Creamy tomato and red pepper soup made with roasted fresh tomatoes and red peppers is a silky comfort food soup at its simple best.
So Much Better Than Trader Joe’s!
If you’ve ever shopped at a Trader Joe’s, it’s likely you’ve spied their tomato and roasted red pepper soup after being served a sample in a little paper cup. One sip is all that was needed to sway me into buying a box. But now that I’ve dialed in the recipe, I just make it at home instead.
Right next to my tomato basil soup, this roasted tomato and red pepper version flies high at the top of my daughter’s favorite soups list. What makes this soup special is not only the deep tomato flavor at the forefront, but the roasted red peppers that double down on tomato’s inherent sweetness.
What I really love about this recipe is you can totally meal prep it by making the roasted tomatoes and peppers ahead of time then stashing them in the fridge or freezer. Later, just add milk and herbs, and boom! Soup is served!
Creamy, smooth, and mild, this soup is everything you want in a bowl of slurpable comfort food.
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
- Prep in advance to save time later. Both the red peppers and the tomatoes can be roasted and refrigerated for several days before being blended to make the soup. I love doing this semi-meal prep on busy weeks when I want to get ahead but don’t have time to do it all.
- Roast the tomatoes yourself. If you swap out the roasted tomatoes with a store-bought tomato sauce, you’ll be missing out on so much sweet, juicy flavor and your soup will likely taste too acidic.
- Blend however you like. Use a blender, food processor, or immersion blender. All work well, but an actual blender will give the smoothest results.
Grab These 7 Basic Ingredients
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Roasted red peppers — Either roasted at home or a good-quality store brand.
- Fresh roasted tomatoes with garlic — You’ll need 2 cups total of the blended roasted tomatoes. You could also make a big batch of roasted tomato sauce and either can or freeze it for recipes like this.
- Yellow onion — Since we’ll be blending the soup, you can add the onion half straight to the pot without chopping it up first.
- Butter — The tomato sauce simmers in a little butter to add richness to the otherwise veg-heavy soup.
- Whole milk — Whole milk has just enough fat to keep the soup from thinning out too much but isn’t as rich or cloying as cream or half-and-half.
- Fresh rosemary or basil — Pretty much any fresh herb can be used.
How to Make Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup
- Roast the tomatoes and red bell peppers. Because I make stashes of blended roasted tomatoes and freeze them to use in soups, stews, and pasta all winter long, I usually do these two roasting tasks separately.
- Simmer the roasted tomato sauce with onion and butter. I add more flavor to my roasted sauce by adding ½ onion and a few tablespoons of butter to simmer and steep into the tomato sauce. You could skip this step, but I like the luxe finish the butter lends and the subtle infused onion flavor. Discard the onion or add it to the blender with the other veg in the next step.
- Blend the roasted red peppers with tomato sauce. Blitz the tomato sauce with the roasted red peppers until smooth. If you’re feeling it, a few glugs of olive oil never hurt either.
- Add whole milk for that silky creamy flavor. Whole milk dilutes the intensity and thickness of the blended tomato and red peppers.
- Warm the soup now or save it for later. At this point all of the ingredients are cooked, so all that’s left is heating this baby up. Serve as is or save and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
My Favorite Toppings
I like to mix a little water or milk into a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche in a small bowl then drizzle over the soup. I’ll also sprinkle my portion with fresh rosemary or basil and a few pinches of freshly ground black pepper.
A grilled cheese dipper fits right into this soupable story. Or, top with crispy homemade croutons.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds medium cocktail tomatoes (or 2 cups roasted tomato sauce)
- 1 head of garlic , cut in half
- extra virgin olive oil
- fresh basil, rosemary, or thyme sprigs
- 3 large red bell peppers (or 2 cups roasted red bell peppers)
- ½ yellow onion
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- sour cream thinned with water
- a few sprigs of fresh herbs like basil or rosemary
Instructions
Roast the Tomatoes
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and place the tomatoes in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Nestle the two halves of garlic and the fresh herbs in with the tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil, season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Roast for 40-45 minutes.
- Transfer the tomatoes and a few of the roasted garlic cloves (squeeze them from the papery shells) to a blender and blitz until smooth.
- Pour the tomato sauce into a large sauce pot. Add the half onion and butter, bring to medium heat, and cook for 20 minutes or so while the peppers are roasting.
Roast the Peppers
- If using red peppers that are already roasted, skip this step. If not, raise the oven temperature to 425°F. Line the baking sheet with fresh foil and place the peppers on the sheet. Bake the peppers for 30 minutes or until puffed and blistered.
- Set aside until cool enough to handle then peel the papery skin from the pepper and discard along with the stems, seeds, and membrane.
Finish the Soup
- Add the roasted tomato sauce (and a few peels of the onion if you'd like) to the blender canister along with the roasted red pepper. Cover the canister with the lid but be sure to remove the top center plug since the soup is hot and you don't want it to explode when you blend. Cover the lid with a dishtowel and blitz until smooth.
- Add the tomato and pepper mixture back to the pot and stir in the milk. Heat until warmed through and season with more salt and pepper to taste. If you like your soup thinner, add more milk. If you like it thicker, cook longer to reduce.
- Serve with a drizzle of thinned sour cream and a few fresh herb sprigs if desired. A grilled cheese sandwich or garlic bread makes a perfect side for dipping!
Nutrition
What to Serve With This Soup
More Creamy Pureed Soup Recipes
- Tomato Basil Soup
- Potato Leek Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Ginger Carrot Soup
- Pumpkin Soup
- Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup
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Patricia
Any thoughts on how this would be with hot peppers instead of bell? My husband absolutely loves any hot peppers & we’ve got lots growing in the garden.
Hayley
Hi Patricia! Hmm, it depends on the variety, but we’d suggest using some of both (mostly bell pepper though). If you give it a try, let us know how it turns out!
Deepshikha Panwar
I HAVE TRIED IT THIS TOMATO SOUP IS SO YUMMY
Sabrina
red peppers, a nice tweak to my plain old tomato soup and completely agree that the tomato sauce must or at least should be homemade, thank you!
Hayley
Thanks, Sabrina—we hope you enjoy!