Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Fontina Grilled Cheese.
This roasted red pepper soup is silky smooth, full of fire roasted flavor and absolutely delicious. Topped with fresh basil and melty fontina grilled cheese bites, it is super satisfying and the ultimate comfort food.
Soup season is going strong!
This silky roasted red pepper soup is vibrant, filled with flavor, super satisfying and best of all – topped with melty fontina grilled cheese bites/
Oh
My
Gosh.
The best flavor profile does exist!
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love tomato soup and grilled cheese. But roasted red pepper soup and grilled cheese? It’s like tomato soup’s cooler, more modern cousin. Of course, there are still tomatoes inside the red pepper soup, but they aren’t the main ingredient.
They let the roasted red peppers shine and do the talking.
Roasted red peppers rank up there are one of my favorite pantry ingredients to use in my recipes. If you do a search through all my recipes, they are a staple. Their sweetness, that extra charred flavor – they just can’t be beat. I like them a million times more than fresh red bell peppers.
And so do my kids! So that’s always a win.
My first exposure was probably on pizza. When I was a kid, my parents’ go-to order for the “adult” pizza was pepperoni and roasted red peppers. Now, that’s OUR “adult” pizza order often. Roasted red peppers add so much to every dish.
This soup is full of vegetables, which makes it a nice way to load up on them. We have onions, carrots and celery, plus a lot of spices and a touch of tomato paste. I like to cook the tomato paste in the pot with the vegetables until it gets all caramely and toasty. This adds an incredible depth of flavor to the soup!
Fire roasted tomatoes are also in this soup. That’s my other favorite pantry ingredient! In fact, I pretty much use fire roasted tomatoes exclusively. Any time a recipe calls for diced or crushed tomatoes, here I am running in with my fire roasted ones.
And I blend this soup. I am not a fan of immersion blenders – it never gets the soup smooth enough. I want a soup that is SILKY. Not a touch of texture and no chunks. Give me a blender and I’ll pour the soup right in there. Puree it is until smooth as silk.
After blending, I stir in sour cream (one of my favorite tricks from white chicken chili) or a drizzle of cream. Or both!
So perfect for dipping and lovely in this winter weather.
Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Fontina Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 sweet onion, chopped
- ½ cup carrots, chopped
- ½ cup celery, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- kosher salt and pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 (12 ounce) jars roasted bell peppers, drained and coarsely chopped
- 1 (28 ounce) can fire roasted crushed tomatoes
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- ⅓ cup sour cream, plain greek yogurt or cream
- fresh basil for serving
- drizzle of cream, for topping
- fontina grilled cheese
- 4 slices sourdough bread
- 6 ounces fontina cheese, freshly grated
- softened butter, for spreading
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables soften, about 6 to 8 minutes.
- Stir in the basil, oregano, thyme, red pepper and tomato paste. Cook for another few minutes, stirring so the spices and tomato paste get sautéed in with the vegetables.
- Add in the roasted red peppers, crusted tomatoes and 3 cups of stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
- While the soup simmers, I started the grilled cheese sandwiches. I head a nonstick skillet over medium-low spread. I spread the outsides of the bread with softened butter, placing 2 slices butter-side down in the skillet. Top with the grated fontina. Top both with another slice of bread, butter-side up. Cook slowly until the cheese is melty. Gently flip and cook the other side until golden.
- Carefully transfer the soup mixture to a high powered blender (or use an immersion blender!) and puree until smooth. Pour the soup back into the pot over medium-low heat.
- Stir in the sour cream until it’s fully incorporated. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve with a drizzle of cream if desired. Top with fresh basil. Serve the fontina grilled cheese on the side.
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I appreciate you so much!
Cheese pulls forever.
3 Comments on “Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Fontina Grilled Cheese.”
I meal prepped the soup for my lunches this week. It is so delicious and such a nice twist to tomato soup!
This was excellent! Super easy to make.
I just made this the other night….it’s delicious!! Definitely fits in with my healthy eating plans!