Roasted Cauliflower and Red Pepper Soup

This wonderfully creamy, and easy to make, roasted cauliflower and red pepper soup is rounded off with huge homemade garlic croutons. A simple, filling midweek meal for the whole family to enjoy.

Although I made this roasted cauliflower and red pepper soup when the weather was a little cooler, I personally feel you can’t go wrong with good soup even during warm summer months. Especially when the soup is quick, simple and budget-friendly (checking off three huge ticks for me).

Even better still is how adaptable this recipe is. I used cream, bacon and made my own massive garlicky croutons (why go small when you go can big?). All these are entirely optional, depending on how healthy or low fat you’d like the soup to be. Just adjust to your own preferences and you’re good to go.

Do I really need to roast the cauliflower?

No, not at all. Yes, it does take a little longer, and if it’s a midweek meal that you want on the table pronto, then I can understand the reluctance to roast cauliflower. However, you need to cook the other of the vegetables, so you might as well roast your cauliflower while you’re at all.

Roasting veggies means a little more effort, but doing so adds a dimension of flavour you can’t achieve with just boiling (or even frying). I roast my ingredients quite often, such as with my spicy roasted tomato soup and deep dish roasted vegetable pie and it really makes a difference.

Making homemade croutons

Another thing that makes a difference is adding homemade croutons. Yes, another bit of faffing that might not be welcome on a weekday night, but worth it all the same. They are easier to make than you might imagine. My croutons are massive. They are cut into chunks and then fried in butter with a little seasoning and garlic powder to go with it. That’s it. However, the croutons can be store-bought or omitted completely.

If you’re like me, you will look for any opportunity to use up leftovers. Croutons are made with stale bread that would probably be thrown out, so you’re doing your bit for the environment if you make them. Seriously though, what’s not to love about chunks of garlicky, fried bread floating in your soup? By the way, America has its own national crouton day, celebrated in May every year. 

Can I make this vegetarian?

When I first made this recipe back in February 2024, I was a meat eater. Now, I am a pescatarian. A lot of my older recipes have been adapted to suit us that don’t eat meat. However, the only meat in this recipe is the bacon, which is only added right at the end of preparation. Not using bacon will not impact on its deliciousness at all. You could also make this vegan by omitting the cream. 

Other simple vegetable dishes

If you are looking for ways to make dinner with more veggies, check out some of my favourite recipes:

• Winter vegetable paprika stew
• Red pepper chili sin carne
• Mushroom stroganoff (30 minute dinner)
• Potato and tomato omelette
• Mushroom “meatball” subs
• Mushroom “meatballs” in tomato sauce

Print Pin

Roasted Cauliflower Red Pepper Soup Homemade Croutons

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

Soup:

• 1 onion (cut into chunks)
• 1 red bell pepper (roughly chopped)
• 1 whole head of cauliflower
• 3 cloves garlic (whole)
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp paprika
• ¼ tsp oregano
• pinch black pepper
• 500ml (2 cups) stock (any)
• 125ml (½ cup) cream (optional)
• cooked bacon chopped into pieces (optional)

Croutons:

• 1 tbs butter
• 120g (4 oz) stale bread (any kind)
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp sea salt

Instructions

Soup:

• Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
• Cut or break the cauliflower into large florets and along with the other vegetables, place in a large baking tin.
• Drizzle with the olive oil, and add salt and pepper.
• Bake for around 30-40 minutes, just until the vegetables have softened and are browning.
• Add the veggies to a large pan along with the stock, paprika, oregano and cream (if using) and heat just until everything is bubbling. Add more stock if required.
• Remove from the heat and blitz in a food processor or blender until fairly smooth.
• Place back on the heat, add the bacon (if using) and allow the soup to warm through again.

Croutons:

• Melt the butter in a frying pan or skillet and then throw in your stale bread.
• Sprinkle over the garlic powder and salt and cook for around 10 minutes until they are nice and golden.

Serving:

• Pour the soup into bowls, sprinkle with a little extra bacon to garnish (optional) and top with the croutons. Serve with a super soft bread bun. Enjoy!