This rich and nutritious Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup is simply invigorating. Full of San Marzano tomatoes, straight from the volcanic soils of Italy, and freshly roasted red peppers. Add in the aromatic herbs and flavorful spices and you have the perfect bowl of soup.
Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup
In case you haven’t heard, I am the self-proclaimed Soup Queen of my castle. I could literally live on plant-based broth forever. Let me count the ways I love a steaming hot bowl of deliciousness in my face any day.
Fall, winter, summer, spring, I will never discriminate against soup, no matter the season. It’s delicious all year-round, just like this rich and unforgettable roasted red pepper tomato soup. Don’t let your life go by without trying this life-changing soup. Sounds dramatic, but my lands, just try it.
How to Make Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup
- Roast – Place the peppers on a baking sheet and roast them under the broiler. Prep and set aside for later use.
- Saute – Saute the onion with a sprinkle of salt and olive oil. Add the pepper flakes, smoked paprika, garlic, and tomatoes.
- Simmer – Gently simmer before adding in the roasted peppers. Add the bay leaves and stock. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Blend – Remove the bay leaf and puree with an immersion blender.
- Make the pesto – Combine all the pesto ingredients and drizzle over the soup. Enjoy!
How to Serve Tomato Soup
This is simply the best soup when served with a drizzle of Italian pesto, some fresh basil, homemade crusty vegan bread, and/or a sprinkling of fresh chives and toasted pine nuts. Of course, some vegan mozzarella would be delicious as well.
FAQ
- Why do you put baking soda in tomato soup? – I’ve actually never heard of that and it’s a new one for me! I don’t put baking soda in my tomato soup and there’s no need to. I mean, unless you really want to and then you go right ahead, I don’t see it hurting anything.
- Are roasted red peppers the same as bell peppers? – If you buy them in the store already roasted, they’re usually bell peppers unless they say otherwise or are labeled as spicy.
- Can I use other pepper colors for this roasted red pepper and tomato soup recipe? – Of course! It just won’t be “red pepper” soup, as the title might suggest. You’ll still get a nice red color from the luscious San Marzano tomatoes.
- How do you add flavor to tomato soup? – This nutritious tomato soup recipe is already bursting with flavor. Roasting your own vegetables makes a huge difference in flavor. Plus, all those fresh herbs add an array of rich flavor that won’t leave you feeling like the soup is bland.
- Can I make this tomato soup creamy? – If you want to make a creamy red pepper tomato soup, an addition of some cashew cream will do the trick.
- Is tomato soup good for you? – If you make this recipe, it’s very nutritious and a healthy choice to boot. However, canned tomato soups are not that great as they’re chock full of sodium and random ingredients that are rough on the body. If buying soups from stores, Trader Joe’s tomato soup isn’t a bad choice!
- Can I use other tomatoes? – You can, however, as with all things involving canned tomatoes, I will strongly suggest using the San Marzano variety. There is no other tomato like the one grown in the fertile volcanic soils of the San Marzano region in Italy. They’re fragrant, smooth, and naturally sweet – not acidic at all. This means there is never a need to add any sugars to your tomato soup or tomato sauce.
- Is there an oil substitute for the pesto? – The soup is technically whole foods, plant based, and oil free. However, the pesto has some olive oil in the mix that can be replaced with water or veggie stock, if desired. Personally, I felt the pesto really needed a touch of oil to emulsify and become rich and silky. Your call!
More Vegan Soup Recipes:
Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup ~ Vegan
Simple, healthy, gluten-free, easy and most importantly vegan roasted red pepper tomato soup with extra layers of smokiness from Spanish smoked paprika.
Servings 6 people
Calories 132kcal
Ingredients
- 5 red bell peppers
- 3 mini sweet peppers (Optional) - mixed colors for garnish
- 28 oz canned San Marzano Tomatoes - whole
- 1/2 sweet yellow onion - diced
- 6 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes - to taste
- 1 pinch sea salt + more to taste
- 1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
- 2 leaves bay
- 2.5 - 3 cups veggie stock or water
- 1/3 cup basil leaves - thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup pine nuts - toasted
- 2 tbsp fresh chives or parsley - for garnish
- 2 tsp water
Parsley Pesto
- 2 cups Italian parsley (leafy green tops)
- 3 Tbsp pine nuts (toasted)
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or water to be WFPB & Plantricious compliant)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 pinch sea salt
Instructions
Roast the Peppers:
- Preheat your broiler and place the sweet and red bell peppers on a broiler proof sheet pan. Roast them under the flames for a few minutes until charred all over and the skins have turned black. Keep a close eye on them and using a pair of kitchen tongs turn the peppers to make sure all sides get nice and charred. Transfer to a bowl and cover with a tea towel or a lid until cool enough to handle. (Alternately you can roast them on open flame on your stove top, but it might be a little messier that way)
- Gently peel the charred skins off of the peppers and discard the core. Set aside until needed.
Make the Soup:
- While your peppers are roasting start the soup. Preheat a heavy bottom soup pot on medium low flame.
- Add the diced onion with a pinch of sea salt and a light drizzle of olive oil (omit the oil and use water or veggie stock for WFPB Plantricious diets). Sautee together for about 10 minutes until wilted and translucent. Add the red pepper flakes, garlic and smoked paprika and give everything a good stir. Add the San Marzano tomatoes with all their juices.
- Bring to a gentle simmer and add the roasted red peppers (reserve the mini sweet peppers for garnish) and bay leaves. Pour in the vegetable stock or water and bring to a simmer again. Cook together on medium low flame for 20 minutes.
- Remove the soup from the heat and discard the bay. Using a hand held immersion blender puree the soup until thin to your liking. Add more vegetable stock or water to thin out the soup as much as you like. (Alternatively you can wait to add any water or veggie stock as the last step, some people prefer their soup to be very thick).
- Adjust seasoning to taste with more sea salt and serve with a drizzle of Italian parsley pesto and a few toasted pine nuts.
Make the Parsley Pesto:
- Add all the pesto ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth to your liking. Add more lemon juice or olive oil to your liking. Drizzle over the soup and enjoy!
WFPB + Plantricious
- To make the recipe compliant make sure to saute the onion in water or veggie stock and omit the oil in the pesto sauce or replace it with water.
Notes
- Storage - As all vegan soups this one also freezes well and keeps up to 5 months in freezer proof containers or mason jars. If storing in jars I recommend leaving the lid off until the soup is almost frozen then tightly secure each jar with the proper lid.
- Can I use other tomatoes? - You can, however, as with all things involving canned tomatoes, I will strongly suggest using the San Marzano variety. There is no other tomato like the one grown in the fertile volcanic soils of the San Marzano region in Italy. They’re fragrant, smooth, and naturally sweet - not acidic at all. This means there is never a need to add any sugars to your tomato soup or tomato sauce.
- Is there an oil substitute for the pesto? - The soup is technically whole foods, plant based, and oil free. However, the pesto has some olive oil in the mix that can be replaced with water or veggie stock, if desired. Personally, I felt the pesto really needed a touch of oil to emulsify and become rich and silky. Your call!
Nutrition
Calories: 132kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Sodium: 189mg | Potassium: 731mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 4515IU | Vitamin C: 159.8mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 2.9mg
Environmental Information
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This was incredible. There’s definitely something to those San Marzano Tomatoes you turned me on to. Perfection!
Wow, this tomato soup was killer, I don’t even know how to explain how delicious this is. Roasted my own peppers like a pro and the smoke was more than worth. Hands down best I’ve ever had and my family agrees. Thank you Florentina!
This was the best tomato soup I’ve ever made in my entire life. Roasted an extra couple of pepper and nobody complained except why I didn’t make more. Amazing recipe, bookmarked the website too, it is now my most favorite food blog! Keep those recipes coming, thank you!
I am a huge fan of tomato soup and spicy flavors, so this was PERFECT for me! I had never homemade a tomato soup before, and I am so glad I started with this one! I was so smoky and delicious! Thank you for the awesome meal! 🙂
So happy to hear this Taylor. This is one of our most loved tomato soups as well, it never gets old. Enjoy! ~ Florentina
I want to make this but was confused about the bay/basil. You have basil listed as an ingredient. Was that a typo for bay leaves or was the bay leaf accidentally omitted? Basil isn’t listed in the instruction section, so wasn’t sure. Thanks!
You’ll need both the Basil and 2 Bay leaves 🙂
Just finished this and tasted a bite. FANTASTIC SOUP!! So much depth and incredibly velvety rich flavor. Can’t wait to dress it up at serving and I too omitted the basil, as I didnt see it in the directions. Still came out amazing and with the pesto added, I will catch up-my pesto is already made and its mostly fresh basil 🙂
Thank you so much for this delicious share!!