Big Little Recipes

This 5-Ingredient Roasted Pepper Soup Is Winter Magic

February  8, 2022

A Big Little Recipe has the smallest-possible ingredient list and big everything else: flavor, creativity, wow factor. That means five ingredients or fewer—not including water, salt, black pepper, and certain fats (like oil and butter), since we're guessing you have those covered. Inspired by the column, the Big Little Recipes cookbook is available now.


I bought a deep freezer for soup. It is 66 pounds, 7 cubic feet, and too wide for me to hug. (I’ve tried.) To finagle it into our basement, it took three people, a borrowed car, and the removal of one door. Was that worth it? Don’t ask my husband, ask me. The answer is yes.

Because when life happens, soup knows how to make it better. Chicken Noodle Soup can nurture you when you catch a cold. Miso Carrot Soup can warm you up on a cold day. Cheesy Broccoli Soup can help you file your taxes. Cream of Mushroom Soup can find your missing headphones.

And this roasted pepper soup can do—well, what do you want it to do? More vacation days? Less dust along those baseboards? A trip to outer space? Why not?

Bell peppers are obviously nonnegotiable, but the color is up to you. While red is classic, in a string of bad luck—which turned out to be good luck—I could only find orange for my early tests. And who knew? The resulting soup is even prettier, like pumpkin.

Join The Conversation

Top Comment:
“I just made this using cashews, and an equal mix of red, yellow, and orange bell peppers. I added less than a cup of water in the final blend to keep the final product on the thicker side. The soup is a little sweeter than I thought it would be, but not in a bad way; think butternut squash soup. I really like everything about this soup. It has great flavors, is super simple to make, is not time- or labor-intensive, and perhaps best of all, thanks to Emma’s excellent video, I learned a new technique for cutting bell peppers! Next time I’m going to try using fresh vegetable stock instead of water at the finish. Highly recommend this soup!”
— Jeff
Comment

Red or orange—or even yellow, if you want to go rogue—there is no peeling involved. A lot of recipes ask you to char whole peppers, then steam them in a bag or bowl, then peel, and peel, and peel off the skin (fussy). Other recipes, in an effort to avoid this, call for jarred roasted bell peppers (not as flavorful). We’re doing neither.

Instead, dice peppers, toss them on a sheet pan with onion hunks and olive oil, and hurl everyone into a hot oven. The charred and wrinkly skins will get puréed with everything else. And here’s a secret—no one will know the difference. If anything, it tastes better.

Photo by Rocky Luten. Prop Stylist: Molly Fitzsimons. Food Stylist: Ericka Martins.

Now I could tell you about the other ingredients, like the nuts (which get soaked and then turned into an effortless milk-slash-cream) or the feta (roasted until gooey, plus its salty-cheesy brine). But what I want to talk about is paprika.

Which is made from peppers! Which underlines, then circles, then draws stars around the pepperiness of our roasted pepper soup. Using a smoked variety channels the energy of sitting by a fireplace under a throw blanket while knitting another throw blanket.

Deliberately, crucially, this yields more than a meal. Two quarts means dinner tonight plus more to pack in pint containers. Tuck these in the freezer, for whenever a day doesn’t go according to plan.

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Put down those long grocery lists. Inspired by the award-winning column, our Big Little Recipes cookbook is minimalism at its best: few ingredients, tons of flavor.

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See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • Hmoshman
    Hmoshman
  • Cathy Rempel
    Cathy Rempel
  • Jeff
    Jeff
  • Ann
    Ann
  • Neal Ross
    Neal Ross
Emma was the food editor at Food52. She created the award-winning column, Big Little Recipes, and turned it into a cookbook in 2021. These days, she's a senior editor at Bon Appétit, leading digital cooking coverage. Say hello on Instagram at @emmalaperruque.

29 Comments

Hmoshman March 10, 2023
How much does this recipe make? Video makes it look like two quarts. Recipes should include this. Thanks.
 
Cathy R. February 18, 2022
Just finished making this soup. It was a bit tricky as I do not own a blender but have a hand held immersion one. In spite of this I was able to put it together and the soup looks and tastes delicious! Plan to serve it with some Naan bread and garnish with toasted walnuts. Thank you for a not too complicated and tasty recipe!
 
Jeff February 17, 2022
I just made this using cashews, and an equal mix of red, yellow, and orange bell peppers. I added less than a cup of water in the final blend to keep the final product on the thicker side. The soup is a little sweeter than I thought it would be, but not in a bad way; think butternut squash soup. I really like everything about this soup. It has great flavors, is super simple to make, is not time- or labor-intensive, and perhaps best of all, thanks to Emma’s excellent video, I learned a new technique for cutting bell peppers! Next time I’m going to try using fresh vegetable stock instead of water at the finish. Highly recommend this soup!
 
Ann February 13, 2022
Sorry someone didn’t like the walnuts … actually left the walnuts not fully puréed … to add a little texture - two generations of my family plus yesterdays dinner guests swooned over this soup. While millions watched the tv I went to the store for all the ingredients to make more!!! Thanks!
 
Neal R. February 11, 2022
I made this soup yesterday for my wife. She loves soup and I made it exactly as you did. Delicious. I even used the cold soup as a dressing for rotisserie chicken I had on my salad today for lunch. I just use a regular blender and was able to blend out the nut texture. I loved the simplicity of the recipe. Thank you!
 
Jan February 11, 2022
I made this. It tastes like an underlying layer of paste--the walnuts. Even Vitamix can't get rid of the texture of the soaked walnuts. Sorry, this is just awful.
 
Emma L. February 11, 2022
Sorry to hear that, Jan! Here are some other soup recipes in case you're looking for another: https://food52.com/blog/25156-best-soup-recipes
 
mary J. February 10, 2022
20 comments and not a single one after making the soup.
 
[email protected] February 9, 2022
I’m excited to try this new recipe, the video was great. Hoping for some big flavors from very little ingredients!
 
TinaI February 8, 2022
This soup sounds amazing! Definitely on the menu for next week! Glad to see big little recipes back in action
 
Emma L. February 9, 2022
Thanks Tinal, hope you enjoy it!
 
Lois February 8, 2022
Sounds delicious. I'm vegan. What would you suggest as a substitute for the feta cheese?
 
Emma L. February 9, 2022
You could increase the quantity of nuts a bit and add a big spoonful of white miso or nutritional yeast.
 
Lois February 9, 2022
Thanks!
 
faeries1 March 4, 2022
Violife makes a great feta. Melts a lot faster, so just keep that in mind.
 
Bonnie February 8, 2022
I’ve MISSED you and your Big Little Recipes. This soup looks amazing. Will try it soon. Mmmmmmm!
 
Emma L. February 9, 2022
Happy to be back, thanks Bonnie!
 
sdtilt February 8, 2022
Any thoughts on a non-dairy alternative to the feta? I have a couple of ideas, but am curious if you've tried anything. thanks.
 
Lois February 8, 2022
What would you sub for the feta, please?
 
Emma L. February 9, 2022
Hi sdtilt and Lois—you could increase the quantity of nuts a bit and add a big spoonful of white miso or nutritional yeast.
 
Lois February 9, 2022
Thank you!
 
sdtilt February 9, 2022
Thank you so much Emma!
 
Tamara H. February 8, 2022
Can we substitute pecans for walnuts?
 
Emma L. February 8, 2022
Yum, totally! (They're similar in texture to walnuts so they should blend up easily.)
 
Allison B. February 8, 2022
I have a question: Can you substitute goat cheese for the feta? This soup sounds AMAZING.
 
Emma L. February 8, 2022
Fun idea! Sounds delicious. For goat cheese, I would either skip roasting it or just keep a close eye on the oven. And then swap in lightly salted water instead of feta brine.
 
Allison B. February 8, 2022
Thank you so much Emma.
 
Susanna February 8, 2022
I know this sounds bonkers…but I just got two pounds of Anaheim peppers in a farm box. I wonder if I could take this in a more southwestern direction, maybe subbing cotija cheese and using pepitas instead of nuts? Those might not purée well, though.
 
Emma L. February 8, 2022
Whoa! Sounds like a fun riff to me—if you try it, let me know how it goes.