This cozy Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup is completely hands-off, and so simple to make! Grab a sheet pan and a blender; this recipe creates a silky-smooth, creamy, and decadent bowl of soup to curl up with. This recipe is the perfect way to transition into fall and cooler weather when tomato season comes to a close, with virtually no effort!
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We grew a TON of tomatoes in our first year garden. In fact, the sheer amount of tomatoes we've had has been a bit overwhelming! We've frozen a lot of them, believe it or not, and the others have been turned into all sorts of things, from sauces to roasted tomato butter, and this delicious Sungold tomato pasta.
But finally, it's soup season, and we've been thinking about making this soup since last season! Inspired by our roasted creamy tomato soup, we wanted to make a version that made even fewer dishes and was even less work. Plus, we wanted to use up some of our garden-fresh red bell peppers as well. (There weren't very many of those 😅 better luck next year!)
If you love soups like we do, you might also want to check out our Finnish salmon soup (a hearty and comforting Finnish classic!) or this spicy vegetable soup that is actually DELICIOUS and will make you want to eat your veggies!
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Why We Love This Recipe
- Effortless preparation. Just cut the veggies into large pieces, season them generously, then let the oven do the work for about an hour before transferring everything to a blender to finish the job. So simple! While the veggies roast, clean up the kitchen, read a book, or make a grilled cheese or croutons for the soup!
- Rich flavors. The tomatoes, peppers, onions, and garlic get nice and roasted and sweet in the oven, with hints of balsamic, herbs, and lots of spices. The soup gets finished with cream for richness, and it's truly so delightful.
- Made with simple ingredients. This recipe uses sweet, end-of-season or in-season tomatoes and peppers, and pantry and kitchen staples. If tomatoes aren't in season, use high-quality canned tomatoes, or even tomatoes that were frozen during peak ripeness.
🍅Ingredients
Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information on substitutions below.
- Onion. Choose something sweet, like yellow onions, Vidalia, or Walla Walla.
- Tomatoes. Anything ripe and delicious that you enjoy the flavor of! We used a mixture of different tomatoes from our garden to add complexity to the flavor. A mixture of heirloom, plum, and even cherry tomatoes all work well. We even used a few Green Zebra tomatoes, a variety that is bred to stay green, to add some tangy, delicious flavor. Make sure your tomatoes are ripe, but not mushy, overripe, bruised, or damaged. In the winter, we use tomatoes that we froze and stored during peak season, or high-quality canned tomatoes!
- Bell peppers. We love red bell peppers because of their sweetness! You can use yellow or orange for a somewhat similar level of sweetness, though it won't be quite the same. We don't recommend using green bell peppers for this soup.
- Kosher salt. We always recommend Diamond Crystal Salt. It has nice, large salt crystals and is less salty than regular table salt, allowing you to control the salt level better.
- Broth. Any broth or stock of your choice. We often use chicken broth or stock, or even chicken bone broth, for extra protein, nutrients, and flavor.
- Garlic. We strongly suggest using fresh garlic for the best flavor. You can roast the heads whole (like we do with our roasted garlic butter) or just add in some whole cloves to the roasting pan.
- Dried seasonings. We used a mixture of Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes for the perfect balance of herbed, smoky, and a hint of heat in this recipe!
- Balsamic vinegar. The hint of sweet acidity really complements the tomatoes and peppers, and rounds out the richness of this soup.
- Oil. For coating the tomatoes, peppers, onions, and garlic when they roast in the oven. Any oil you like works great. We used olive oil.
- Heavy whipping cream. The not-so-secret ingredient that makes the soup so rich, creamy, and luscious! The richness of the cream also balances the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Fresh basil. While optional, it really gives the soup just what it needs to be extra delicious!
Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.
✨Substitutions & Variations
Here are a few suggestions on additional flavors to try or simple variations to this recipe.
- Use high-quality canned tomatoes; if you don't have fresh, flavorful tomatoes in season, you can use canned tomatoes instead. Choose a high-quality canned tomato like San Marzano tomatoes. If you're wondering, yes! You can absolutely roast canned tomatoes to deepen the flavor!
- Frozen tomatoes. As we mentioned above, when our summer garden starts producing more tomatoes than we can eat, we like to freeze them to use when the weather cools down. Just wash, de-stem, and core your tomatoes before freezing them whole. Don't worry about peeling them! When it comes time to roast them, no need to thaw or cut the tomatoes; just roast them whole. You will want some extra time to roast them in the oven if cooking from frozen, about 15-20 minutes extra.
- Spicy. Add extra red pepper flakes, some cayenne pepper, chili powder, or even Calabrian chili peppers for extra heat.
- Dairy-free. Use your favorite plant-based cream substitute, like coconut cream, instead of heavy cream to make this recipe without dairy.
- Vegan. Follow all of the steps to make this recipe dairy-free, and be sure to use a vegetable-based broth or stock.
- Deeper tomato flavor. Sauté tomato paste in butter or oil on the stovetop until the tomato paste becomes a darker, deeper color while the vegetables roast. Add the roasted tomato paste to the blender when it comes to blend up the soup for a richer, slightly sweeter tomato flavor. You can also add sun-dried tomatoes!
This recipe hasn't been tested with any other substitutions or variations, so we can't guarantee any results. If you make a change, let us know how it goes in the comments below!
🔪Prep Work
- Wash, core, and quarter or half the fresh tomatoes, depending on their size.
- Cut the tops off the red bell peppers, remove the cores, and cut them in half lengthwise.
- Quarter the onions.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Measure out all remaining seasonings and ingredients.
📋How to Make Roasted Tomato Red Pepper Soup
- Step 1: Add all of the tomatoes, garlic, onions, and bell peppers to baking sheet (s), and drizzle with oil, balsamic vinegar, kosher salt, and seasonings. Toss to coat!
- Step 1: We divided between two pans to ensure everything was in a single layer for roasting.
Pro Tip
We often cook using a small convection oven instead of turning on our large oven, so we had to divide the vegetables, oil, salt, and seasonings between two baking sheets to avoid overcrowding the pan!
- Step 2: Roast for 45-60 minutes.
- Step 2: You'll know you're done when the veggies are nice and roasted and charred.
- Step 3: Peel the papery charred skin off the red bell peppers, and anything that feels too charred off the onions, and discard.
- Step 4: Add the roasted tomatoes and their juices, red bell peppers, onions, and garlic to a blender with chicken stock and basil. Don't add the heavy cream just yet!
- Step 5: Blend until the mixture is silky smooth. This will probably take about 5-6 minutes. Then, add in the heavy cream and blend again for another 30 seconds just to get it fully incorporated.
Pro Tip
An immersion blender also works well for blending, but we prefer the blender because it's easier!
Taste and adjust seasonings, then serve! We like to drizzle with olive oil, more cream, and top with more fresh basil and freshly cracked black pepper. Serve with bread, a grilled cheese, or croutons and enjoy!
Leftover tomatoes?
Make this!
If you still have extra tomatoes to use up, try this rich and delicious tomato butter!
Storage
Fridge Storage
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat on the stovetop, add to a stock pot or Dutch oven and simmer gently until warmed through.
In the microwave, microwave at 50% power to avoid splattering until warmed through.
Freezing
To freeze, we'd recommend omitting the heavy cream or adding it to individual bowls when serving. Freezing the cream (or most dairy, for that matter) can impact the soup's texture. Allow the soup to cool completely before transferring it to a freezer-safe container, and freeze for up to 3-6 months.
Thaw in the fridge, and reheat gently before serving again.
More tomato inspiration
Pasta style!
This time, we're using Sungolds, which our garden tends to pump out until the bitter (and freezing!) end!
Expert Tips
- Use the best-tasting ingredients you can find! Since this recipe has just a few ingredients, use the best ones you can find. Whenever possible, use fresh, ripe, in-season tomatoes. With that being said, if tomatoes are out of season, opt for high-quality canned tomatoes or frozen tomatoes instead.
- Make sure your blender is heat-safe. Alternatively, leave the top slightly open when blending. There's a lot of heat in the blender, and this creates a lot of pressure, which can cause the lid to pop off and leave you with a hot and dangerous mess!
- Don't boil once the cream is added! Be careful when reheating the soup too quickly once you've added the cream. Heating too much (boiling) can cause the cream to curdle.
💬Common Questions
If you follow our recipe, the fats and cream will ensure that you have a perfectly balanced and rich soup. However, if it still tastes too acidic for some reason, try adding a bit of sugar or a bit more cream to balance the acidity. You can also grate in Parmesan cheese!
If you prefer a really thick and rich soup, dial back on the amount of broth you add. You can always add more, but you can't take it away. You can also swap some of the broth for the heavy cream for a thicker, richer, and more indulgent soup.
🍲More Cozy Soups and Stews
Soup is one of our favorite foods; find a new favorite!
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📖 Recipe
Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
Equipment
- high speed blender or immersion blender
Ingredients
- 4 pounds tomatoes any kind, cored and quartered
- 4 large red bell peppers about 1 pound, seeded and quartered
- 2 medium yellow onions quartered
- 14-16 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1.5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2-3 teaspoons kosher salt to taste
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional and to taste
- 3 cups broth
- handful of fresh basil leaves optional
- 1 cup heavy cream
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Arrange the tomatoes, red peppers, onions, and garlic on a baking sheet in a single layer. If necessary, you may need to divide the produce between two trays to give them enough space to roast.4 pounds tomatoes, 4 large red bell peppers, 2 medium yellow onions, 14-16 cloves garlic
- Drizzle everything with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then season with salt, and seasonings. Roast for 45-60 minutes until the veggies are nice and charred.2 tablespoons olive oil, 1.5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 2-3 teaspoons kosher salt, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Peel the papery charred skin off the red bell peppers, and anything that feels too charred off the onions, and discard.
- Add the roasted tomatoes and their juices, red bell peppers, onions, and garlic to a blender with chicken stock and basil. Blend until the mixture is silky smooth. This will probably take about 5-6 minutes.3 cups broth, handful of fresh basil leaves
- Then, add in the heavy cream and blend again for another 30 seconds just to get it fully incorporated.1 cup heavy cream
- Taste and adjust seasonings, then serve! We like to drizzle with olive oil, more cream, and top with more fresh basil and freshly cracked black pepper. Serve with bread, a grilled cheese, or croutons and enjoy!black pepper
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat on the stovetop, add to a stock pot or Dutch oven and simmer gently until warmed through.
Save This Recipe! 💌
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Notes
- Use the best-tasting ingredients you can find! Since this recipe has just a few ingredients, use the best ones you can find. Whenever possible, use fresh, ripe, in-season tomatoes. With that being said, if tomatoes are out of season, opt for high-quality canned tomatoes or frozen tomatoes instead.
- Make sure your blender is heat-safe. Alternatively, leave the top slightly open when blending. There's a lot of heat in the blender, and this creates a lot of pressure, which can cause the lid to pop off and leave you with a hot and dangerous mess!
- Don't boil once the cream is added! Be careful when reheating the soup too quickly once you've added the cream. Heating too much (boiling) can cause the cream to curdle.
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