Roasted Vegetable Soup
A velvety blended soup of deeply roasted tomatoes, carrots, red bell peppers, onion, and garlic, rounded out with tender cannellini beans, dried oregano, and torn fresh basil.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
A comforting lunch that still leaves you feeling light and energized. It relies on humble produce and a can of white beans, so it comes together with pantry staples, and its smooth, pourable texture makes it easy to eat at a desk, pack in a thermos, or serve to someone who is not much of a vegetable eater. The flavors read as cozy and familiar, but the ingredient list is wholesome.
The roast is what carries this soup. Cooking the carrots, peppers, onion, and garlic at high heat until their edges char concentrates their natural sugars and builds a deep, faintly smoky sweetness that you simply cannot get from simmering alone. Blending those caramelized vegetables with crushed tomatoes gives the soup its velvety body without any cream, and the garlic mellows from sharp to nutty in the oven so it melts right into the base. A final drizzle of raw olive oil and torn basil at the end keeps the finish bright.
Blended vegetables and whole cannellini beans together are what do it. The beans bring plant protein and fiber that turn a light vegetable soup into a lunch that actually holds you until dinner, while their soft, creamy interiors add richness the moment they warm through. Between the tomatoes, peppers, and carrots, the soup is loaded with color-rich vegetables and is naturally high in fiber and potassium, and the olive oil helps you absorb the fat-soluble nutrients from all that produce.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups no-salt crushed tomatoes
- 3 cups no-salt cannellini beans, rinsed
- 4 carrots, chopped
- 2 red bell peppers, chopped
- 1 large onion, wedged
- 5 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/3 cup fresh basil
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
Instructions
- Prep the vegetables: Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Peel the carrots and chop them into roughly even chunks. Halve the red bell peppers, remove the cores and seeds, and chop them into large pieces. Peel the onion and cut it into wedges through the root so they hold together. Peel the garlic cloves and leave them whole, since whole cloves go sweet and soft in a hot oven where minced garlic would simply burn.
- Roast: Spread the carrots, bell peppers, onion, and garlic on a large rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer with space between the pieces, because anything crowded steams in its own water and this soup gets all of its depth from the charred edges. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges are browned and charred in spots and the carrots are fork-tender, stirring once about halfway through.
- Simmer: Scrape the roasted vegetables and any pan juices into a pot. Add the crushed tomatoes and dried oregano, then pour in only enough water to cover the vegetables, since every extra cup thins the flavor you just spent half an hour building. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and cook for about 10 minutes to let the flavors come together.
- Blend: Remove the pot from the heat. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until completely smooth and velvety. If using a countertop blender, work in batches, filling the jar no more than halfway, holding the lid down with a towel, and venting to let steam escape, because hot soup in a sealed jar builds pressure and will lift the lid off. Return the soup to the pot.
- Add the beans: Drain the cannellini beans in a colander and rinse well under cool water. Stir the beans into the blended soup and warm over medium-low heat until heated through, a few minutes. Add a splash of water if the soup is thicker than you like.
- Finish and serve: Tear the fresh basil leaves rather than chopping them, since a knife bruises the cut edges black and torn leaves stay green. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with the torn basil, and finish each bowl with a drizzle of olive oil.
Variations
- Smoky and warm: Add a pinch of smoked paprika or a little ground cumin to the vegetables before roasting for a deeper, campfire-like edge.
- A little heat: Toss a seeded chopped chili or a pinch of red pepper flakes in with the vegetables so the warmth roasts right into the base.
- Extra green: Stir a few handfuls of baby spinach or chopped kale into the pot after blending and let it wilt in the hot soup for more greens.
- Creamier body: Blend in a spoonful of tahini or a splash of unsweetened cashew cream for a richer, silkier texture; the cashew cream adds nuts.
- Herb swap: Trade the basil for fresh dill or flat-leaf parsley at the finish for a brighter, more herbal lift.
Storage & Leftovers
Let the soup cool, then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. The flavor deepens overnight as the roasted notes settle in, so day two is often even better than the first.
Reheat gently in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring now and then until it is steaming; a blended bean soup thickens as it sits, so loosen it with a splash of water until it reaches the consistency you like. In the microwave, heat in short bursts and stir between them to avoid hot spots.
To get ahead, roast the vegetables up to two days in advance and refrigerate them, or freeze the finished soup for up to three months. Cool it fully, portion into freezer containers with a little headspace, and thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating and whisking smooth again.
Notes & Tips
- Chase the char: Do not pull the pan too early. The browned, blistered edges on the peppers and onion are where the sweet, roasted flavor lives, so let them go until you see real color rather than just softening.
- Give them room: Crowd the baking sheet and the vegetables steam instead of roast. Use a large pan and spread everything in a single layer, or split it across two sheets so each piece can brown.
- Pick heavy peppers: Choose red bell peppers that feel firm and heavy for their size with taut, glossy skin; they are sweeter and roast down better than lighter, wrinkled ones.
- Blend to velvet: For the smoothest texture, let the soup blend a good minute longer than you think it needs. If you want it truly silky, pass it through a fine sieve after blending.
- Season at the end: Because the tomatoes and beans are unsalted, taste before serving and adjust with a small pinch of salt or a squeeze of lemon to make the roasted flavors pop.
- Round out the meal: A slice of crusty whole-grain bread or a green salad on the side turns this into a fuller lunch and gives you something to dip.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- Roasting the tomatoes, peppers, carrots and garlic before they ever meet the blender is where the depth comes from, and the white beans going in with them are what make it thick, so body and plant protein arrive from the same step.
- Tomatoes are the backbone. Simmered with the roasted vegetables and their pan juices, they lose their raw acidity and turn jammy and concentrated, and the heat also makes their lycopene easier for the body to take up.
- White beans go into the blender whole and disappear into the texture, leaving the soup smooth and velvety. They are quietly supplying protein and soluble fiber, which is much of why a bowl of this eats like lunch rather than a starter.
- Carrots and red peppers roast into real sweetness, and that sweetness is what keeps the tomatoes in check. The carrots bring beta-carotene, the same pigment giving the finished soup its warm orange-red color.
- Dried oregano goes in during the roast where the heat can open it up, and fresh basil is torn over the bowl at the table, so you get the dusty herbal note underneath and the sharp green one right at the top.
- As you eat, let the first spoonful sit long enough to taste how far the roasting took the tomatoes, and keep the pace slow enough that the warmth and the fullness both have time to register.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to peel the peppers after roasting?
No. Since the soup gets fully blended, the skins break down and disappear into the smooth base, so there is no need to peel the peppers or the roasted garlic.
My soup came out too thick. How do I fix it?
Blended bean soups thicken as they sit and reheat. Just stir in a splash of water, a little at a time, over low heat until it reaches the pourable consistency you want.
Can I make this without a blender?
You can, though the texture will be chunky and rustic rather than velvety. Mash the roasted vegetables and beans against the side of the pot with a potato masher or the back of a spoon for a heartier bowl.
Can I use canned crushed tomatoes with salt if that is what I have?
Yes, but the soup will taste saltier, so hold off on adding any salt of your own until you taste at the end and adjust from there.