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For anyone focused on food security, budget control, health, or simply having a meal ready in no time this roasted red pepper and tomato soup is exactly the kind of soup recipe that you want. It’s simple on purpose. There is no dairy. No starch. No fragile ingredients that turn grainy or split after storage. Just roasted bell peppers, tomatoes, broth, and basic pantry staples.

Roasted red pepper and tomato soup isn’t fancy, complicated, or expensive, and that’s exactly why it belongs in a make-ahead-focused kitchen. It’s inexpensive to make in bulk, flexible enough for freezing or canning, and sturdy enough to reheat weeks or even months later without losing flavor or texture. This is the kind of soup that quietly solves real problems:

• What do I eat when I don’t feel like cooking?
• What can I preserve now to save money later?
• How do I stock my freezer or pantry with healthy food I’ll actually want to eat?

And if you’ve been relying on meal-kit boxes for your homemade roasted red pepper and tomato soup, it’s time to put the credit card away. There’s no reason to pay $12 for a single serving of soup when you can make a large batch at home – cheaper, with simple ingredients, and built for storage.

💰Cost Breakdown: Large Batch (12 Servings)

For our budget-conscious readers, let’s talk numbers. This roasted red bell pepper and tomato soup delivers serious value when you make it in bulk. For a 12-serving batch using fresh red peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic, herbs, vegetable broth, and a splash of white wine, the total cost usually comes in between $12 and $16, depending on seasonality and where you shop. In practical terms, that equals roughly $1 – $1.35 per serving.

In contrast, most store-bought organic roasted red pepper or tomato soups sell for $4–$7 per 400–500 ml jar or carton, which typically provides one serving, maybe two. As a result, feeding a household with organic store-bought soup gets expensive fast.

When it comes to meal kits, suppliers of meal kit boxes price meals as complete units, not individual components. When soup is the featured item, the cost usually lands around $8–$12 per serving. In practice, that means you pay full meal pricing for a single bowl of soup, plus packaging, shipping, and logistics.

Whichever way you look at it, making soup at home, and preferably a large batch of it, is the most economical way to feed yourself and your family.

 🫙Why This Soup Is Built for Preservation

Not every soup survives storage gracefully. Many are delicious fresh, yet they disappoint you later. Our roasted bell pepper and tomato soup is different. For starters, this soup tastes great fresh. Better yet, it is also a soup that freezes well and doesn’t disappoint when canned. Here’s why:

This homemade soup:

• Contains no dairy, so it won’t split
• Contains no starch, so it won’t thicken or glue up
• Has a smooth, blended texture, which reheats evenly

❄️Freezing Instructions (Recommended Storage Method)

• First, allow the soup to cool completely. Freezing hot or warm soup increases ice crystal formation and reduces final texture quality.
• Next, portion your homemade red pepper and tomato soup into freezer-safe containers or heavy-duty freezer bags, leaving adequate headspace to allow for expansion during freezing.
• Once done, label each container with the contents and date. For space efficiency and faster thawing, freeze bags flat before stacking.
• For storage, the soup tastes best within four months. It’s still safe after that, but the flavor will slowly fade.
• When reheating, thaw overnight under refrigeration or reheat directly from frozen over low heat, stirring periodically to maintain an even, smooth texture.

⚠️Canning Instructions (Read This Before You Start)

This roasted red pepper and tomato soup can be canned safely, but it must be pressure canned. Furthermore, it is best pressure-canned as a vegetable/tomato – vegetable blend, following tested vegetable soup guidelines.

Disclaimer: Always follow tested pressure-canning recipes for soups. If your recipe diverges from NCHFP standard tested formulations, which is the case with this one, freezing is the safest option. According to the National Center for Home Food Preservation, mixed -base soups must be pressure-canned to avoid risk of Clostridium botulinum.

Why Pressure Canning?

• Mixed low-acid vegetables + tomatoes require temperatures above boiling water temperature for safety.
• Pressure canning reaches ~240 °F, high enough to kill Clostridium botulinum spores.
• Water-bath canning is not recommended for soups and mixed vegetable products.

Important rules before canning:

• Do not add cream, milk, butter, cheese, or flour
• Do not thicken the soup

Pressure Processing Table (Vegetable/Tomato Soup)

For Hot-Packed soup in clean jars with 1″ headspace:

Jar Size	Processing Time	Dial-Gauge Pressure (adjusted for altitude)	Weighted-Gauge Pressure (adjusted for altitude)
Pints	60 minutes	11 lbs @0–2000 ft 12 lbs @2001–4000 ft 13 lbs @4001–6000 ft 14 lbs @6001–8000 ft	10 lbs @ 0–1000 ft 15 lbs @ above 1000 ft
Quarts	75 minutes	same as above	same as above

These figures follow official soup canning tables for vegetable and mixed soups provided by the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Water Bath vs. Pressure Canning Soup

You might see water-bath times for plain tomato products in some charts but that’s not the same as pressure canning a soup containing vegetables and broth. Mixed soups require the higher temperatures pressure canning provides.

If it’s just plain tomato juice or very thin tomato products with added acid, water bath canning can be an option. However, once vegetables or broth enter the mix, pressure canning is the recommended safe method.

👩‍🍳Tips & Tricks for the Best Roasted Bell Pepper and Tomato Soup

Wine Quality Matters

• While this soup uses only a splash of white wine, it does affect flavor.
• Choose a dry white wine you would drink yourself, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or unoaked Chardonnay.
• Never use cooking wines with added salt! They’ll throw off the seasoning.

Vegetables

• White onion and substitutes: White onions provide a sweet flavor that lets the peppers and tomatoes shine without bitterness. Make sure to sauté until soft and translucent. Importantly, yellow onions also work if needed. However, be sure to reduce sautéing time to avoid sharpness. Beware, red onions are too strong and can change the color and flavor profile of the soup.
• Don’t rush the peppers: You want blistered skins and deep color – that’s where the flavor comes from. Learn how to roast peppers here.
• Always use decent tomatoes: They don’t have to be perfect, but watery, flavorless tomatoes will give you flat soup.

👩‍🍳Freezing Tips

• Make sure to cool soup completely first: Hot soup expands and can make containers warp or burst.
• Always portion wisely: Freeze in 2–3 cup containers for quick meals or larger quart-sized portions for family dinners.

Canning Tips

• Let jars sit 12–24 hours after processing before testing lids.
• Remember, always store canned soup in a cool, dark place. Soup lasts up to 1 year if canned safely.

⚙️Common Problems & Fixes

• Texture too thin: Simmer a bit longer to reduce or blend more thoroughly.
• Flavor too bland: Fresh herbs, a pinch of salt, or a dash of pepper will brighten it instantly.
• Soup too thick: Thin your homemade soup with a little broth or water during reheating.

How to make roasted pepper and tomato soup – step-by-step

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