Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup with Roasted Red Peppers

This homemade vegan tomato soup is perfect for chili days and nights! It’s made creamy with coconut milk and cauliflower and bursting with flavor from the roasted red peppers. Have this pantry staple soup ready in less than 1 hour!

this recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Quick. This soup is almost as easy as a dump and go recipe. All you need is 15 minutes of prep and a few simple ingredients.
• 2.5+ cups of vegetables per serving! This soup is packed with cauliflower, bell pepper, and tomatoes.
• Customize-able. As with most soups, there is a lot of room for substitutions and customization here.
• Gluten-free, vegan, oil-free, sugar free! This vegan tomato soup is allergen friendly – great for hosting!
• Meal prep friendly. Homemade soup is almost always better the next day because it has time to continue melding all the flavors together in the refrigerator. Making a large batch of soup on Sunday to enjoy all week long as an easy vegan lunch is always a good idea.

Ingredient Notes

• cauliflower florets – If you’ve tried my Cauliflower Potato Leek Soup or Healthy Pumpkin Soup without Cream, you know I am a big fan of using cauliflower to make soups creamy without adding fat or refined oil.
• roasted bell peppers – Roasting peppers at home is super easy, yet adds TONS of flavor to this tomato soup!
• vodka – An unusual ingredient I love adding to my tomato soup because it intensifies the flavor of the soup! Don’t believe me? Read this article: The Reason Why Tomato Sauce with Vodka Tastes so Good.
• nutritional yeast – Adds a cheesy, comforting flavor to the tomato soup without any dairy or processed vegan cheese.
• coconut milk – The best vegan milk to use when you want your soup extra creamy! It won’t make your soup taste like coconut, just rich and velvety.

Step by Step Instructions

• First and foremost, broil the peppers. It’s really important you do NOT skip this step! I know it’s tempting – 10 minutes of extra prep, but trust me! The broiler will do all the work and the charred skin adds so much extra flavor for the soup. If you love the flavor of charred peppers, make sure to check out my Roasted Chili Corn Salsa, too!
  
  Halve and deseed bell peppers, then transfer them to a baking sheet and broil for 10 minutes, or until charred and blistered. You can also do this with peppers whole on an open flame stovetop. Once charred, roughly chop and set aside.

1. In a large 5.5+ qt pot over medium heat, sauté the diced onion and minced garlic in a splash of the vegetable broth. Stir constantly to prevent the garlic from burning.
2. Once softened, add in the vodka, oregano, parsley, thyme, red pepper flakes and bay leaf.
3. Continue to sauté, about 3-5 minutes until spices are fragrant and toasted.
4. Add in the vegetable broth, cauliflower, bell pepper, and diced tomatoes. Stir well to incorporate.

5. Reduce the heat to medium low, add the lid and allow soup to simmer for 30 minutes, or until the cauliflower is easily pierced with a knife.
6. Turn off the heat and remove the bay leaf from soup. Then, using an immersion blender or a high speed blender, puree the soup. If using a blender, you will need to do this carefully in batches.
7. Once soup is pureed and smooth, season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in the coconut milk and nutritional yeast until warmed through.
8. Serve immediately with Vegan Cheesy Garlic Bread or Vegan Grilled Cheese!

Substitutions and Variations

• In a rush? Use frozen, pre-chopped cauliflower florets and jarred roasted red peppers.
• Don’t want to use coconut milk? Any unsweetened vegan milk will do – coconut milk will just have the creamiest result.
• Substitute the vodka for additional broth, if desired.
• Only have full sodium vegetable broth? Use 1 cup of vegetable broth, 1 cup of water.

FAQs

Expert Tips

• If using a blender to blend this soup smooth, please do so in batches. Hot foods expand tremendously in the blender and needs ample space to do so. If you fill the blender too high, you risk having the lid blown off (not kidding). Not only is this dangerous because the soup will be piping hot but it is also messy.
• Store your leftover soup in glass. It keeps the soup as fresh as possible for as long as possible.
• If you are using jarred roasted red peppers, taste before adding to your soup! Some versions of jarred roasted peppers are fire-roasted and spicy. If this is the case, you are going to want to omit the red chili flakes.

More Vegan 1 Pot Meals To Try

Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup with Roasted Red Peppers

This homemade vegan tomato soup is perfect for chili days and nights! It's made creamy with coconut milk and cauliflower and bursting with flavor from the roasted red peppers. Have this pantry staple soup ready in less than 1 hour!

5 from 2 votes

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Nicolette Wax

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

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Ingredients

Tomato Soup

• ▢ 1 small yellow onion - diced
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic - minced
• ▢ 2 teaspoons dried oregano - can substitute 1 tablespoon fresh
• ▢ 2 teaspoons dried parsley - can substitute 1 tablespoon fresh
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ▢ ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes - **adjust to taste or omit
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ ¼ cup vodka - substitute ¼ cup vegetable broth, if desired
• ▢ 2 cups vegetable broth
• ▢ 4 cups cauliflower - chopped
• ▢ 4 red bell peppers - roasted and charred
• ▢ 2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• ▢ ¾ cup full fat coconut milk
• ▢ ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• ▢ sea salt and black pepper - to taste

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Instructions

• Broil the peppers. Halve and deseed bell peppers, then transfer them to a baking sheet and broil for 10 minutes, or until charred and blistered. You can also do this with peppers whole on an open flame stovetop. Once charred, roughly chop and set aside.
• In a large 5.5+ qt pot over medium heat, sauté the diced onion and minced garlic in a splash of the vegetable broth. After a few minutes, add in the vodka, oregano, parsley, thyme, red pepper flakes and bay leaf. Continue to sauté, about 3-5 minutes.
• Add in the vegetable broth, cauliflower, bell pepper, and diced tomatoes. Stir well to incorporate. Reduce the heat to medium low, add the lid and allow soup to simmer for 30 minutes, or until the cauliflower is easily pierced with a knife.
• Turn off the heat and remove the bay leaf from soup. Then, using an immersion blender or a high speed blender, puree the soup. If using a blender, you will need to do this carefully in batches.
• Once soup is pureed and smooth, season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in the coconut milk and nutritional yeast until warmed through.
• Storing: Store this soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. For best results, store in glass.

Notes

• Vodka is used to enhance the tomato flavor and is completely cooked out of the soup. If you do not want to use it, you can replace the vodka with an additional ¼ cup vegetable broth.
• You can use orange bell peppers too. I don’t recommend using green bell peppers as they are too bitter and will make the color of this tomato soup brown.
• If short on time, you can use frozen cauliflower florets and 2 (16 oz) jars of roasted red peppers. 
• This soup is slightly spicy from the red chili flakes. Adjust to your spice preference or completely omit for a mild soup. 

General note about salt

Please pay attention to the type of salt called for in the recipe (if applicable). Not all salts are made equal and cannot be substituted 1 for 1. If you are substituting table salt for kosher salt, you will need to cut the amount called for in the recipe by at least half.

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Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup with Roasted Red Peppers

Serving Size

 

1 serving

Amount per Serving

Calories

188

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

7

g

11

%

Saturated Fat

 

5

g

31

%

Sodium

 

720

mg

31

%

Potassium

 

1006

mg

29

%

Carbohydrates

 

24

g

8

%

Fiber

 

7

g

29

%

Sugar

 

12

g

13

%

Protein

 

6

g

12

%

Vitamin A

 

2972

IU

59

%

Vitamin C

 

160

mg

194

%

Calcium

 

129

mg

13

%

Iron

 

5

mg

28

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Disclaimer: The Nutritional Information provided for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the facts listed is not and cannot be guaranteed.

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This recipe was originally published September 3, 2020 and has been republished on February 11, 2022 to include ingredient notes, step by step instructions, variation and substitution options, and expert tips. The original recipe remains the same.

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