with a dollop of sour cream or vegan sour cream. For any of these options, if you add at the end of cooking it blends well and doesn’t curdle.
I’ve doubled on everything,and taste good
Kate, I love your recipes my cooking has been elevated with C& K recipes. Thank you!!!
I have been organic for over fifty years and I am most discerning when it comes to good veggies.
I roasted heirloom tomatoes and red bell peppers and the soup had a very bitter taste. I think it was from the bell peppers as they did not taste sweet raw. I got all the ingredients from my local Farmer’s Market.
I am considering using jarred organic roasted red peppers.
Trader Joes carries and organic tomato red pepper soup. I was hoping this would be similar.
What kind of tomatoes did you use in this recipe? Any suggestions you have for me will be deeply appreciated.
Again, thank you!
Hi Cynthia, I just made this last night with globe tomatoes from our garden and store-bought red peppers roasted in the oven, and it wasn’t bitter. I have made it in the winter with canned fire-roasted tomatoes and jarred roasted red peppers, and it turns out fine. The Trader Joe’s boxed soup contains both milk and cane sugar, so if you’re comparing it to that, it will be less sweet and creamy. I hope this helps!
Thank you for sharing this great recipe! I was surprised how little work was required. My wife is not a big fan of vegetables, but she loved this soup and ate a large serving at dinner.
I did make some modifications:
– I included the pealed cloves from an entire garlic bulb when roasting the peepers and onions.
– I sprinkled about 3-4 tsp of smoked paprika equality over the sliced tomatoes and peepers and onions. Also sprinkled both with a bit of salt and fresh ground black peeper. The result was a great flavor blend for slightly spicy soup.
– In my oven (known to be a bit on the low side) I roasted the vegetables for about 45-50 min, at which time there was just the slightest caramelization on the3 edges.
– I topped each serving with a dollop of plan low-fat yogurt. I imagine sour cream would have been good as well.
I can’t wait to try some of your other soup recipes!
Just made this for my family! It is absolutely delicious!!!
Delicious, thank you for the recipe. Managed to use up the last of my tomatoes from the garden and freeze some for the colder weather
I have a really bad cold at the moment so I made this and a grilled cheese to dip with and it was amazing! My grandma used to make a similar soup when I was in high school so it was really nostalgic :) Thank you!
Grilled cheese and this soup is the best, especially if you are under the weather. Hope you are feeling better soon and this gave you some comfort.
With just a few ingredients and not much prep, this soup has so much amazing flavour. Instead of veg broth I used chicken broth that I had on hand. Rather than cayenne, I added a couple slices of minced pickled jalapeño. Thank you for sharing such a yummy recipe!