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Simple, light, and satisfying Turkish roasted red pepper and tomato soup is designed for cold, post-holiday evenings when you’ve had your fill of heavy meals and serious eating, but also want something warming and filling.
The flavors of roasted red peppers and tomatoes create a great-tasting soup everyone will love. And you will love how easy it is to prepare. If you enjoy the flavors in this recipe you might also enjoy this simple pasta recipe and a tasty baked ratatouille.
Why This Recipe Works
- Great flavor. Fresh mint makes the roasted red pepper tomato soup combination a little different from other roasted red pepper soups.
- Hearty and delicious. This easy tomato soup recipe is satisfying enough for a main meal.
- Quick and easy. The entire cooking portion of this recipe requires only 30 minutes to prepare!
What Goes Into This Recipe
This vegan roasted red pepper soup is prepared with simple, wholesome ingredients you can find in most grocery stores.
- Bulgur wheat: A form of cracked wheat that is prepared by soaking rather than cooking. If you can’t find it in your local grocery store, check specialty health food stores nearby or order online. You can also use it to make these protein-packed black bean patties.
- Red peppers: The recipe uses a combination of fresh red bell peppers and canned or jarred roasted peppers. This combination creates more flavors and textures in the soup.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: Or any other neutral oil.
- Onion: A simple aromatics adding a layer of flavor underneath all the others going on.
- Fresh mint: The fresh mint gives the soup a floral kick. Chop up some extra to use as a garnish on the top.
- Diced tomatoes: Canned tomatoes are an easy pantry staple perfect for making soups. In this soup, they add some acid to balance the flavors of the other ingredients. You can also use canned fire-roasted tomatoes as well.
- Vegetable broth: Adds more depth to the soup than plain old water.
- Paprika, gochugaru or sriracha: Definitely not required but they make an excellent garnish for the soup. If you have it, gochugaru is my top choice!
How to Make Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
- 1) Place the bulgur in a bowl and cover with hot water, about a quart of water should do it. Leave it to soak for one hour. After soaking, drain well and set aside.
- 2) Start the soup while the bulgur is soaking.
- 3) Dump the jar of peppers in a blender and puree until smooth.
- 4) Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, and add the onions and fresh red pepper. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until soft stirring occasionally.
- 5) Add the mint, tomatoes, pureed roasted peppers, and stock to the pot. Heat until it boils. Then lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- 6) After cooking, add the drained bulgur and stir everything together.
- 7) Cook for 5 to 10 minutes longer or until the bulgur has swollen and thickened the soup.
- 8) Add salt and pepper to taste before serving up. Ladle it into bowls and garnish with the mint and a sprinkling of paprika.
Expert Tips and FAQs
- Soaking the bulgur instead of cooking leaves the bulgur with more texture meaning it won’t get too mushy when added to the cooked soup.
- Serve the top of your roasted pepper and tomato soup with a sprinkle of gochugaru for that fabulous finishing touch of flavor.
What to Serve with Vegan Roasted Red Pepper Soup?
The beauty of this vegan soup is that it works great as a main dish but also as a side dish. Here are some ideas of what to serve with it to turn it into a complete meal!
- Sandwich: Vegan grilled cheese sandwiches, vegan tuna sandwich, chickpea wrap
- Salad: A salad with some protein such as beans or tofu makes the perfect add-on. I recommend edamame salad, garbanzo and kale salad, or this crunchy salad with peanut dressing.
- Quesadilla: Try it alongside this bean quesadilla and soyrizo quesadilla.
When serving it as a starter or side dish, it goes great with so many different meals!
The unique flavors of sweet roasted peppers are perfect for adding to pasta dishes, soups, blending into dressings, and mixing with other vegetables. It’s also quite tasty when blended into hummus and adds its special flavors to vegan chili.
Yes, it works perfectly to make in advance. Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days or in the freezer up to 3 months. The soup will thicken when stored so when reheating you may need to add a bit more vegetable broth or water to thin it out.
More Easy Soup Recipes
Photos by Alfonso Revilla
Turkish Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup of dry bulgur wheat
- 12 ounces of roasted red peppers
- 2 Tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 onion minced
- 1 red bell pepper minced
- 2 Tablespoons of fresh mint chopped
- 14.5 ounces of diced tomatoes drained
- 2 quarts of rich vegetable broth
- chopped mint and paprika (or gochugaru, if you have it, or sriracha), to garnish
Instructions
- Put the bulgur in a bowl and cover with hot water. (Around a quart of water should do it.) Let soak for one hour, then drain well and set aside.
- While the bulgur is soaking, dump the jar of peppers in a blender and puree until smooth.
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, add the onions and fresh red pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, between 8 to 10 minutes. Add the mint, tomatoes, pureed roasted peppers, and stock, bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the drained bulgur and stir combine. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until the bulgur has swollen and thickened the soup. Season with salt and pepper, ladle into bowls and garnish with the mint and a sprinkling of paprika.
Notes
- Soaking the bulgur instead of cooking leaves the bulgur with more texture meaning it won’t get too mushy when added to the cooked soup.
- Serve with a sprinkle of gochugaru for that fabulous finishing touch of flavor.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Although plantbasedonabudget.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Plantbasedonabudget.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Can we still lose weight on a plant based diet with all the carbs? I am new at this, thank you
I’m not a licensed nutritionist, but I’ve seen it done with others!
Ooo this soup looks so good I have to try it!
Thanks for such a detailed and delicious recipe! So, so good!
So glad you gave it a try 🙂 It’s a yummy one!
Delish! A perfect light soup for the warmer weather and so easy and tasty too.
It’s a nice and light flavorful soup that comes out so so tasty!
Looks so good and hearty!
This soup was easy to make, hearty, and yet light and refreshing! It also gave me an excuse to use up those tomatoes sitting on my counter!
Definitely a great way to use up your tomatoes!
What a unique and delicious soup! The color is so appealing!
Perfect combo, I really love it!
This soup is so hearty and flavorful! I love the unique combo of flavors. Yum!
This soup sounds amazing! Can’t wait to try!
It’s full of bold flavors! Let us know what you think!
Just loved the flavors and textures of this turkish roasted red pepper soup with the bulgar and tomato. So hearty and delicious!
Agreed! So bold and delicious!
My kind of soup! So flavorful and delicious!
I love the flavours in this soup but I can’t easily buy bulgur wheat in my area. What can I sub instead?
Your favorite grain (like rice, quinoa, or couscous) should still do the trick! You’ll just have to adjust as needed depending on how long your sub takes to make and water retention.