I’m notorious for making a giant pot of something-or-other and eating it (sometimes begrudgingly) all.week.long. Soups are good for long-term consumption especially if you add a small pat of butter and a splash of heavy cream after each subsequent reheating. Did this soup get more delicious? It sure did!
I can make it through four straight days of soup consumption before I revolt and treat myself to (really, anything but soup) a giant cheeseburger, french fries, and all of the bourbon.
Since we’re staring this Monday straight in the face, I thought I’d start our week off with a staple. Something savory and healthful to get us through the week with grace and strength. I’m rooting for us.
This soup tastes best if the red bell peppers were on sale at the grocery store. Proven fact.
Red peppers are roasted with a bit of olive oil Roasting, charring, or otherwise blackening these peppers can be done in a few ways. You can use your oven, lovingly cranked to 400 degrees F, you can use a grill to char the skins, or you can use a gas stovetop range to char the skins. You might even be able to use a blow torch, but don’t quote me on that.
Choose your own adventure. The key is to not be like me and let the peppers cool before you attempt to de-seed and peel then. Peeling hot peppers does not make you more tough in the kitchen.
Red peppers are joined by other soup-friendly items like onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and a bay leaf.
I added cumin and a bit of garam masala to this soup for depth and earthiness.
Vegetables are cooked down in a large soup pot. This is the sort of sautéing that makes my upstairs neighbors jealous. Cooking onions always gets attention.
I add the ground spices to the hot vegetables to help bloom the flavors. I mean… we’re just trying to make our soup taste great. No big deal.
I used chicken stock for this soup although vegetable stock is also rather affable depending on your preferences.
I didn’t even chop the roasted red bell peppers! I’m leaving all the hard work to heat and blender.
Soup is blended until absolutely smooth and cream is stirred in. I’m never one to skimp on cream.
Creamy warm soup with a hint of sweetness and a comforting earthiness. It’s a lovely transition into the cooler weather that we’re hoping for… it’s also perfectly lovely eaten while sitting on your kitchen floor staring out the window. I speak this from experience.
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Soup
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
- Total Time: 0 hours
Ingredients
- 4 large red bell peppers
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 celery sticks, trimmed and sliced
- 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspooon garam masala
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Place rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degree F.
- Place whole red bell peppers in a 9×13-inch dish. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and rotate to lightly coat each pepper in oil.
- Roast for 15 minutes until blackened on the top. Remove from the oven and flip each pepper. Roast for another 15 minutes until the other side is also softened and blackened.
- Remove from the oven and immediately cover pan in foil. Allow to steam for 10 minutes. Uncover and let the peppers rest until cool enough to handle.
- When cool enough to handle, remove the stem and all of the seeds and the charred red pepper skin. Discard.
- To make the soup, place a large pot over medium heat. Add the remaining olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the carrots, celery, and parsley. Cook for 3 minutes more.
- Add the cumin, garam masala, and bay leaf. Stir to combine. Add the roasted peppers. Add the stock, turn the heat to low, place a lid on the pot and simmer for 20 minutes or until the carrots and celery are softened through.
- Remove the pan from the heat and use an immersion blender to blend the soup mixture smooth. Alternately, you can blend the soup in three batches in an upright blender. Just be not to fill the blender too full and to keep the lid on tight.
- Stir in heavy cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Soup will last in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. This soup also freezes well!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: serves 4
83 Responses
I love this soup. I’m making it right now! I’ve probably made it at least 5 times now and it never disappoints. This is my go to soup, simple and delicious. Thanks Joy!
Quick question….do you pull the bay leave out before blenderizing everything? Or the the bay leave in?
Thank you!
Take that bay leaf out! I’ll amend the recipe, thank you!
Could you sub cashew cream for the heavy cream?
Yes, you can, sounds delicious
I just made the soup for my wife this mother’s day and she said it was fantastic and I have to agree
Beautiful crisp Fall day in upstate NY! Just picked up a bushel of peppers at a road side stand for $4. Gotta luv it! Smells fantastic in here! Comfort food! Great recipe!
Excellent soup recipe! We have so many peepers in our garden this year, perfect way to use them Thank you for sharing your recipe :)
Would suggest a few things. Add the garlic after with the carrots, celery, etc. Otherwise I think the garlic would get bitter if added with the onions. Take the bay leaf out before you blend. Use more stock, like a full quart ( 4 cups) instead of three. If just three, it makes an awkward left over of one cup based on a quart container of stock. Finally, all the “reviews” I have read so far are from users who haven’t actually made the soup. Maybe edit the reviews so that there are actually some from people who made the soup.
Lovely soup for a cold night. Just one comment: I’d DEFINITELY remove the bay leaf before blending.
You can use a blow torch! Or, a welding torch. My father does this for chile rellenos. However, I wouldn’t recommend it in this case – all it does is take of the skins (the flesh isn’t cooked really at all). You don’t get that lovely sweet smokiness that results from the longer roasting time.
My peppers were on sale! Can’t wait to try this.
I’m not sure what went wrong, but my soup turned out sour and bland. I had to throw it out. And I love roasted red pepper soup! Did anyone else have this issue?
Oh my goodness, the soup is DIVINE!!! I made a batch today and my family devoured it. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Just so disappointed in the flavor. Not pleasant at all. Don’t know how to describe it. Followed the recipe exactly. Did not have garam masala so found a recipe and made it myself. Maybe that was mistake. Love the texture and will try again w/o garam masala and will check other recipes for spice ingredients.
Have made this soup twice now and am loving it every time. It’s replaced my chicken soup for a sick remedy too. Yum!
Am I crazy or has the recipe disappeared from the page? I’m really looking forward to making this! Can anyone provide me with a copy? I’d appreciate it! :)
Hello Nedra, I fixed the problem with the recipe plugin. The recipe should be working now! Sorry about that.
I’ve made this soup once small batch super delicious. Making a big batch with daughter to share on Sunday. Yummy!!!
Making this right now ! Looking forward to it! What did you too it with in the picture is that parmsean?
Warning! Wayyyy to much cumin !!
Just made this. Proper yum. My peppers looked a bit measly after shrinking in the roasting dish, but actually the flavour is potent so 4 was more that enough. Did you sprinkle parmasan on top of yours (in the picture)?
I made this 2 weeks ago and it turned out fabulous!!
This was sooo good! Thank goodness! I’m so tired of seeing recipes online, going through the trouble to make them, and they turn out bland and boring. The crock pot/pinterest revolution has left me so disappointed. This however was absolutely delicious. I’m going through your site as we speak and bookmarking my favorites as well as getting your book. Thank you!
Looks delicious! Can you recommend a vegan-friendly substitute for the heavy cream? Would homemade cashew cream taste good, do you think? If so, would the proportions be the same?
No snarky tone intended: it’s important to note to remove the bay leaf before blending!
Thanks for the cumin idea-great touch.
I made that bay leaf mistake my third time making this soup. I had even added butternut squash to the batch, but had to dump all of it because it tasted like Vick’s Vaporub :(
Joy, I am so looking forward to making this! One question–what kind of cheese is that on top?
Hey, there. This soup sounds amazing! I have a Ninja, I imagine the peppers would be pulverized without peeling. Thoughts?
Hey joy,
Raise my own peppers and pimentos…yum. Pimentos r the best. Marconi peppers r the best and very prolific. Love your recipe and will use it for the more than 100 luscious baby’s I get. Thanks for your recipe. Wonderful. Sweet. Taylor
I just made this soup today. I did not have parsley or bay leaves but my goodness this soup is divine. Love love loveit.
This soup was so yummy! I veganized and topped it with a dollop of cashew sour cream. Garam masala is my current obsession. (I’m toying with the idea of garam masala rice krispie treats…) Anyway, this recipe was lovely and perfect for fall.
i’m so glad you enjoyed (and veganized) it!
This looks delicious and I’m making it right now! Buutttt I made the mistake of making it after a long day and may have mixed up the order of directions – putting the spices in with the broth rather than sautéing with the veggies. Ack! Still tastes good but can’t help but wonder if it would have tasted better if I’d done it right. Maybe I’ll add some butter to give it some kick!! Great recipe, can’t wait to eat for tomorrow’s dinner. Xoxo
As soup addicted I can’t wait to try it!
https://justsem.wordpress.com/
Making this now. I love that you include garam masala like it’s no big thing.
Can this soup be frozen, thawed and reheated at a later date? Sounds delicious…never had red-pepper soup…..can jarred skinned red pepper be substituted for making and red peppers are outrageously expensive????
Hi Lexy! This soup can be frozen and reheated, and jarred red peppers are totally cool to use. Tell me about it, they can be pretty high up there these days!
“With other soup friendly items”- you’re funny. I was laughing out loud on my sofa thinking about soup friendly stuff… A whole new niche has opened up to me…
I just put on my tall fall boots for the first time of the season and now it’s time for soup!
Love this! Might try it without cream and cashews instead to veganize it!
Loved this last night. Added some cayenne for a little extra heat. Thank you!
awesome!!looks yummeh!!!
The soup looks lovely and I have to admit that I too am one of those people that will eat leftovers for days because I was raised in a family that didn’t waste food.
Making your soup today with some roasted tomatoes added. Thank you for changing the format of your recipes. It is nice, when appropriate, to just have 1 or 2 pages to print without your lovely photos.
trying to make the site better all the time! thank you for being patient with me. adding roasted tomatoes sounds lovely!
I’m getting the warm fuzzies just looking at this soup! Totally agree that skimping on the cream is not allowed.
I love roasted red peppers so much, this soup is great! Pinned and printed so we can have it for dinner ASAP!
Thanks for this recipe – went straight to the shop after work & made it last night – it was DELICIOUS! I wish I could bottle the smell in the house while the peppers were roasting! I snuck an extra pepper on the tray which is now in the fridge waiting to be used – I am thinking along the lines of a panini with goats cheese :)
Oh yes, this soup would be a perfect addition to my collection. The children in my basement will love it. This seems to be the perfect recipe for this weather, a nice, hot, steamy bowl of soup that will fill me right up. Thank you oh very much for this imaginative recipe. smile.
This looks like everything I want in a soup and then some!
This soup sounds amazing — and just look at that beautiful, intense color! I can’t think of a better way to eat the last of the summer’s red pepper harvest. :)
I absolutely love baking but cooking never seems to be my forte. I really like red pepper soup so I think I may take a chance haha. Thanks as always for the great posts!
Sydney Sun
For the Love of Baking
http://www.forloveofbaking.com
Ah how wonderful! I have been perusing my cook books for delicious, hearty autumnal soups! This looks ideal!
I recently read about an easy way to roast peppers – and now I know exactly what I’m going to make with those roasted peppers! (I saw you in the recent magazine article – I was like, “Hey – there she is!!!)
That bread though
I love that you layer the flavors… it drives me crazy to watch people make soup and just dump everything in at the same time and let it simmer for like 30 minutes and call it good. So much wasted potential that way! It absolutely makes a difference to take care in each step. Thanks for doing it right. :)
i totally agree! it’s also fun!
I have relatives coming in a couple of weeks and they love soup! Planning to make ahead and freeze. I’m guessing that, like most creamed soups, this is better if you freeze it without the cream and add that in when you heat it up. That’s my plan, anyhow. And asiago on the side to add or not, according to whim. Any special salad accompaniment recommendations?
you’re absolutely right about that! fantastic note! for a side salad, i think a homemade Caesar Salad would be nice!
Yes, Caesar salad! I love fresh bread with my soup, but they are watching the carbs, so salad is going to happen instead.
Making this tonight. Roasted red peppers is one of my favorite tastes in the world (roasted red pepper pasta in particular) and I know it will be a huge hit in my house. Plus, I love soup leftovers to lunch. And more dinners.
xoxo
Taylor
Man this looks great! Loving this for the dreary weather we’re having right now. :)
Hummmm… Great idea !
This looks delicious. I have red peppers that were planned for some skillet action, but that has now been changed to soup. Tonight. Thanks! <3
Holy moly! That looks insanely good and creamy and mmmm. Thanks for sharing! This will be perfect with the cooler weather swooping in. Thanks, Joy! You totally make my day.
I’m totally a soup girl – it’s about the comfort. Morning, noon or night – any season of the year … I’m always game for a bowl of soup
There was dew on my car this morning, it’s a sign! Autumn is coming! This soup sounds deliciously fitting for a day like this, especially since it helps with the Mondays.
It finally cooled down to the 80s in San Diego sooo maybe in another month it will be soup time?
This looks truly lovely. We love making a big pot of soup at the beginning of the week and eating it for leftovers all week too!
well, now…i guess i’m making soup today…!!!
I’m thinking I need to make a double batch of this, ASAP.
I am heading towards summer in Australia however the temping sight of that red, red bowl has me running to the veg section of the market and picking up a truck load of peppers!
I can see the red peppers I went crazy over at the farmers market ($3 for 5 what???) getting antsy in the fridge. Time to soup-ify them! (And the butter on the reheat? Pure essential genius.)
Looks delicious! I lovelovelove roasted pepper anything.
https://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
Beautiful color. I have discovered butternut squash soup recently. This will add to my arsenal of soups. I wonder what they would taste like blended? And, wouldn’t it be pretty to have half butternut and half red pepper with a beautiful swirl in the center? If only soup behaved that way, lol.
May want to add a step as to when it would be good to add the roasted red peppers with the other ingredients before blending.
i read that in your snarky voice but you probably didn’t mean it that way. thanks for catching my mistake!
I, too, like to make a big pot of soup on Sunday night, and eat it throughout the (first few days of the) week. My Russian genes also agree that everything tastes better if it was on sale at the store. Gorgeous results!
I wouldn’t mind some of this right now on this cold stormy day! I have garam masala that’s been waiting for a new recipe besides chicken tikka masala. Can’t wait to try it!
I always buy expensive red peppers at the store and then stupidly let them go bad in the fridge. Definitely going to make this soup before that happens again!
i’m guilty of the same!
Loving the flavour of this soup – looks dreamy!
I love soup in the autumn. It’s the ultimate comfort food and this looks so bright and delicious.