Bursting with mouth-watering rich yet bright flavors, this thick and creamy tomato and red pepper soup is a comfort food DREAM! Simmered together with a combination of fresh and fire-roasted canned tomatoes, sweet red bell peppers, and a variety of aromatics before partially blending with raw cashews for an ultra-creamy result with tender bites of tomato and pepper, all without any dairy. A wholesome & comforting version of a classic!
The CREAMIEST dairy-free tomato and red pepper soup that can be enjoyed all year!
Any other year round soup lovers out there?! This one’s for YOU!
If there was ever a comfort-filled soup to make and love year round this tomato and red pepper soup would be it.
Building a truly irresistible soup is all about layering flavors and, in some cases, texture to get the most out of every bite.
This creamy tomato soup is made with a combination of canned (fire-roasted!) tomatoes and cherry tomatoes – a variety of tomato that I’ve always found to be fairly sweet no matter what time of year it is. Especially when sautéed in a pot with olive oil to bring out their natural sugars.
The red bell pepper helps enhance the sweetness even more, adding a lovely bit of texture and a silky mouth-feel, and I’ve also included plenty of other aromatic boosting ingredients like onion, garlic, and fennel for maximum depth of flavor!
While (of course) you can make tomato and pepper soup without a creamy component, I wanted this recipe to be thick and hearty. Almost moonlighting as an old-school tomato bisque, so I’ve included tried-and-true cashew cream for the lush texture!
👉🏼 This particular soup recipe skips the step of making actual cashew cream, and instead blends the soaked cashews right into part of the soup for a more robust flavor. If you want to experiment with cashew cream in other recipes I have a easy tutorial on how to make cashew cream on it’s own, or you can check out our entire library of recipes that features cashews as a dairy substitute!
And for more soup inspiration be sure to take a look at all of our dairy-free soup recipes! Soup is one of my favorite things to make and share with you 🤗
Ingredient highlights
🌿 A combination of pantry-staple and fresh ingredients come together in this recipe to create a brilliant combination of flavor that’s so much better than store-bought!
Cherry or grape tomatoes
Either option works, though the texture of the skin on grape tomatoes is a little bit thicker than cherry tomatoes which will result in more bite in the texture.
If you’re making this soup during the summer you could substitute with an equal amount of sweet heirloom tomatoes. But otherwise, a baby tomato variety will offer the best flavor and sweetness.
Canned fire-roasted tomatoes
Fire-roasted tomatoes help boost the rich tomato flavor and add a bit of smokiness to the soup.
Fennel
I absolutely adore the sweet and aromatic quality of fennel in a soup! When sautéed until tender it loses all of the anise characteristics that some people are averse to, and provides a lovely backdrop of nuanced flavor.
Raw cashews
When soaked until tender and plump, raw cashews will combine seamlessly into any liquid they’re blended with!
Truly an outstanding dairy substitute with an exceptional texture and mild flavor.
Nutritional yeast
Nutritional yeast adds a bit of nutty, almost cheesy flavor to so many dairy-free sauce, soup, & pasta recipes!
It can be skipped in this recipe if you don’t have it on hand, but I recommend giving it a try if you do, or if you curious about incorporating it in your cooking!
How to make a super luscious dairy free tomato and red pepper soup
👉🏼 After a little chopping and measuring of ingredients, this soup comes together easily with the help of your Vitamix or high-speed blender!
Partially blending vs blending all of the soup
👉🏼 I love the textured bites that you get from fully blending only a portion of the soup. But if you prefer your tomato soup to be entirely smooth and creamy feel free to blend all of it! You may still have to blend it in two batches, depending on the size of your blender container.
Serving suggestions
We love garnishing this soup with a few *extras* for that (optiona!) fancy-at-home vibe. Cracked black pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, some reserved fennel fronds, and fresh basil if you have it on hand are all a nice touch!
Speaking from personal experience 😉 this soup pairs perfectly with a crusty grilled cheese sandwich. It would also be lovely with a light green arugula salad, or some toasted bread!
If you enjoyed this dairy-free tomato soup we’d love it if you would take a moment to rate and review it below! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 It’s also a great place for questions, and super helpful for other readers if you share any modifications you made to the recipe.
Thank you for sharing your kitchen with NK. We’re so grateful you’re here!
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Thick and Creamy Tomato and Red Pepper Soup (Dairy Free)
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Bursting with mouth-watering rich yet bright flavors, this thick and creamy tomato and red pepper soup is a comfort food DREAM! Simmered together with a combination of fresh and fire-roasted canned tomatoes, sweet red bell peppers, and a variety of aromatics before partially blending with raw cashews for an ultra-creamy result with tender bites of tomato and pepper, all without any dairy. A wholesome & comforting version of a classic!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw cashews (70 g)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes – 16 ounces, cut in half
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 bulb fennel, very finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning, or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil and 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 28 ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: Fennel fronds, black pepper, olive oil, black pepper, and basil to garnish
Instructions
- Soak cashews. In a small heat proof bowl, cover raw cashews in just boiled water and set aside to soak while you continue making the recipe.
- Make the base of the soup. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large soup pot over medium heat. Add cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, fennel, garlic, and kosher salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and tender and the cherry tomatoes have broken down – about 10-12 minutes. Add all-purpose seasoning and sauté for 1 minute more. Pour in 3 cups of vegetable broth and add diced tomatoes with all the liquid. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20-25 minutes, until tomatoes and peppers are very tender.
- Blend cashews with a portion of the soup. Drain cashews and add to a blender container with nutritional yeast and about 1/3 of the soup. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes, until entirely smooth and no pieces of cashew remain. Transfer blended soup to another small pot or a large glass liquid measuring cup and set aside.
- Lightly process the rest of the soup. Add remaining soup to the blender and pulse just a few times for a chunky texture, or, if you prefer a completely smooth soup, you can blend it until no pieces of tomato remain.
- Finish the soup. Combine both portions of soup in the soup pot and bring back to a gentle simmer. Cook for just a few minutes, to thicken slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot, garnished with fresh herbs, a drizzle of olive oil, and fennel fronds and/or basil if desired and enjoy!
Notes
A note about blending hot soups! I recommend always covering the blender lid with a thick dish towel before you turn it on, just in case the top decides it wants to come off during blending. This will also help contain some of the steam from the hot soup.
While we love the varied texture achieved by only blending a portion of the soup, you can also blend all of the soup until entirely smooth and creamy. You may still need to blend it in several batches depending on the size of your blender container.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Chris says
Delicious recipe!
Nyssa Tanner says
So glad to hear you enjoyed it! Happy cooking 🙂 – Nyssa