I love a good vegetable soup, and this from-scratch Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Fennel is deliciously savory with a hint of sweet and spice. This one is perfect to pair with a Gruyere Grilled Cheese and doesn't use a single packaged jar!
Love Roasted Red Pepper Soup? Try our Creamy Red Pepper Sauce with Pasta!
A Quick Look at The Recipe
- ✅Recipe Name: Roasted Red Pepper Soup
- ⏲️Ready in: 1 hour 15 minutes
- 👪Makes: 6 servings
- 📋Main ingredients: Red Peppers, Fennel, Vegetable Broth.
- ⭐Why You'll Love This Recipe: With a hint of spice and the delicious taste of fennel, this is a unique roasted red pepper soup with plenty to offer!
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Why This Recipe
This is the best roasted red pepper soup recipe for your family because it is completely from scratch and made in under ninety minutes. Instead of using jars of roasted red peppers, we're taking the simple step of roasting our own peppers. While this will take 45 minutes to an hour in the oven, it's only about 5 minutes of active prep.
I love a vegetable soup like Classic Italian Minestrone or Classic Pasta Fagioli, but there is something about a blended soup like roasted red pepper soup or Creamy Potato and Onion Soup that is so hearty and comforting.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Red Peppers: Roasting red peppers allows some of the sugars to caramelize and create a slight sweetness in the sauce. You can't get the same flavor from the jarred roasted red peppers, so this makes a huge difference!
- Vegetable Stock: I like to use vegetable stock in vegetable-based recipes, but this one also has heavy cream, so if you wanted, you could substitute chicken stock.
- Fennel: I love the anise flavor of fennel, and it really can't be substituted. But if you're short a fennel bulb, an onion will work, although it will miss some of the intended flavor
- Parmesan Rind: I add a parmesan rind to my soups to add a little extra salty and savory flavor.
- Heavy Cream. To make it vegetarian, leave out the heavy cream or substitute it with coconut milk in equal amounts.
- Seasoning: Simple as salt, pepper, and red pepper. The crushed red pepper adds a hint of spice to the soup.
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on the ingredients.
How to Make Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Follow the numbered steps below to make a roasted red pepper soup from scratch with fresh peppersand fennel! No tomato in this soup! We'll save that for the Creamy Roasted Garlic and Tomato Soup.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 425℉. Slice about ¼ inch off the top of the garlic head, just enough to expose the tops of the cloves. Place the garlic cut-side up on a small sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, letting it seep down between the cloves. Wrap the foil loosely around the garlic to create a seal.
Step 2: Place the red peppers and fennel on a baking tray. Drizzle with oil and season with 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and ½ teaspoon red pepper. Toss to combine. Place the garlic wrapped in foil in the pan.
Step 3: Place the baking tray in the oven and roast for 45 minutes. The peppers and fennel will be done when they have charred slightly.
Step 4: Remove the tray from the oven and place all of the roasted vegetables in a Dutch oven. Add 2 cups of vegetable stock and a handful of basil. Squeeze the garlic out of the husk into the pot.
Step 5: Use an immersion blender to completely blend the soup. Bring the soup to a simmer and add ½ teaspoon salt. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Step 6: Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice. Then add the heavy cream and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.
Top Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Homemade Italian Parmesan Croutons, along with easy appetizers like EASY Ricotta Bruschetta, or dip some Air Fryer Zucchini Fritters right in there!
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Pro-Tips
- Raise the rack in the oven up to the second-highest level. The direct heat will help the natural sugars in the peppers caramelize, bringing out a subtle sweetness. This works the same for roasting carrots in Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup.
- Wrap the garlic head in aluminum foil so that the garlic will moisten and become a puree.
- Add a parmesan rind to your soup! It will add another layer of seasoning with its own intense salt flavor. I do this in all of my creamy soups, like Tuscan Fennel and White Bean Soup!
- Finish with a squirt of lemon juice and a few extra bay leaves. These flavors will be more forward when tasting the soup if you add them at the end.
Serving Suggestions
- Sandwiches: Roasted Red Pepper Soup is the perfect type of soup to serve with grilled cheeses like Eggplant Caprese Grilled Cheese or cold sandwiches like Cold Shrimp Salad or a Chopped Italian Sandwich.
- Salad: A soup and a salad is the perfect lunch combo with this easy veggie soup and an Italian Radicchio Salad or Garbanzo Bean Kale Salad.
- Use it for dipping some of your favorite Italian appetizers like Fried Cauliflower Cakes and Grilled Polenta!
FAQs about Roasted Red Pepper Soup
No, but you can add some to easily bulk up the soup. If you're looking to add more volume, tomatoes can easily do that. Just add some Roma tomatoes to the roasting tray and blend them right into the soup.
Yes, you can leave it out altogether for a more rustic vegetable soup, or you can substitute coconut milk. Coconut milk will change the flavor of the soup pretty dramatically.
Of course, you can, but homemade will be much more flavorful with more depth of flavor. The fresh red peppers roasted in the oven release a combination of their natural flavors along with a caramelization of the natural sugars in them, leading to a subtle sweetness in the soup. Using a jar of roasted red peppers will lead to a more forward, sweet flavor, which most people would not prefer.
More Deliciously Creamy Dishes
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Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Equipment
- 1 4 qt dutch oven
- 1 immersion blender
Ingredients
- 5 red peppers, quartered
- 1 fennel, sliced
- 1 garlic, head
- 1.5 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 cup vegetable stock
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoon parsley, chopped
- 1 parmesan rind
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 handful fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425℉. Place the red peppers and fennel on a baking tray. Drizzle with oil and season with 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and ½ teaspoon red pepper. Toss to combine.
- Slice about ¼ inch off the top of the garlic head, just enough to expose the tops of the cloves. Place the garlic cut-side up on a small sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, letting it seep down between the cloves. Wrap the foil loosely around the garlic to create a seal. Place it on the baking tray and place the whole tray in the oven for 45 minutes.
- Remove the tray from the oven and place all of the roasted vegetables in a dutch oven. Add 2 cups of vegetable stock and a handful of basil. Squeeze the garlic out of the husk into the pot. Use an immersion blender to completely blend the soup.
- Bring the soup to a simmer and add ½ teaspoon salt. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice. Then add the heavy cream and garnish with parsley. Serve hot!
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Notes
- Raise the rack in the oven up to the second highest level. The direct heat will help the natural sugars in the peppers caramelize bringing out a subtle sweetness.
- Wrap the garlic head in aluminum foil so that the garlic will moisten and become a puree.
- Add a parmesan rind to your soup! It will add another layer of seasoning with its own intense salt flavor.
- Finish with a squirt of lemon juice and a few extra bay leaves. These flavors will be more forward when tasting the soup if you add them at the end.
Vincent DelGiudice says
Homemade roasted red pepper soup is one of my favorite creamy vegetables soups. It has such a depth of flavor and is perfect for dipping my favorite grilled cheeses.