Cozy vibes, but make it late summer? This Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup is the perfect recipe to bridge late summer to early fall. It’s creamy, sweet, savory and perfectly balanced. And it’s ready in under 45 minutes.
Serve it with crusty bread (like my No Knead Whole Wheat Bread), Cheesy Jalapeno Cheddar Focaccia or simply as a starter with one of my Main Dish Recipes.
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy and Rewarding: Roast everything on one sheet tray, then blend. Minimal mess, maximum flavor. A great spin on classic tomato soup.
- Seasonal: Cherry tomatoes and peppers are in such great form in late summer, and char‑roasting brings out their natural sweetness. I love making this soup in early fall as we transition from summer recipes to fall recipes.
- Versatile: This soup goes beautifully with crusty bread (or my Same Day Focaccia or Double Cheeked Buns), grilled cheese sandwiches, or a simple green salad. Works as a light lunch, a starter, or the main event!
Ingredients
This recipe comes together with just a handful of fresh ingredients and minimal effort. Here’s what you will need:
- Bell Pepper: Since we are making a tomato soup here, I would recommend using red bell peppers or red shepherd peppers. Red peppers are a must (yellow peppers are okay too). Don’t use green peppers here or else the soup will take on a muddy color.
- Fresh Tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes work well. They are juicy, sweet and delicious. But you can also chop up larger tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, San Marzano tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes or grape tomatoes. Also, check out my Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce if you’re in the mood for pasta.
- Onions: Ideally, a white onion or yellow onion should be used to avoid affecting the color of the soup. You can also use red onion if that’s what you have.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves are the way to go here. You can leave them whole. You can even roast unpeeled garlic cloves and remove the peel after roasting. This protects the garlic from burning in the hot oven. I wouldn’t use garlic powder.
- Fresh Herbs: I am using fresh thyme and fresh basil in this recipe. The thyme roasts along with the tomatoes and peppers, whereas the basil is blended into the soup later.
- Stock or Broth: Blending the tomatoes, peppers and onion will yield a pretty thick consistency so you need some liquid to thin it out for soup. I like using chicken broth, but you can use vegetable broth or vegetable stock and keep it entirely vegan or vegetarian.
Refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for a full list of ingredients and quantities.
How to Make this Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup Recipe
Step 1: Preheat and Prep. Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a rimmed baking tray or sheet pan with parchment. On the tray, add cherry tomatoes, sliced red bell pepper, quartered onion, cloves of garlic, and thyme. Drizzle generously with olive oil, then season with salt and black pepper. Toss a bit so everything is coated.
Step 2: Roast Until Charred. Place the baking sheet in the oven on the middle rack and roast for 25‑35 minutes, checking at about 25 minutes. You want the edges of the peppers and onions to show good char and the tomatoes to blister and soften. The flavours deepen significantly once there’s that smoky, roasted edge.
Step 3: Add to Blender. Carefully transfer the roasted veggies (and all the juices) into a blender. Add chicken stock and fresh basil leaves.
Step 4. Blend. Blend until the mixture is silky smooth. If it’s too thick, you can add a little more stock to reach your desired consistency.
Step 5: Warm and Adjust. Pour the blended soup into a pot over medium‑low heat. Warm through gently, stirring occasionally. At this point, taste and adjust seasoning: maybe more salt, a crack of black pepper, or even a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes are very acidic.
Step 6: Serve & Garnish. Once warmed and well‑seasoned, ladle into bowls. Garnish with croutons, fresh basil leaves, a drizzle of olive oil, or a little heavy cream.
Pairing and Menu Ideas
Enjoy this delicious and creamy soup on its own for a light lunch, or as an appetizer course.
But classics are a classic for a reason and serving a tomato soup with some bread just makes sense! Serve it with one of my loaf recipes (No Knead White bread, No Knead Whole Wheat Bread or No Knead Rosemary Parmesan Bread).
It also works well with a cheesy focaccia. Try my Mushroom Cheddar Focaccia, Cherry Tomato Feta Focaccia or Caramelized Onion Gruyere Focaccia.
If you prefer soft dinner rolls instead, try my Buttery Dinner Rolls or my Garlic Butter Dinner Rolls.
Expert Tips
- Why high heat? Roasting at a higher heat (425°F or slightly more) gives you good charring without drying things out. For a low and slow recipe instead, try my Roasted Tomato Sauce recipe or my Tomato Confit.
- If the soup seems too thin after blending, simmer it for a few minutes more to concentrate flavours. If too thick, thin with stock or even a splash of water.
- No blender? No problem. Just add everything to a pot and use an immersion blender. I would recommend waiting a bit for the roasted tomatoes and peppers to cool before using an immersion blender.
- Sieve it? If you don’t have a high-speed blender, you may end up with some skins and seeds in the finished soup. Feel free to pass the finished soup through a fine mesh sieve.
- Optional Ingredients:
- Make it spicy: add red pepper flakes, chili powder, or smoked paprika.
- Make it super creamy: swirl in heavy cream, sour cream, coconut milk or Greek yogurt.
- Change up the garnish: add some nuts (pine nuts work well), fried onions, chili crisp, or a splash of sherry vinegar.
- Add Protein: blend in some cottage cheese or canned white beans.
Recipe FAQs
You can make this soup a day in advance. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. It’s great for meal prep.
This soup freezes well. Once cooled, transfer to freezer‑safe containers (leave some headspace). Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat gently.
Other Appetizer Recipes
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Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
For the Roasting Tray
- 2 pints Cherry tomatoes
- 1 Large red bell pepper (cut into large chunks)
- 1 Onion (peeled and quartered) – white or yellow
- 3-5 Garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon Thyme leaves – stripped from the stem
- 3 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
Other Soup Ingredients
- 1 cup Chicken or vegetable broth
- ¼ cup Basil leaves
Garnish
- Croutons, heavy cream, olive oil, or basil leaves
Instructions
- Preheat and Prep. Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a rimmed baking tray or sheet pan with parchment. On the tray, add 2 pints Cherry tomatoes, 1 Large red bell pepper (cut into large chunks), 1 Onion (peeled and quartered) , 3-5 Garlic cloves, and 1 tablespoon Thyme leaves. Drizzle generously 3 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil, then season with 1 teaspoon Kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon Black pepper. Toss a bit so everything is coated.
- Roast Until Charred. Place the baking sheet in the oven on the middle rack and roast for 25‑35 minutes, checking at about 25 minutes. You want the edges of the peppers and onions to show good char and the tomatoes to blister and soften. The flavours deepen significantly once there’s that smoky, roasted edge.
- Add to Blender. Carefully transfer the roasted veggies (and all the juices) into a blender. Add 1 cup Chicken or vegetable broth and ¼ cup Basil leaves.
- Blend. Blend until the mixture is silky smooth. If it’s too thick, you can add a little more stock to reach your desired consistency.
- Warm and Adjust. Pour the blended soup into a pot over medium‑low heat. Warm through gently, stirring occasionally. At this point, taste and adjust seasoning: maybe more salt, a crack of black pepper, or even a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes are very acidic.
- Serve & Garnish. Once warmed and well‑seasoned, ladle into bowls. Garnish with Croutons, heavy cream, olive oil, or basil leaves.
Notes
- Bell Pepper: Since we are making a tomato soup here, I would recommend using red bell peppers or red shepherd peppers. Red peppers are a must (yellow peppers are okay too). Don’t use green peppers here or else the soup will take on a muddy color.
- Fresh Tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes work well. They are juicy, sweet and delicious. But you can also chop up larger tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, San Marzano tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes or grape tomatoes.
- Fresh Herbs: I am using fresh thyme and fresh basil in this recipe. The thyme roasts along with the tomatoes and peppers, whereas the basil is blended into the soup later.
- Stock or Broth: Blending the tomatoes, peppers and onion will yield a pretty thick consistency so you need some liquid to thin it out for soup. I like using chicken broth, but you can use vegetable broth or vegetable stock and keep it entirely vegan or vegetarian.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
