Red Pepper Tomato Soup Recipe
Comfort food at its finest, this quick and healthy red pepper tomato soup is packed with flavor and antioxidants, and is ready in 30 minutes! The perfect blend of sweet, peppery, and sour.
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Servings: 4 to 6 people
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large red onion, roughly chopped
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeds/stem removed and roughly chopped
- 2 heads garlic (about 15 cloves), roughly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 3 pounds Roma tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped * see notes
- 1/2 cup water, or more to reach your desired consistency
Instructions
- In a large sauce pot, combine olive oil, red onion, red bell pepper, garlic, and salt. Place over medium heat, and cook the vegetables for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent and everything is softened. Add in your oregano and basil, and cook for another minute or so to toast the herbs.
- Add your chopped tomatoes and water to the pot. Raise your heat to high and bring everything up to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes to soften the tomatoes. Puree your cooked mixture using an immersion blender or regular stand blender. ** see notes
- Return your blended soup to your pot, and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover the pot (leaving it slightly ajar) and simmer your soup until reduced to your preferred thickness. Taste and season with salt if needed.
Notes
* For the soup, you can use fresh or canned tomatoes. If using canned, you can swap out the fresh tomatoes for 1 (28 ounce) can of tomatoes. For the canned option, I recommend using either whole canned tomatoes, diced tomatoes, or tomato puree. I find these options have the best flavor when compared with fresh.
Make sure you're using high quality tomatoes (fresh or canned) with a flavor that you know and love. Since there's going to be a lot of tomatoes going in here, you should make sure the tomatoes are a type or brand you know and love.
** If using an immersion blender, you can puree your soup directly in the pot. If using a stand blender, carefully transfer the cooked ingredients to your blender base. Make sure to fill it up a little below its usual capacity if your pureeing the soup while it's hot (because if it leaks ... ouch!). Remove the center of your blender lid and cover with a clean towel. This keeps the steam from building pressure in your blender, which can pop the lid off (again ... ouch!). Puree! You may have to puree in batches depending on the size and capacity of your blender.
You also have a choice here about how much you puree the soup. You can leave it a bit chunky or smooth.
Optional Toppings: You can top your soup with some croutons or roasted chickpeas for added crunch, basil for color and flavor, or heavy cream! To keep this red pepper tomato soup vegan, you can use coconut milk instead of heavy cream.
Storage Instructions: Cool your soup to room temperature, and transfer to an airtight container and cover. Tomato soup will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Freezing Instructions: To freeze tomato soup, cool the soup completely to room temperature, and transfer to an airtight, freezer-safe container and cover. To make defrosting easier later on, you can also freeze your soup in a freezer bag and seal. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheating and Defrosting: To reheat, transfer the soup to a pot and warm on medium-low heat until hot again. If the soup is too thick, add a splash of water to thin it out.
If you froze your soup in a container, let the soup sit out at room temperature for an hour or until it defrosts enough for it to come out of the container. Some frozen parts are fine. Transfer to a pot and reheat on low. If stored in a freezer bag, simply open the bag and transfer the frozen soup to a pot. Heat on low until defrosted and warmed.
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