What makes this roasted red pepper soup better than the rest? It features roasted red peppers and tomatoes, caramelized sweet onions, and freshly roasted whole garlic cloves to create the most flavorful tomato soup you’ll ever taste! Vegan and gluten-free.
*This recipe was originally posted on 5/18/15, but I updated it with better recipe instructions on 9/15/19.
First, you should check out this Ultimate Guide to Veganism! I think you’ll find it to be extremely helpful if you’re thinking about going vegan, if you’re currently in the process of transitioning to veganism, or if you have friends or family members who are vegan. Next, join this Easy Vegan Recipes Facebook group for even more delicious vegan recipes!
This is the best roasted red pepper soup and I think you’re going to love it just as much as I do! What makes this soup better than all the other soups out there? This soup has roasted red bell peppers and roasted tomatoes in it, it’s the most flavorful and addicting combination!
Also, you don’t have to worry about trying to roast the bell peppers over a flame on the stove top. Everything gets popped into the oven together so it saves you time and effort without losing flavor.
This red pepper soup is rich and creamy (without using any butter or heavy cream!), and the addition of roasted onions and roasted garlic make it taste downright incredible! Wait till you smell the aroma coming from the oven while the veggies are roasting, it’s going to make your mouth water. Enjoy a big bowl with a crusty slice of whole grain bread or a fresh baguette for a super-satisfying meal.
How to Make Red Pepper Soup
Step #1 – Begin by preheating the oven to 375 degrees. Slice the tomatoes into wedges and discard the stems. Slice the top off the red peppers, remove the seeds, and cut the peppers in half. Peel the onion and quarter it. Place all of these ingredients on two parchment-lined trays.
Step #2 – Next, prep the head of garlic by peeling off the outer layers of skin until you get to the cloves. Then slice off the top of the head and make sure the tips of each garlic clove is exposed. Drizzle 1-2 tsps over the garlic cloves.Then put the garlic head in a garlic roaster, or you could wrap the head in a piece of parchment paper and fold it to seal it. Put the garloc pouch on one of the trays with the other vegetables. You can see other methods of roasting garlic, here.
Step #3 – Drizzle 1-2 tbsps of low-sodium vegetable broth (this Pacific brand of vegetable broth is my favorite) over the vegetables and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Bake the vegetables for 45-60 minutes or until everything is soft and tender.
Step #4 – Remove the trays from the oven and let the vegetables cool for a few minutes. Carefully transfer the roasted vegetables into a large, high-powered blender. Depending on how big your blender is, you might have to do this in two batches.
Step #5 – Add two cups of low-sodium vegetable broth, dried thyme, red pepper flakes, and fresh basil to the blender with the vegetables. Blend on high until it’s smooth and creamy.
Step #6 – Pour the pureed soup into a 5-quart dutch oven and add the remaining two cups of vegetable broth and unsweetened coconut milk. Bring the soup to a low simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, and let it cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the soup with toasted slices of bread to dip and enjoy!
Do You Have to Peel Peppers for Soup?
If you roast peppers over a burner until you get large black patches, than, yes, you’d have to peel the black skin off. However, this roasted red pepper soup recipe is so much easier because you just roast the peppers in the oven until sweet and tender and you don’t have to peel the skin.
Why Do You Roast Peppers?
You roast bell peppers to develop their flavor! Roasting the bell pepper gives it the most delicious sweet flavor that you’re going to love!
Roasted Red Pepper Soup Calories
This baked red pepper and tomato soup is extremely low-calorie, coming in at only 131 calories per serving (about one cup). If you’d like more satisfying low-calorie vegan recipes, check out this list.
Is This Soup Allergy-Friendly?
Yes, this soup is also allergy friendly because it’s naturally dairy-free, gluten-free, and oil-free. It’s also plant-based, and it can be nut-free (depending on which type of plant milk you use).
What Should You Serve With The Soup?
Toasted slices of easy to make no-knead bread or ripped off hunks of a crusty baguette are 100% required for dunking into this roasted pepper soup! Vegan grilled cheese sandwiches would be delicious with the soup too.
Another tasty option is a bowl of roasted red pepper tomato soup with baked potatoes or sweet potatoes and an avocado arugula cherry tomato salad on the side for a super filling meal.
Notes & Substitutions
- Most fire-roasted pepper soup recipes call for you to roast peppers over a flame on the stove top. You could do that or you could just do it the easy way and roast the bell peppers in the oven until perfectly tender. If you don’t want to do either of those options, you could substitute (1) 11 oz drained jar of fire-roasted red peppers instead.
- I like to roast a whole head of garlic (using this garlic roaster so I don’t have to use any aluminum foil) when I make this roasted red bell pepper soup even though you only need 4 cloves for the soup. You can use the rest of the roasted garlic mashed and spread on toasted slices of bread, add it to vegan garlic aioli, sprinkle the cloves over this gluten-free quinoa crust pizza, or freeze the cloves for a future recipe.
- If you blend the soup using a high-powered blender (like this one that I use), then you don’t need to blanch the tomatoes first and then peel them before roasting them. The peels will be blended up into the soup and you’ll never even know they’re there. Be aware, if you plan to use an immersion hand stick blender, it’s going to take quite a while to blend all this soup into a smooth puree and you might still end up with a chunky texture.
- Store the leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or freeze it for a future meal. You could enjoy the leftovers as soup or toss it with hot pasta for a delicious meal!
Tips to Make the Best Red Pepper Tomato Soup
- Use fresh basil, not dried basil. Fresh basil gives this roasted red pepper tomato soup the most delicious fresh herby flavor.
- Don’t use a plant milk that tastes sweet. Make sure that the carton says it’s unsweetened, you don’t want to end up with a sweet tomato soup.
- Most tomato soup recipes call for added sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes, but I find that roasting the tomatoes makes them super sweet, so you don’t really need to add sugar. Plus, I don’t like adding sugar if I can avoid it. However, if you want to add some sweetness, I would add 1 tsp of maple syrup.
- If you’d like to make this soup thicker and more filling, boil one peeled and chopped russet potato (or two cups of cooked cauliflower for a low-carb option) until soft and then add it to the blender with the rest of the cooked vegetables. You may need to add more broth to help it blend.
- If you’d like to make a spicy red pepper soup, add cayenne pepper to taste. Start with an 1/8 tsp and add more to taste.
More Vegan Bell Pepper Recipes You’ll Love!
Vegan Sausage with Peppers, Onions, and Rice
Copycat Panera Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Roasted Pepper & Mushroom Hummus Wraps
Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup
Equipment
- Two Large Baking Trays
- High-Powered Blender
- 5-Quart Dutch Oven or Large Soup Pot
Ingredients
- 8 large tomatoes quartered and stems removed
- 2 large red peppers seeded and stems removed
- 1 medium red onion quartered
- 1 head of garlic (You only need 4 garlic cloves for this recipe)
- 2-3 tbsp low-sodium vegetable broth (or olive oil)
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk (from a can)
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink sea salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Begin by preheating the oven to 375 degrees. Slice the tomatoes into wedges and discard the stems. Slice the top off the red peppers, remove the seeds, and cut the peppers in half. Peel the onion and quarter it. Place all of these ingredients on two parchment-lined trays.
- Next, prep the head of garlic by peeling off the outer layers of skin until you get to the cloves. Then slice off the top of the head and make sure the tips of each garlic clove is exposed. Drizzle 1-2 tsps over the garlic cloves and use your fingers to get it into all of the cracks and crevices.Then put the garlic head in a garlic roaster, or you could wrap the head in a piece of parchment paper and fold it to seal it. Put the garloc pouch on one of the trays with the other vegetables. You can see other methods of roasting garlic, here.
- Drizzle 1-2 tbsps of low-sodium vegetable broth or olive oil over the vegetables and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Bake the vegetables for 45-60 minutes or until everything is soft and tender (Make sure you check it at 40-45 minutes to make sure nothing is burning).
- Remove the trays from the oven and let the vegetables cool for a few minutes. Carefully transfer the roasted vegetables into a large, high-powered blender. Squeeze 4 of the garlic cloves out of the skin and add it to the blender. (Depending on how big your blender is, you might have to do this in two batches.)
- Add two cups of low-sodium vegetable broth, dried thyme, red pepper flakes, and fresh basil to the blender with the vegetables. Blend on high until it’s smooth and creamy.
- Pour the pureed soup into a 5-quart dutch oven and add the remaining two cups of vegetable broth and unsweetened coconut milk. Bring the soup to a low simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, and let it cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the soup with toasted slices of bread to dip and enjoy!
Notes
- Most fire-roasted red pepper soup recipes call for you to roast peppers over a flame on the stove top. You could do that or you could just do it the easy way and roast the bell peppers in the oven until perfectly tender. If you don't want to do either of those options, you could substitute (1) 11 oz drained jar of fire-roasted red peppers instead.
- I like to roast a whole head of garlic (using this garlic roaster so I don't have to use any aluminum foil) when I make this roasted red bell pepper soup even though you only need 4 cloves for the soup. Roasted garlic is addicting and you can use the rest to mashed and spread on toasted slices of bread, add it to vegan garlic aioli, sprinkle the cloves over this gluten-free quinoa crust pizza, or freeze the cloves for a future recipe.
- If you blend the soup using a high-powered blender (like this one that I use), then you don't need to blanch the tomatoes first and then peel them before roasting them. The peels will be blended up into the soup and you'll never even know they're there. Be aware, if you plan to use an immersion hand stick blender, it's going to take quite a while to blend all this soup into a smooth puree and you might still end up with a chunky texture.
- Use fresh basil, not dried basil. Fresh basil gives this roasted red pepper tomato soup the most delicious fresh flavor.
- Don't use a plant milk that tastes sweet. Make sure that the carton says it's unsweetened, you don't want a sweet tomato soup.
- Most tomato soup recipes call for added sugar to balance the acidity but I find that roasting the tomatoes makes them super sweet. Plus, I don't like adding sugar if I can avoid it.
- If you'd like to make this soup a little more filling, boil one peeled and chopped russet potato until soft and then add it to the blender with the rest of the cooked vegetables. You may need to add more broth to help it blend.
- Store the leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or freeze it for a future meal. You could enjoy the leftovers as soup or toss it with hot pasta for a delicious meal!
