Description
This roasted garlic tomato soup is pure comfort with hands-off oven roasting and incredible flavor in just 45 minutes.
Ingredients
Roasted Stuff:
- 1½ pounds Roma tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 whole garlic head, sliced through the middle
- 1 yellow onion, chopped into big chunks
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
Soup Stuff:
- 2 cups whatever broth you have
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano (or just use dried, who cares)
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¾ cup half-and-half if you want it creamy
- More salt and pepper
Swaps I’ve tried:
- Regular tomatoes work fine, just maybe a bit more watery
- Coconut milk instead of half-and-half tastes amazing
- Heavy cream if you’re feeling indulgent
- Sweet onions, white onions, whatever you’ve got
Instructions
Heat your oven to 450°F. Don’t second-guess this temperature—I’ve tried lower and it’s just not the same. Cut your tomatoes in half the long way. Chop your onion into big wedges, not tiny pieces that’ll burn. Take that garlic head and slice it right through the middle like you’re cutting a bagel. Leave all the papery skin on.
First sheet pan gets your onion pieces tossed with half the oil and half the salt. Stick those garlic halves cut-side down right in there. Second pan gets your tomatoes with the rest of the oil and salt. I usually put them cut-side up but honestly it probably doesn’t matter.
Both pans go in for 15 minutes. Then I rotate them because my oven is moody and has hot spots. Another 15 minutes and everything should smell incredible and look golden. The onions get soft and jammy, the tomatoes start to wrinkle up, and that garlic gets all sweet and squishy.
Let that garlic cool down for a couple minutes unless you enjoy burning your fingertips like I did the first three times. Then squeeze those soft cloves right into your blender from the uncut end. They pop out like toothpaste and it’s weirdly satisfying.
Dump everything else in—roasted onions, tomatoes, all those precious pan drippings, broth, oregano, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes. Blend until smooth or leave it chunky, your call. I go smooth because my kids are texture weirdos but my husband likes it chunky.
Pour into a pot and warm it up gently. Don’t let it boil hard or you might mess up the cream later. Stir in that half-and-half if you’re using it. Taste it and add more salt and pepper. This is when I always end up eating half a bowl standing at the stove.
Notes
Cut your onions into proper wedges, not skinny slices. Skinny slices burn before they caramelize and make your soup taste bitter. I did this once for my mother-in-law’s birthday dinner and had to order pizza instead.
If your blender freaks out with hot stuff, just let everything cool for ten minutes. Also, here’s something weird my friend who went to culinary school taught me—if your finished soup tastes flat, add just a tiny splash of vinegar. Something about acid making flavors pop. Works every time.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: American