Roasted Red Pepper Soup
This roasted red pepper soup is warm and comforting, perfect for a cold winter night or a chilly rainy day. It is chock full of roasted vegetables, making this soup a healthy choice.
My aunt got me totally hooked on this recipe. I visit her once a week for a lunch date and we eat this soup often! Roasting all of the vegetables before going into the soup is an excellent way to really enhance their flavor.
What can I serve with this soup?
You can serve the soup with sandwiches- a grilled cheese sandwich being an awesome choice! You can serve it with a side salad, a loaf of bread of your choice or with some dinner rolls. Or you can simply serve the roasted red pepper soup by itself and let it be the star of the show with a couple toppings on it. For this particular recipe, the toppings consist of sour cream, shredded Parmesan cheese, homemade Sourdough croutons (recipe below) and some fresh basil as a garnish.
What are Sourdough croutons and how do I make them?
Let me tell you, these babies are so darn good yet so simple! Sourdough is a fermented bread, therefore it contains prebiotic and probiotic like properties which is good for your gut health and helps to improve digestion. It is full of antioxidants and also rich in vital nutrients such as protein, iron, folate, fiber and more. What’s not to love about it? This bread is a perfect choice to compliment this healthy soup recipe!
There is no science behind the making of these delicious, crispy bites of goodness. You can find a loaf of Sourdough bread at your local grocery store. Then you can either cut or rip the bread into about 2 inch pieces. Place them on a baking tray (I use the same tray that I use to roast the vegetables for the soup) then drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to season. Once that is done, pop them in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for about 10 minutes. They should be golden brown and crispy.
Step by step instructions to make the Roasted Red Pepper Soup:
- Begin by preheating the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. While oven is heating up, chop your veggies. For this recipe, I cut the red peppers and the onion in quarters. Then cut your carrots and celery stalks into about 2 inch pieces. Then peel the garlic and leave it whole.
- Once the veggies are done, spread them evenly over a baking tray. Be sure that it is large enough so that the vegetables are not over crowded. Then drizzle them with olive oil and season them with salt and pepper to taste and pop them in the preheated oven. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the red peppers are nicely charred and the other vegetables are soft.
3. After taking them out of the oven, place them directly into a large pot or a dutch oven. Pour the chicken or vegetable stock in, followed by the diced tomatoes. I use the diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano. It just adds more flavor to the soup. Cook for about 10 minutes then turn the heat off.
4. Blend the veggies, diced tomatoes and the stock with an immersion blender until smooth. Once you are happy with the consistency of the soup, you are ready to serve!
5. Pour it into bowls and top it with a dollop of sour cream, shredded Parmesan cheese, basil and the homemade sourdough croutons.
Substitutions:
- You can replace the sour cream for Greek yogurt if you prefer. Or you can omit the sour cream and Parmesan cheese all together to make this soup dairy-free.
- If you are a vegetarian, simply substitute the chicken stock for vegetable stock.
- Not enough red bell peppers on hand? I have also used orange and yellow bell peppers in a pinch. The different colored peppers might alter the color of the soup a bit but it is still just as tasty!
- No diced tomatoes? Crushed tomatoes would also work perfectly fine for this recipe!
Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Ingredients
- 3 red bell peppers quartered
- 1 onion quartered
- 3 garlic cloves peeled
- 3 carrots peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2 celery stalks cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to season
- sour cream for topping
- shredded parmesan cheese for topping
- 1 bunch fresh basil for topping
- 1 loaf sourdough bread for homemade croutons
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425℉.
- Evenly spread the peppers, onion, garlic, carrots and celery on a baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the vegetables in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Add roasted vegetables to a large pot. Add diced tomatoes and stock. Bring to a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
- While soup is cooking, cut sourdough into 2 inch pieces. Add to a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Turn off the heat. Blend until completely smooth using an immersion blender. Add salt and pepper to taste if needed.
- Serve in a bowl with sour cream, parmesan cheese and fresh basil on top.
For the homemade Sourdough croutons:
- Preheat oven to 400℉.
- Cut or rip sourdough bread into 2 inch pieces. Add to a baking sheet (can use the same baking sheet that you roasted the vegetables on). Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
- Add to the top of the soup and serve.
Notes
- Be sure to use a large enough baking tray so the vegetables are not crowded. After drizzling them with olive oil, mix to be sure they are covered then spread out evenly.
- You can also transfer to a blender with a ladle if you do not have an immersion blender.
- The leftovers will safely keep in the fridge for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container.
- Using the same baking tray for the homemade croutons that was used for roasting the vegetables, will give a little added flavor (and less clean up)!