Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

$4.41 recipe / $1.10 serving
by Beth - Budget Bytes
4.66 from 41 votes
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Quick tomato soup has always been one of my favorite comfort foods, and this time I upped the game by adding a jar of smoky roasted red peppers and a butter-and-flour roux to give the soup extra body and richness. I just love the simplicity of this Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup. All you need is a loaf of crusty French bread for dipping and you’ve got a simple, yet luxurious meal. #treatyourself

A ladle full of roasted red pepper soup being lifted from the pot.

Make it Creamy, or Not

The first time I made this roasted red pepper soup I finished it off with a cup of milk to make it creamy. But honestly, I tasted it before the milk and it was still a really bangin’ soup, so I decided to keep it simple. If you do want an extra creamy soup, simply add a cup of whole milk or a splash of heavy cream at the end. Do not let the soup boil after adding milk, as that can cause it to curdle.

What to Serve With Roasted Red Pepper Soup

You definitely want some sort of crusty bread, Homemade Croutons, Grilled Cheese, or Pesto Cheese Toast to dip into this awesome soup (pictured with plain pesto smeared toast). A really light and simple side salad would also be a nice way to round out this meal. If you want to get really fancy, you can drizzle a little bit of olive oil or pesto over each bowl of soup for extra color and flavor.

To make pesto toast, just mixed a little extra olive oil into the pesto to make it more spreadable, coated slices of my French bread, then baked at 400ºF for 7-8 minutes.

A piece of pesto toast dipped into a bowl of tomato and roasted red pepper soup

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Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup

4.66 from 41 votes
Smoky roasted red peppers, tangy tomatoes, plus a simple roux turn this simple roasted red pepper soup into a rich and flavorful soup!
A ladle full of roasted red pepper soup being lifted from the pot
Servings 4 1.25 cups each
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 20 minutes
Total 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
  • 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
  • 2 Tbsp butter ($0.22)
  • 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.02)
  • 1 12oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained ($1.99)
  • 1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes ($1.19)
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
  • 1/4 tsp dried thyme ($0.02)
  • 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
  • 2 cups vegetable broth ($0.26)
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Instructions 

  • Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add the onion and garlic to a soup pot with the butter and sauté over medium heat until the onions have softened.
  • Add the flour to the pot with the onions and garlic. Continue to sauté for about two minutes.
  • Transfer the onion mixture to a blender and add the roasted red peppers (drained). Purée until smooth.
  • Transfer the red pepper purée back to the soup pot. Add the crushed tomatoes, basil, thyme, pepper, and vegetable broth. Stir to combine and dissolve any flour left on the bottom of the pot.
  • Heat the soup over medium and allow it to come up to a simmer. Simmer the soup, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
  • Taste the soup and add salt or other seasonings to your liking. The amount of salt needed will depend on the salt content of your broth. I did not add any additional salt. Serve and enjoy!

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Nutrition

Serving: 1.25cupsCalories: 134kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 3gFat: 6gSodium: 1821mgFiber: 4g
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overhead view of a pot of roasted red pepper soup surrounded by pesto toast

How to Make Roasted Red Pepper Soup – Step by Step Photos

Onion, garlic, and butter in a soup pot

Dice one yellow onion and mince four cloves of garlic. Add the onion and garlic to a soup pot with 2 Tbsp butter and sauté over medium heat until the onions have softened.

flour added to the onion, garlic, and butter in the soup pot.

Once the onions have softened, add 2 Tbs of all-purpose flour and continue to sauté for about two minutes.

onion mixture and roasted red peppers in a blender.

Transfer the onion mixture to a blender and add one drained 12oz. jar of roasted red peppers.

Blended red peppers and onions in the blender

Purée the peppers and onions together until smooth.

Peppers back in the soup pot with tomatoes, herbs and spices, and vegetable broth being poured into the pot.

Transfer the roasted red pepper mixture back to the pot. Add one 28oz. can crushed tomatoes, 1/2 tsp dried basil, ¼ tsp dried thyme, ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper, and 2 cups vegetable broth. Stir to combine and dissolve any flour left on the bottom of the pot.

Simmered roasted red pepper soup in the pot with a spoon

Heat the soup over medium, allowing it to come up to a simmer. Simmer the soup, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Finally, taste the soup and add salt or other seasonings to your liking (You may or may not need to add salt at the end depending on the salt content of your broth. I did not add any.)

Overhead view of a bowl of roasted red pepper soup with bread and pesto on the sides

Serve hot with bread for dipping! I garnished my bowl with a little drizzle of olive oil and some more freshly cracked pepper.

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  1. Home made tomato soup is my favourite feel-good summer meal. I like making it with tomatoes fresh from my garden. I’m going to give yours a try next time. Have you ever served it with grilled cheese crutons? That’s my standard way to eat it. My in-laws recently came back from central Mexico though, and the preferred way to eat tomato soup there is with avocados and cracked up tortilla chips. I have to say that it was phenomenal.

  2. This looks delicious. My daughter loves tomato soup so I am going to have to make this for her. Thanks for sharing!

  3. This recipe is so great! I just made it and love it. I added a bit of brown sugar to mine since it felt like it was missing that sweet Campbell’s taste I love about tomato soup, and it was just what it needed!

  4. This was great, Beth. I made the roux, added the tomatoes/peppers/broth and let that come to a boil and simmer for 10-15min and then blended it hot, putting it back in the pot and adding the herbs/cream last. It came out incredibly smooth like soup from a can (just insanely better tasting). I had never made soup from scratch and this was an instant hit. Thanks for all you do!

  5. Was drooling over the picture and had to make this myself. I’ve never bought roasted red peppers in a jar before and didn’t really know where to look. I ended up picking up some canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce from the Mexican food aisle.

    Needless to say, it worked. Like WOW! Adobo tomato soup, who knew? It’s still got a good roasted pepper flavor too, but the spiciness is cranked WAY up. So others who really enjoy spicy dishes should consider opting for canned chipotles, if they can find them.

    Anyway I’m calling this one a success. I had it with french bread and pesto last night, a la the picture at the top (which was delicious), but today for lunch I’m eating it with kimchi grilled cheese! What can I say, I like strong flavors.

    Thank you, Beth!

    1. Wow! Yeah, chipotles in adobo is 100% different than what I used, but I can see how it would have been an amazing combo all the same! What a nice happy accident. Well done! :)

  6. Great idea! This reminds me a bit of a SUPER easy soup I make:
    1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
    1 can tomatoes
    1/2 cup water (or stock)
    onion powder, to taste (I use a lot)
    garlic powder, to taste (I use a lot)
    salt, to taste
    at least one TBSP of chipotle seasoning
    Blend cold in a blender, then transfer to pot and heat on stove! Super easy, super cheap, great with grilled cheese or quesadillas!

  7. I bought some roasted red peppers and I’ll be trying this soon. The recipe I use for tomato soup is similar to this. A local restaurant serves tomato artichoke soup. I’ve added chopped artichoke hearts to the tomato soup and topped with shredded Parmesan and served with baguette on the side.

    1. I made this over the weekend and it’s delicious! The roasted red peppers add some sweetness and balance the acidity of the tomatoes. I didn’t add the milk to the pot of soup, but added just a splash to the bowl of soup and it was perfect. I really wish I’d made a grilled cheese to go along with it — maybe today.

      I eat soup nearly daily year round and this will definitely be added to the rotation.

  8. Great post, and this recipe sounds fantastic! Looking forward to making this and having it with a bangin’ grilled cheese sammich. :)

  9. Just the inspiration I needed to do some spring cleaning in the pantry. So yummy too!

  10. I love this recipe! I also added a dash of smoked paprika-definitely brought the flavor to the next level :) I used an immersion blender to mix this up (hot on the stove top). Worked great.

  11. I got the instant pot because of you! Do you think I could make this in there and use an immersion blender? Thanks!

    1. You could use the Instant Pot, but honestly, it will probably be faster on the stove top. :) You’d want to use the sauté function on the IP to do the flour and butter roux, then add the rest of the ingredients and then use the soup function.

  12. My mouth is watering just looking at this. I think I’ll pair it with your freezer garlic bread-I love that stuff and in my less than humble opinion, it goes with everything.

  13. This recipe looks amazing. My favorite topper is a bottmer! I slice a few pieces of sharp cheese and put them in the bottom of the bowl and pour the soup on top. It melts the cheese and I either dip the bread or spoon out the cheesy goodness. Old cheddar Is pretty amazing for this.

  14. You know, I see immersion blenders at thrift stores occasionally. It’s always worth checking it out.