Roasted Red Pepper Soup (Printable Version)

Silky vibrant soup with sweet roasted peppers, mellow garlic, and spicy harissa for a warming bowl.

# What You Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 4 large red bell peppers
02 - 1 medium yellow onion, diced
03 - 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
04 - 1 head garlic
05 - 1 medium potato, peeled and diced

→ Pantry

06 - 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
07 - 1 tablespoon tomato paste
08 - 1½ teaspoons harissa paste, or to taste
09 - 4 cups vegetable broth
10 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
11 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Garnish

12 - ¼ cup crème fraîche or plain Greek yogurt
13 - Fresh cilantro or parsley leaves
14 - Crusty bread, for serving

# Steps:

01 - Preheat the oven to 425°F.
02 - Cut the red peppers in half, remove seeds and membranes, and place them cut-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Slice off the top of the garlic head to expose the cloves, drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil, and place on the baking sheet.
03 - Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pepper skins are charred and blistered. Remove and let cool; keep the oven on.
04 - Once cooled, peel the skins off the peppers and squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from their skins.
05 - In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and potato. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes until softened.
06 - Stir in tomato paste and harissa; cook for 1 minute.
07 - Add roasted peppers, roasted garlic, smoked paprika, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.
08 - Puree the soup in batches using a blender or with an immersion blender until silky smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
09 - Ladle into bowls, swirl with crème fraîche or yogurt, and garnish with fresh herbs as desired. Serve with crusty bread.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It tastes restaurant-quality but feels impossibly easy, like you've cracked some secret code.
  • The harissa adds just enough heat to make you sit up straighter with each spoonful, no more boring soup nights.
  • Roasted garlic melts into the broth so completely you forget it's there until the flavor blooms on your tongue.
02 -
  • Don't skip charring the peppers properly; that blackened skin isn't a mistake, it's where half the flavor lives, and peeling it away reveals something completely transformed.
  • The potato is doing heavy lifting here to create creaminess naturally, so don't skip it thinking you can compensate with more dairy—it won't work the same way.
03 -
  • Use an immersion blender if you have one; it keeps you from having to transfer hot soup in batches and risk splashing.
  • Don't blend the soup more than you need to—it should be silky and smooth but not entirely lost in itself, which happens if you over-blend.
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