A rich and intensely flavoured Roasted Red Pepper Soup made with sweet, charred red peppers, garlic, sun dried tomatoes for an extra flavour kick and topped with homemade basil pesto and a creme fraiche swirl. Warm, comforting and easy!
This roasted red pepper soup has a rich, thick and creamy consistency that you could eat it at room temperature during the summer months or nice and hot when the weather turns chilly.
I never used to be keen on pepper sauces or soups because they always came out overly sweet to me but this red pepper soup has the perfect balance of sweet and tart flavours.
I added a splash of lemon juice which really made a difference and the sun dried tomatoes totally transform the flavours from too sweet to perfect!
It's completely veggie, super healthy, delicious and SO easy to make, I love it!
Should I Peel the Peppers?
No, I don't peel the red peppers, if you roast them until they are super soft then there's no need to peel them.
But if you prefer to peel them then cut the peppers in half instead of chunks so they are easier to peel. After roasting if the skins don't peel easily then place them in a ziploc bag whilst still hot for a few minutes and the skins should come off easily.
How To Make Roasted Red Pepper Soup - Step By Step
Roughly chop the red peppers (bell peppers or sweet pointed peppers) and place in a large baking tray with peeled whole garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper then roast in the oven until slightly charred (photos 1 & 2).
Finely chop a white (yellow) onion and saute with a little olive oil until translucent and soft in a large pot. Once soft, add the roasted peppers and garlic, sun dried tomatoes and vegetable stock (photos 3-5).
Simmer for 5 minutes then turn off the heat and blend until completely smooth and creamy using an immersion blender.
Tip: At this point taste for seasoning, I only add pepper because there's enough saltiness from the stock, sun dried tomatoes and pre seasoned peppers (photo 6).
Add a small splash of freshly squeezed lemon juice, stir and serve with a drizzle of creme fraiche and homemade pesto. Grab a hunk of crusty bread and dive in.
The Pesto Swirl - Serving Suggestions
Pesto is pretty much the best thing on earth, right? I could eat it by the spoonful. If you know me you'll know I'm talking about real homemade pesto and not that jarred stuffed that's pretty much a lie in a jar. Ha, it just ain't pesto folks...always go homemade or leave it out.
The homemade pesto is swirled on top of the roasted red pepper soup with a little creme fraiche and it's CRAZY delicious, find my recipe for homemade pesto here.
And of course, some crusty bread never goes a miss with a big warm bowl of soup.
Homemade focaccia is also perfect for dunking and dipping, yum!
Top Tips For Making This Roasted Red Pepper Soup
- Make sure you have a large enough baking tray so the peppers aren't too crowded. They tend to stew instead of roasting and charring if they aren't spread out evenly.
- If you don't have an immersion blender you can use a normal stand blender, just pour or ladle it in from the pot (be careful not to overfill when it's hot).
- You could add red pepper flakes to add a kick of spice.
- Got tomatoes that need used up? Chop them and roast them with the peppers!
- Serve with hunks of crusty bread or focaccia for dunking!
- Once cooled you can store this soup in the fridge (minus the pesto and creme fraiche) for 1-2 days or freeze in suitable containers for up to 3 months.
- Like most soups and stews this soup is even more delicious the next day.
More Easy Soup Recipes You Might Like;
- Pasta Fagioli Soup
- Tuscan Farro Soup
- Ribollita - Tuscan vegetable soup
- Chickpea Soup
- Zucchini and potato soup
If you’ve tried this Roasted Red Pepper Soup or any other recipe on the blog please let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
📖 Full Recipe
Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Ingredients
- 6 red bell or pointed peppers (1.6 lbs/750g (around 6 peppers)
- 1 yellow onion
- 5 sun dried tomatoes jarred
- 4 garlic cloves peeled and whole
- 1 squeeze lemon juice (around ½ tbsp)
- 2.5 cups vegetable stock (600ml)
- salt and pepper to season
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoon homemade pesto
- creme fraiche for topping
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
- Roughly chop the red peppers and place in a large baking tray with peeled whole garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper then roast in the oven until slightly charred (around 40 minutes).
- Finely chop a white (yellow) onion and saute in a large pot with a little olive oil until translucent and soft. Once soft, add the roasted peppers and garlic, sun dried tomatoes and vegetable stock.
- Simmer for 10 minutes then turn off the heat and blend until completely smooth using an immersion blender. Taste for seasoning, I only add pepper because there's enough saltiness from the stock and sun dried tomatoes and pre seasoned peppers.
- Add a small splash of freshly squeezed lemon juice, stir and serve with a drizzle of creme fraiche and homemade pesto. Grab a hunk of crusty bread and dive in.
Notes
- Make sure you have a large enough baking tray so the peppers aren't too crowded. They tend to stew instead of roasting and charring if they aren't spread out evenly.
- If you don't have an immersion blender you can use a normal stand blender, just pour or ladle it in from the pot.
- You could add red pepper flakes to add a kick of spice
- Once cooled you can store this soup in the fridge (minus the pesto and creme fraiche) for 1-2 days or freeze in suitable containers for up to 3 months.
- Like most soups and stews this soup is even more delicious the next day
Nutrition
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Wendy Atkinson
This soup is amazing. I agree that the creme fraiche and pesto really make it sing!
Emily
Thanks so much Wendy, I love the soup with pesto and creme fraiche too!
Rick
Thanks for the Great recipe. We grew Lot's of Red Peppers in the backyard this year and were looking for yet another tasty thing to do with them. So GOOD...
Kristine Vuolo
Excellent!!!
Judy C
Put the peppers, onions, fresh (but wilting) tomatoes, plus some jalapenos (3) and a bunch of crimini mushrooms onto the barbeque to roast, along with a small head (4 cloves) of garlic topped, oiled and wrapped in foil. Even threw on a carrot.
I was using one of those silicone bbq sheets and thought "ah, why bother oiling these?" but I think it made it harder to remove the skins later. Those that wouldn't come off easily went into the soup. I also used roasted garlic bouillon paste (you know the one). So now I figure since it's totally fat-free, I can use whipping cream on top ;)... or maybe yoghurt. Great recipe, thanks!
Kay
I made this last Thursday and found it a bit thick, but extremely tasty. I decided to stretch it by adding a can of coconut milk, instead of watering it down with water. Well here we are, it’s Friday, and the hubby requested it again. Even went so far as to prep everything needed. It is delicious and won’t disappoint.
todd
I added the coconut milk on your suggestion, and it was a good idea! It adds creaminess to the soup, but doesn't overpower the peppers. I wonder if adding a little red pepper flakes would contribute a bit of zing to the soup.
Jan
I roasted the peppers last night, plus a few tomatoes, and am throwing the soup together today. I plan to add a splash of lime, cilantro, goat's cheese and fresh parmesan. Looking forward to the outcome!
Kim H
This soup was thick like marinara sauce--even after adding an extra 2 cups of water. I had sun dried tomatoes from a bag as opposed to a jar in oil, so they really sucked up the liquid. Fabulous flavor!
Gina
Yummilicious!!!
Loved it. Sharing this great recipe with friends.
Thank you 😘
Kelley
i didn't have any sundried tomatoes so i used 2 TB of tomato paste. also added 5 little golden potatoes diced into the mix. easy, good, made a lot! my partner said it was restaurant quality with the little dollop of cream and (storebought) pesto on top!
Ankita
Love this recipe! If you get the char on the bell peppers just right, the smokiness that runs through the soup is just beautiful! Plus I went a lil generous with the garlic, so the soup got that extra kick. 10/10 would make again and again.
Polly
Delicious.I used a jar of red peppers and homemade chicken stock. Thank you for sharing this recipe x
Bob Montgomery
Emily,
Love this soup. I'm on my 3rd time making it - love it that much. The 2nd time I made it I had forgotten to get stock, so - improvising - I used some water, some white wine and some red wine. (Some wine actually made it into the soup... 🙂 ). I have also roasted eggplants along with the peppers (oh, yeah - I had to use the colorful sweet peppers because my store was out of Red Bells) - Interesting twists on your awesome recipe - Thank you for sharing it. !!!!! Bob
Bob
I need to add that the Red wine addition takes away from the beautiful color or your soup (which has a very appetizing red pepper color). The red wine and the yellow/red color peppers do not provide an appetizing looking soup - it is more of a brown color - (so, just a caution on my improvising - it's "not pretty"). 🙂
Emily
Haha I love that just some wine made it into the soup 😀 thanks so much for your review, I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed it!
L
Tried this recipe, for a red pepper lover I think they’d love this. I found I needed something more with it, so I made it into a pasta, using it as the sauce. I might just not be a soup gal
Deborah Fisher
I've just made this soup and it's delicious even though I've only just made it. I agree that most soups are often better after a few days or even frozen. .
I wasn't going to add the lemon juice, bit glad I did.
Definitely going in my recipe book.
Emily
So happy you enjoyed it!
Mersenne
I made this soup for dinner tonight. Absolutely delicious, especially with the suggested creme fraiche and homemade pesto. A winner, thank you!
Mandy
Made this recently, it’s absolutely delicious and I’ve had lots of compliments.
Emily
Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!
Lynn
Can you use yellow and orange peppers as well?
Emily
You can but it will change the flavour, I'd use mainly red peppers if you have them.