Roasted Vegetable Soup

Roasted vegetable soup is easy, soul-warming, and absolutely irresistible comfort food! It starts with sweet potato, colorful bell peppers, and carrots that get beautifully caramelized in the oven, then transforms into the most gorgeous, velvety soup that tastes like autumn wrapped in a bowl. There’s something magical about how roasting brings out all those deep, sweet flavors that just can’t be rushed.

Love More Soup Recipes? Try My Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup or this Broccoli Cheddar Soup next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Pure comfort in a bowl – The roasted vegetables create incredibly rich, sweet flavors that taste like a warm hug on a chilly day
• Simple but impressive – One pan roasting, then blend and serve – it looks fancy but couldn’t be easier
• Naturally wholesome – Packed with nutritious vegetables and naturally gluten-free
• Perfect for meal prep – Makes beautiful leftovers and freezes like a dream

Ingredients You’ll Need

For the Roasted Vegetables:

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into chunks (the star of the show – gives natural sweetness)
• 1 red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped into chunks
• 1 yellow bell pepper, deseeded and chopped into chunks (use whatever colors you have!)
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, left in their skins (roasting in the skin keeps them sweet and mellow)
• 1 red onion, peeled and chopped into wedges

For Seasoning & Building:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil (don’t skimp – this helps everything caramelize beautifully)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin (adds that warm, earthy note)
• ½ teaspoon paprika (gives a subtle smoky depth)
• 1 litre (approx. 4¼ cups) vegetable stock
• 35 g (about 1/3 cup) grated Parmesan cheese

For Serving:

• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• A few sprigs of fresh thyme (or whatever herbs make you happy)

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Why These Ingredients Work

Okay so here’s the deal with sweet potatoes – they basically turn into natural cream when you cook them long enough. I had no idea about this until my sister told me. They get all mushy and creamy without adding any actual cream, which is pretty cool.

The bell peppers get weird and sweet when you roast them. Like, totally different from eating them raw. They almost taste like candy or something. I used to hate red peppers but roasting changed my mind completely.

That garlic thing where you leave the skin on? My mom taught me that. If you peel it first, it burns and tastes nasty. But leaving the skin on keeps it from burning and it gets all soft and sweet. You just squeeze it out like toothpaste when it’s done.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• Large baking tray (or two smaller ones – don’t overcrowd!)
• Large saucepan for building the soup
• Hand blender or immersion blender (so much easier than transferring to a regular blender)
• Good knife for chopping
• Wooden spoon for stirring

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Get That Oven Ready

Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F) with fan-assisted heat. Trust me, that fan makes all the difference for even roasting.

Step 2: Prep Your Beautiful Vegetables

On a large baking tray, arrange the sweet potato chunks, both bell peppers, carrots, and those garlic cloves with their skins still on. Don’t worry about being too precious – rustic chunks are perfect here.

Pro Tip: I eyeball the vegetable sizes instead of measuring. Thumb-sized pieces work great. If some are bigger, no big deal – just give them a few extra minutes.

Step 3: Season and Toss

Dump olive oil all over everything, then throw on the salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika. I just use my hands to mix it all up because it’s faster than getting a spoon dirty.

Step 4: First Roasting Round

Stick the pan in the oven for 20 minutes. Try to remember to flip everything after 10 minutes but don’t stress if you forget – I do it all the time.

Step 5: Add the Onion

Take the pan out and add the onion pieces. Mix them around so they get oily too, then put it back for another 10-12 minutes until everything looks done.

Step 6: Build Your Soup Base

Take out the pan. Save a few spoonfuls of the prettiest vegetables for later, then dump the rest into a big pot. Squeeze those soft garlic cloves right out of their skins – they should pop out easy.

Pro Tip: Sometimes I forget to flip them and they still turn out fine. Don’t stress if you’re not perfect here.

Step 7: Add Stock and Simmer

Pour in the vegetable stock and bring it to a boil, then turn it down so it’s just bubbling gently. Let it go for about 5 minutes.

Step 8: Blend to Creamy Perfection

Turn off the heat and use your stick blender to blend everything until it’s smooth. Takes maybe 30 seconds of buzzing it around.

Step 9: Finish with Parmesan Magic

Stir in the grated Parmesan and watch it melt in. Taste it and add more salt or pepper if you want.

Step 10: Serve with Love

Scoop into bowls and put those saved roasted vegetables on top, plus more cheese and some thyme if you have it.

You Must Know

Don’t try to rush the roasting. I’ve done it – cranked the heat to 450°F thinking I could speed things up, and ended up with burnt outsides and raw centers. Just trust the temperature and timing.

Personal Secret: I always taste the vegetables straight off the pan before I blend them. If they don’t taste good on their own, the soup won’t be good either. Sometimes I add an extra pinch of salt or a squeeze of lemon right on the roasting pan.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Don’t cram all the vegetables on one tiny pan like I did the first time. They need space or they just steam and taste bland. Use two pans if you have to.

My stick blender is kind of crappy so I have to move it around the pot and do short bursts. Yours might be better but don’t worry if there’s still some chunks – it’s fine.

Let the soup sit for a few minutes before you eat it. It’s crazy hot when you first make it and you’ll burn your tongue. Also the flavors settle down a bit.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

I change this recipe every time I make it depending on what’s in my fridge. Last week I threw in some butternut squash that was getting soft. Week before that I added white beans because my son needed more protein.

My sister puts curry powder in hers instead of cumin which sounds gross but actually tastes really good. I tried coconut milk once instead of the cheese and that was pretty decent too.

One time I accidentally used sweet paprika instead of regular and it was way better. Now that’s what I always buy.

Make-Ahead Options

This soup is better the next day. I don’t know why but it just is. I make it Sunday and we eat it all week. The flavors get more mixed up or something.

You can roast all the vegetables ahead of time if you want. I do this sometimes when I have time on the weekend, then just throw everything in a pot with stock on a busy weeknight.

If you’re gonna freeze it, don’t add the cheese until you reheat it. I froze some with cheese once and it came out all grainy and gross.

What to Serve With Roasted Vegetable Soup

Grilled cheese is the obvious choice and what my family always wants. I get the good bread from the bakery and use way too much butter because life’s short.

Sometimes I’ll just warm up some bread and put olive oil and salt on it. Or throw out some crackers if I’m being lazy. The soup fills you up pretty good so you don’t need much.

My mom always made salad with soup so sometimes I do that too. Just whatever greens are in the fridge with whatever dressing I have.

Allergy Information

This soup doesn’t have gluten in it which is good if you can’t eat that stuff. The only dairy is the cheese and you can just skip that or use the fake cheese if you want.

If you can’t eat nightshades (that’s peppers and stuff), just use more carrots or some zucchini instead. Might need to adjust the cooking time a little bit but it’ll still taste fine.

Storage & Reheating

Keep leftovers in the fridge for maybe 4 days. Reheat it on the stove on medium heat and stir it around so it doesn’t stick. Add some water or stock if it gets too thick.

You can freeze it for a long time – like months. Let it cool down completely first, then freeze it in containers. Thaw it in the fridge overnight and reheat on the stove. You might need to add some liquid to thin it out.

FAQs

Can I use different vegetables in this soup?

Yes! I’ve thrown in everything from zucchini to Brussels sprouts. Just keep the cooking time similar and cut things roughly the same size. Some vegetables might need a few extra minutes.

My soup turned out too thick – what now?

Just add more stock or even water until it looks right. I do this all the time because I get heavy-handed with the vegetables.

Do I really need to roast first?

You could skip it and just boil everything, but honestly, it won’t taste nearly as good. The roasting is what makes this soup special instead of just okay.

How do I know when everything’s done roasting?

Stick a fork in the sweet potato – if it goes through easily, you’re good. Everything should look a little golden and smell sweet.

Can I make this in a slow cooker?

I’ve never tried, but my friend says she roasts the vegetables first, then throws everything in the crockpot with stock for a few hours. Seems like extra work to me though.

💬 Did you try making this? Let me know how it went! Did you change anything or mess it up like I always do? I want to hear about it.