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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Comments

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  1. Either my jar of red peppers or my tomatoes added too much acidity. Also, my milk that i had on hand wasn’t rich enough for the flavor I was going for. 2 table spoons of cream (maybe even 1 but I added it to two half batches) and a little bit of sugar made the helped the flavor so much without adding too much to the coloric content. YAY!

  2. Made this tonight, but used 2% milk instead of whole, and added a lot more basil and pepper to taste. It was delicious, made a ton, and will be added to our monthly meal rotation!

  3. I really loved this! I’m a big fan of the Trader Joe’s tomato & roasted red pepper soup but hate making the trip there. This was even tastier! I left out the milk and added a little bit of sugar to reduce the acidity. Delicious.

  4. Great recipe. I like a little more seasoning and spice. I added about 4xs the basil, twice the tyme, and about 1/4 a tsp red pepper flakes. Turned out amazing.

  5. Good quick recipe. Thanks. Another way to get creamy without dairy is to throw in some white beans, which is what I did and it works well.

  6. Great, easy soup to make. Served it with little Hawaiian rolls, ham and Havarti sandwiches for guests on a cold night. It was perfect! Had to give the recipe and name of website to my friends! Didn’t have crushed tomatoes, just used diced tomatoes and then ran the hand blender through them in the pot. Added a little cayenne pepper to spice it up a bit. Smooth, lovely soup.

  7. Just made it. Love it. I made the soup as per the recipe and added minced bacon, Mozza and croutons when served. Sooooooo good.

  8. We are home for a snow day so I made this for lunch. I wanted to veganize it without giving up the luxury. I used Earth Balance in place of butter and homemade cashew cream instead of milk. Wow!! So yummy!! I think this will be a new snow day tradition! Thanks for the simple and delicious recipe.

  9. I made it for my boyfriend after a dental visit, and he loved it!! Thank you :)
    Perfect with french bread!

  10. Made this for dinner tonight and we loved it. I subbed butter with olive oil and left the milk out since I’m trying dairy-free at the moment, husband added 2 scoops of cream to his bowl after serving and is currently on his second bowl. Served with a fresh crusty loaf of sourdough from the bakery – perfect! Still got enough for leftovers in this household of 2 :-)

  11. This was an awesome starting point. I added more basil, brown sugar, paprika, roasted garlic powder and cayenne. It was amazing! I can’t wait to make it again!

  12. This soup got better with age. My first bite was “meh.” By the time I finished the bowl, I was greedily sopping up the last little bit of liquid with my naan and stealing bites out of the leftovers. The flavors must have melded more overnight because it was divine for lunch the next day. It’s definitely better than the stuff out of the can, but not as creamy. I will definitely be making again.