This roasted red pepper gouda soup is creamy and flavorful, with sweet caramelized roasted red peppers and smokey gouda for the cozy soup of your dreams. Easy to make and perfect with a slice of homemade bread.
This post is sponsored by Tony Chachere’s, but all opinions are my own.
Why this Recipe Works
This soup is vegetarian and so flavorful. The flavors are perfectly balance of sweet, savory, and smokey. It’s creamy thanks to the gouda cheese and cream added to it and is seasoned to perfection with our favorite creole seasoning, Tony Chachere’s.
Ingredient Notes
- Red Bell peppers. We roast the bell peppers which caramelizes them adding a sweet and smokey flavor to this roasted red pepper gouda soup. While I prefer to roast my own peppers, you can use three 16-ounce jars of roasted red peppers from the store instead.
- Roma tomatoes. The tomatoes really compliment the flavor of the bell peppers while adding a hint of acidity
- Creole seasoning. We used Tony Chachere’s Bold Creole Seasoning for our main seasoning. Tony’s adds the perfect level seasoning, no it’s not spicy, just flavorful. You could also use their original seasoning as well.
- Vegetable broth. I used a vegetable bullion to make my vegetable broth. You could also use chicken broth, just note that this recipe will no longer be vegetarian if you do that.
- Apple cider vinegar. The apple cider vinegar adds an extra hit of acid to balance out the sweetness in this recipe. You could also substitute lemon juice or even white vinegar.
- Gouda Cheese. I tested this recipe with several different kinds of gouda, and while all were delicious, the smoked gouda added the best flavor.
- Cream. Cream makes this soup super creamy and indulgent. You could substitute milk to make this red pepper soup low fat, but it won’t be quite as rich.
How to Make this Recipe
- Roast the peppers. Start by roasting your red peppers and tomatoes at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes on each side. Place your vegetables in a bowl covered with plastic wrap in the freezer for 20 minutes. The steam will make the skins easier to remove.
- Remove the skin. Once your peppers and tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel the skins off the vegetables completely and remove the seeds and stems from the bell peppers.
- Sauté the garlic and onion. In a large pot, over medium heat, add your butter, garlic, and onions together until the onions are translucent.
- Let simmer. Add the roasted peppers, tomatoes, and vegetable broth to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil and let simmer for 5-8 minutes.
- Blend. Using an immersion blender, food processor, or blender, blend your soup until smooth. If using a food processor or blender, you may have to do it in batches. Because this soup is very hot, make sure there is a vent on either your food processor or blender to let steam escape. Just be careful of any hot soup that might splash out.
- Add cream, gouda, & seasoning. Return the blended soup to the pot and add in the cream, gouda cheese, creole seasoning, dried basil, and oregano. Stir until smooth.
- Serve. Serve this soup with a drizzle of cream, and some fresh bread or croutons.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) & Expert Tips
I like to roast my peppers in the oven. But you can also roast them on the grill or over an open flame on the stove.
Roasting the peppers in the oven is simple. Line a baking sheet with either parchment paper or foil (for easy clean up!). Place your peppers (and tomatoes for this recipe) on the baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, flipping them about halfway through.
No, not at all. Bell peppers by nature are not a spicy pepper. But once they are cooked or roasted they actually get sweeter and have a much milder flavor.
Peeling the peppers and tomatoes might seem like a pain, but I think you’ll be surprised at how easy and quick it goes. You want to remove the skin on the peppers and tomatoes so that your roasted red pepper gouda soup is silky smooth. Little chunks of skin in the soup would ruin the mouth feel of this soup.
If you’re trying to make this soup ahead of time you could make it the day before and just reheat it on the stove (it reheats beautifully!). Or to save yourself some time you could roast the red peppers and tomatoes the day before so they soup would be simple to make the day you want to serve it.
Another option if you’re trying save time is to use canned roasted peppers. I prefer to roast my own, but you can substitute the 4 bell peppers this recipe calls for with three 16-ounce jars of roasted bell peppers.
We love this soup with homemade bread or croutons! It is the perfect soup to serve with a fresh salad, like our lemony-garlic sensation salad or our fuji apple salad.
Storage and Freezing Tips
This roasted soup will stay good in the refrigerator for 4-5 days, sealed in an airtight container.
If you have leftovers that you would rather freeze for a later here are a couple different methods I like to use:
The Paper Cup Method:
Take the soup and ladle it into large paper cups so you have individual portions. Freeze the soup in the cups. Then you can tear off the paper cups and place all the frozen individual portions in a large freezer bag. Then when you want to eat it, grab an individually frozen portion from the bag and thaw or you can microwave it frozen (stir it frequently!).
The Freezer Bag Method:
Cool your red pepper soup completely and place into a gallon freezer bag and freeze. Then in the future you can put the frozen soup in your crockpot for an easy meal!
To reheat, I recommend letting it thaw in the fridge over night before placing in slow cooker on low. But you can also put it in the slow cooker straight from the freezer.
The Tupperware Method:
Portion your chili into Tupperware containers with individual portions and pop them in the freezers. Then anytime you need a quick meal or need to take lunch with you to work, grab a container out of the freezer!
With any of these methods you may need to add a little extra water or broth to thin the soup out if it is too thick.
Love soup? Try out one of these other soup recipes!
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Roasted Red Pepper Gouda Soup
Ingredients
- 2 medium Roma tomatoes (or 3 small ones)
- 4 medium red bell peppers (see notes)
- 3 cups vegetable broth (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion (or half a large onion)
- 4 cloves garlic minced (about 2 tablespoons)
- 8 ounces Gouda cheese (preferably smoked) (about 3 cups shredded)
- ½ cup cream
- 1 ½ teaspoons Tony Chachere's Bold Creole Seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place tomatoes and bell peppers whole on a lined baking sheet (line with foil for easy cleanup!). Cook for 20 minutes on one side, flip the tomatoes and peppers over and cook for an additional 20 minutes on the other side.
- Place in a bag or a covered bowl in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. Then peel the skins of the peppers and tomatoes.Remove the tops of the peppers and the seeds on the inside. Slice into strips.If you have seeds stuck to the peppers, give them a quick rinse to remove the seeds before adding them to the pot.
- In a large pot, over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion and garlic and stir for 7-8 minutes.
- Add in the roasted tomatoes and peppers and broth. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer for 5-8 minutes.
- Either use an immersion blender or transfer mixture to a high speed blender or food processor (you may have to do this in batches, see notes). Blend until smooth.
- Return the soup to the pot. Over low heat, add cream, gouda, and seasonings. Stir until cheese is melted and cream has been fully mixed in.
- Top with fresh basil, a drizzle of cream, and extra gouda if desired. Serve with fresh bread or croutons.
Video
Notes
- Red Bell Peppers. You can substitute the bell peppers with three 16 ounce jars of roasted red peppers, just drain off any liquid in the jars before adding to the soup.
- Vegetable Broth. You can also use chicken broth (this is not vegetarian).
- Blending the soup. If using a food processor or high speed blender you may need to blend the soup in batches. Because the soup is very hot, be careful when blending it. I like to vent to the top of my blender to keep too much pressure from building up and hold a cloth (one you don’t mind getting a little dirty) over the top to prevent anything from spraying out.
I thought this was really tasty but I recommend blending it with the gouda. I blended mine in a food processor then added the cheese as the recipe stated and the cheese never really melted and blended in, it became chunky.
Can’t wait to try this!!! About how many servings does it make?
about 6!
- Alyssa
So good!