Roasted Tomato Soup
The tomato soup to make if you have a good blender and a haul of tomatoes. Tomatoes, onions, garlic, and a red pepper are roasted, then seasoned with a touch of smoky paprika. Couldn't be more simple or flavorful.
This is a variation of the roasted tomato soup recipe I featured in Super Natural Cooking. I love it because it’s one of those recipes that is quite simple, but the results are absolutely chef’s kiss. You use just a handful of ingredients - tomatoes, garlic, red pepper, etc. - then slice and roast them to the point of browning and collapse. Puree, season with a kiss of smoked paprika, and enjoy. That's it.
Roasted Tomato Soup: Inspiration
The inspiration for this soup came years ago when I picked up a Mariquita Farm Mystery Box. So heavy, I suspect it weighed in the thirty pound range. The bus was overflowing with a rainbow of produce - little gem lettuce, Hungarian spicy peppers, lacinato kale, Danish carrot beets, minicor carrots, tomatoes, sweet peppers, chard and scallions. Hidden beneath the rest of it, at the very bottom, so as not to crush her leafy neighbors, was a hefty rouge vif d'estampe pumpkin the color of a fiery sunset. Plenty to keep the kitchen lively in the coming week. But we started by reaching for the tomatoes - slicing them, dicing, and enjoying them raw. And there *still* were plenty that needed to be used up. I thought of the roasted tomato soup in Super Natural Cooking, fired up the oven, and started slicing.
Roasted Tomato Soup: Variations
- Too Hot To Use The Oven: Use the grill to cook everything in place of the oven. Puree, load with toppings and enjoy!
- Make it Chunky: Save a few of the roasted tomatoes from the blender. Chop those by hand and stir them back in after blending the rest.
- Serve it Chilled: I tend to serve this soup heated, but you can serve it hot, cold - or whatever the weather calls for. And you can do it a day or two in advance if need be, it keeps well refrigerated.
What to Serve with This Soup
Serving a soup like this along with some freshly baked bread is the way to go. Some favorite options:
- Lemon Focaccia: don’t skimp on the toppings here
- Cheddar Jalapeño Oatmeal Bread: might be my favorite of this list of options
- Zucchini Bread: well-toasted and smeared with a herby compound butter
- Six Seed Soda Bread: Seed crusted . Bonus points for adding a compound butter here as well.
- Easy Little Bread: yeast-based, farm-style loaf, made from rolled oats and a blend of all-purpose and whole wheat flours.
More Soup Recipes
- Tortellini Soup
- Wild Rice Soup
- Roasted Tomato Soup
- Lively Up Lentil Soup
- Split Pea Soup
- Miso Soup
- Ribollita
- All soup recipes
If you enjoy making soups as much as I do, you'll want to start making your own homemade bouillon powder. So easy, and nice to keep on hand!
More Tomato Recipes
- Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
- Roasted Tomato Salad
- Rustic Tomato Tart
- Simple Tomato Soup
- Five Minute Tomato Sauce
- Heirloom Tomato Salad
- Simple Bruschetta
- Roasted Tomato Salsa
- All the tomato recipes
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Roasted Tomato Soup
I’ve pureed this soup with a hand blender a number of times over the years, and the truth is, a high-speed blender makes a big difference, for the better. Use a blender to puree your tomato soup into silky, smooth deliciousness. Use ripe, flavorful, in-season tomatoes here.
- 1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, cored (if necessary) and quartered
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and quartered
- 3 medium yellow onions, peeled, quartered extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 plump cloves of garlic, unpeeled
- 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt, plus more to taste
- 2 - 3 cups hot vegetable stock or water
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder (optional)
- Topping Ideas: toasted sesame seeds, smoked paprika, goat cheese, chives
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Preheat the oven to 375°F degrees and position 2 racks in the middle of the oven. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, alternately you can just rub them down with a thin glaze of olive oil.
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Arrange the tomatoes, skin side down, on a baking sheet. Coat the bell pepper and onions with olive oil and put them on the other baking sheet along with the garlic. Place the pepper skin side down as well. Give both sheets a light showering of salt, then bake until the tomatoes start to collapse and the onions start to brown and caramelize, about 45 minutes. Turn the onions if they start getting overly dark on the bottom. Check on the garlic as well, once the garlic cloves are golden and oozy inside, pull them from the oven and allow to cool.
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Peel the garlic. Working in batches if necessary, place all of the roasted vegetables into a blender. Blend in a cup of the stock, and keep adding the rest 1/2 cup at a time until the soup is the desired consistency. Add the paprika and a bit more salt if needed - adjusting to your taste.
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Serve loaded with lots of toppings.
Serves 4.
Related Recipes
Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Keep these on hand to dial up all your favorite meals. They are intensely flavorful roasted cherry tomatoes. Made by roasting in a hot oven with olive oil, salt, and a bit of brown sugar. So simple to make and so good!
Roasted Tomato Salsa
The deep, caramelized flavors of roasted tomatoes and onions alongside the smokiness of the chipotles equals an incredibly good salsa.
Rustic Tomato Tart
A beautiful tomato tart layered with jammy, caramelized onions, laced with fresh basil. A rustic free-form tart perfect for summer.
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Comments
p.s. For more body or to make it a little more hearty, like to add in steamed brown rice to tomato soups. I like it pure and plain, though, too.
Great tip Erin. And generally speaking, I really like brown rice and tomatoes.
I love a tomato soup. Between that and black beans, it’s heaven. I did a chilled tomato soup on my site just a couple of weeks ago, when the weather was hot. Today it’s chillier, and I was actually contemplating a garbanzo bean-tomato *hot* soup, so this recipe confirmed yet again how versatile a great tomato soup can be.
I roast the tomatoes with garlic and basil, but I like the idea of adding a bell pepper. I get a rainbow of bell peppers at my farmers market, so it won’t be quite the handsome red you have, but still an excellent idea.
I also like adding in a fresh tomato to top it with–though I have found a variety of success (er, not) serving it to my less-vegetable-eating husband that way.
Thanks as always!
Great recipe, super comfort food!
Heidi,
This recipe could not have come at a better time! I made this last night (with fewer onions and a mix of heirloom and regular tomatoes) and it was absolutely perfect. The smoked paprika (one of my favorite ingredients!) really does add the magic touch. Thanks, as always.
there’s not much of a chance of finding smoked paprika where I live, but I’ll hunt it down once I get to a bigger city. Making plenty of tomato soup is definitely on my fall menu! Thanks for the great recipe.
why roasting? raw!
You can absolutely take this in a raw direction if you prefer.
I made it for dinner. Skipped the pepper, forgot the garlic (a shame!) and used mushroom bouillon. It was delish. I’ll have it cold for lunch tomorrow.
Heidi, I just love your site, your writing, the photos of the food, and everything about 101cookbooks! Thank you.
Oh, I LOVE roasted tomatoes. This looks fabulously good!
Made this tonight, with the addition of roasted zucchini and a generous helping of yogurt. Served with whole wheat baking powder biscuits, it was creamy goodness that my kids couldn’t get enough of.
Heidi
I’m a college student from the Bay Area, going to school on the other coast, and seriously missing both the Bay and my kitchen! Reading your blog brings be back to both of those places…
I bought your cookbook over the summer and made this wonderful soup for my family with super yummy fresh produce. There was plenty left over, and I ate it for days afterwards. sooooo delicious
Thank you for your fabulous site and fabulous recipes
I moved from Santa Cruz to Utah in January. I think the thing I miss most of all, truthfully, from Santa Cruz is my CSA membership to Andy’s farm. And the amazing produce I got.
I thought I’d miss the ocean. I thought I’d miss the redwoods. But what I miss is the organic goodness. And the mystery boxes that inspired me to eat new things!
We have CSA’s in Utah and I am certainly partaking. But the growing season is much shorter, the variety is much, well, less varied.
I have delicious tomatoes, though. So I can make this soup. Yum.
I hope Andy and Julia see this comment. We’re really lucky to have them here.
The first time I saw the photo of this soup I knew that I had to make it. I am going to a fall party in northern Ontario and will be cooking for twelve. We are having fondue for dinner and I thought this would make a perfect appetizer. We are supposed to be having a tennis tournament but the weather might not hold in which case this soup will be sure to lift everyones spirits. Thank you.
How luscious. I could dive right in there and camp out for the rest of my life…and I don’t think things would be all that bad!
This was the perfect soup to lift the mood, since its raining cats and dogs outside. I forgot the paprika, but I added a little goat cheese to the top. YUM!
Heidi looks delicious as always!!!
Carol (and others), your tomatoes will ripen just fine in a bowl at room temperature – keep them in the fridge until you want them to ripen; they will ripen in there, but more slowly. One can also make a green tomato chutney (fried green tomatoes are unknown here in the UK, but my mother, who grows tomatoes most years – and there is so nothing nicer than a ripe tomato eaten when just-picked, has often made the green tomato chutney).
Heidi, that soup looks so-o-o-o-o good! My problem with roast vegetables is that the never last quite long enough to get made into soup, because I eat them en route…..
Yum! This is what I can do with the last of my mom’s tomato crop. It’s so simple even a novice could do it. I’ll probably subsititute the paprika for fresh herbs…maybe oregano or basil. Just what I need for this weather.
For all the people who are asking about green tomatoes. If you bring them in before they freeze, spread in a single layer in a box, cover with newspaper…to keep them dark….. and store in a cool place, they’ll ripen over the next few weeks.
I check every second day, pull out the ripe tomatoes, then either roast them, or just peel and quarter, and freeze. By the end of a few weeks I’ll have several large containers of frozen tomatoes to pull out and cook in November or even January when they taste phenomenal!
I love Julia’s mystery box, when I go to pick up my box I feel like I’m about to buy illicit stolen goods. I love tomato soup and can’t wait to try this. Thanks for the compliment about my site.
I am very fond of tomato soup so I am going to try this receipe today and send in my opinion. Thank you for giving me the idea of roasting the tomatoes. It’s unique!
I never thought I would do this but…Got your email and was eating the soup an hour later. Yum! Thanks. An idea for those who haven’t yet begun: as long as the oven is on, roast some extra garlic. Perfect with the crusty bread this soup begs for.
Great! That’s what I like to hear! And great tip re: the extra garlic.
This is SO right up my alley. I’m moved beyond words. There’s nothing to NOT like about this soup. Fan-freaking-tastic!
Thanks, Ariane! I do like ’em fried. I just can’t think of anything else to do with them.
Just read the comments about veg stock and can second what Debbie Taffler says about Marigold powdered veg stock from the UK. It is made in Switzerland so maybe it is available in the US as well. It comes in 2 different packs; standard vegetarian in the green pack and vegan in the purple pack which is lower salt. My daughter brings it from London for me when she returns to NZ for holiday. Having said that she then takes back a favourite NZ one that she prefers! Whatever floats your boat I guess.
Thanks for a wonderful soup! I can’t use bell peppers so enjoyed a variation: I roasted a jalapeno pepper instead. After roasting, I put the pepper in a bag until most of the skin was easy to peel off, and I seeded it. If you want to try this, use gloves to handle the jalapeno and be very sure not to touch your face or rub your eyes, etc. I also roasted some pumpkin seeds & sprinkled them on top.
One of my favorite soups ever!
And I love the picture, it does the soup ever so much justice!
Oh, wow, this soups looks fabulous! I love what roasting does to the flavors of vegetables (and chicken and pork tenderloin and more) – but now the weather is begging for hot soups. I’m looking forward to putting this on the table sometime very soon.
This looks very good. I like roasted tomato but I have never used them in soup. I’ll try this recipe tonight!
I love the sweetness and depth of flavor of roasted tomatoes, so this soup is right up my alley!
I’m sure this soup could also be turned into a wonderful pasta sauce by omitting the stock and replacing the smoked paprika with a little rosemary.
Oh hello tomato soup recipe! You’re exactly what I was looking for to use up things in my own mystery box….
Oh I love roasted tomato soup, and your pictures are beautiful. Thanks, one more time!
I’ve never roasted my own tomatoes…I’ll have to try it. Much cheaper than buying them and tastier!
This is how I make Sauce with tomatoes i grow, for the sauce I don’t quite Puree’ the tomatoes, and I add organic Paste to help add some body.
delicious sounding soup!
Most beautiful bowl of tomato soup I’ve ever seen. Move over, Campbell’s!! 😉
A perfect soup for this time of the year. Reminds me very much on a soup my grandmother used to make 🙂
I JUST had roasted tomato soup from Mistral in SF today for lunch and then found this on your site. ‘Tis the season! I love fall flavors. Thanks for the recipe. I’ll try making my own!
Heidi, I will try this soup–it looks delicious. Would it work with green tomatoes? We had a late summer where I live and all of my tomatoes are green. Or any ideas for how to ripen them off the vine???
I roast tomatoes like this for sauce all the time — and put it into jars in the freezer for winter use. For the soup, try adding some Italian breadcrumbs in each bowl. Really yummy!
I agree with the comments about “Marigold” but it is possible to make your own very effective and tasty vegetable stock by freezing the trimmings from your vegetables and then boiling them up as you would for any kind of stock. I do this almost all of the time and it works very well..
Thanks so much Heidi, I have sent your link to my veggie daughter. We would love this one too. I am a huge veggie lover and soup lover too. Now we are going into cold weather, this will be a favorite. Thanks for a wonderful site. I love it. Beverly Jane
sounds good. roasting the veg for soup gives a much deeper flavour. Works well for pumpkin soup too.I have made the Lemony Chickpea stirfry several times. It is a current favourite. I don’t eat tofu so have done it without and also with some diced chicken for the meateaters. Good both ways.Also added a bit of chili which worked well with the lemons
perfect! ive been craving a roasted tomato soup! wondering, tho- when would it be necessary to “core tomatoes” ? ive never done that before…
Oh yum…exactly what early autumn days call for. I can’t wait to make this soup.
Roasted tomatoes are great before they’re turned into soup…sometimes I make a batch and keep them in my fridge. They’re amazing on sandwiches or as a side to a main course. I always throw some rosemary and/or thyme in with the tomatoes when I roast them.
All of Better than Bouillon’s products are amazing. They really are a good base, and I recognize all the ingredients. Their vegetable version is good but it might be a little heavy for this recipe. If you haven’t tried it, definitely try it.
Can smaller grape-like tomatoes be used with success?
I’d go with tomatoes that are medium to large in size. I made this with ripe roma tomatoes last week and it was great!
Kitt:
Have you done fried green tomatoes? Not the most healty thing on the block, but oh so good.
Slice your green tomatoes fairly thin, somewhere between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. You might want to try a couple different widths to find out what works best for your taste.
Dredge in a mixture of seasoned cornmeal and flour, approximately equal parts and pan fry or deep fry just long enough to brown. Remove from heat, add additional salt/pepper as desired.
Definately a treat in my household!
I made this soup a few months ago and botched it by using too much liquid and tomatoes that were too small. To save the texture and flavor, I blended in about /2 a cup of toasted walnuts. With the help of a very good hand blender, it worked really well. I have not made a recipe from SNC or the website that has not been excellent, unless it was my fault from overcooking!
Re: bouillon, I use the Better Than Bouillon, and it’s good. I particularly like it for recipes just calling for a cup or so of broth. However, for recipes calling for 3+ cups of broth, I prefer Imagine Organic “No Chicken” Broth.
Okay, first of all, this mystery box concept sounds life-changing. It looks like the person who does it can’t meet the huge demand… someone else want to start something similar in my neck of the woods?
Secondly, stick blenders rock my socks. The possibilities are endless!
I’ve been reading this blog for awhile, and I love your recipes. I haven’t made any yet, but this one is the one I will start with. My favorite part of all your recipes is your introduction. Thanks for making cooking sound like so much fun!
How bizarre – I just made the same soup form your book too – and Michelle, fyi, there’s a great organic no-added-anything powdered bouillon here in the UK called Marigold that we all swear by – tastes delicious, weighs nothing and no added nasties, so while I don’t want to turn this, my favourite foodie blog site into an ad campaign, I really do recommend it!
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