i’ve been having fun experimenting with the ease and deliciousness of sheet pan soup — the first version i made was leek, parsnip, pear and fresh thyme… oh my, the depth of flavour and richness were so different and inviting. 
today’s soup features another fall classic made with roasted sweet potato, bell pepper, cauliflower, onion and caramelized garlic.
the sheet pan photo below doubles as the ingredient list! (yep, it’s that simple).
you will love the ease of this hands-off soup where all the magic happens in the oven
What’s not to luv ~
❥・quick & easy ~ after a little slice and dice, the veggies get spread onto the sheet pan with some olive oil and salt and then popped into the oven; once roasted, the whole yummy mess gets transferred into the processor with some broth where you’ll blend to desired consistency ~ you don’t even have to reheat the soup after blending — literally just pour!
❥・very forgiving measurements ~ you will get a good idea of volume of veggies i used from the sheet pan photo (and description in the recipe card) but here’s the thing: it’s really hard to go wrong with this soup — simply add a little more or less broth to accommodate the texture to desired consistency (start with 1 cup of broth and move up from there).
❥・roasting intensifies the flavours ~ i did not add one drop of additional seasoning to this soup – the roasted flavour of the vegetables – including the jammy shallots and caramelized garlic – combined with salt and olive oil were perfect for our taste – it came as a bit of a surprise to not have to add anything else and also a delight; of course you can enhance the flavour any way you like with additional spices to suit your preference.
❥・ make it your own ~ if any of the suggested veggies don’t work for you, or if you happen to have 5 pounds of carrots sitting in the fridge that you want to use up, please do! simply swap with a similar volume of your preferred veg — the colour and taste will vary of course depending on the ingredients you use but if you don’t mind experimenting, you can create your own tasty versions and adaptations.
friends, bell peppers consistently rank in the EWG’s Dirty Dozen (list of produce that is most highly contaminated with pesticides) — if possible, choose organic ❥.
a satisfying and delicious autumn offering that allows you to create endless variations; i hope it gives you lots of ideas!
- ✧ 2 red bell peppers, sliced in half, stems left on but remove white pith and seeds (this does not have to be surgically precise, it's fine if some stuff is left behind)
- ✧ ½ large sweet potato (approx 250 g), peeled and diced into chunky cubes (see photo)
- ✧ ½ head cauliflower (about 200 g), chopped into small florets (see photo)
- ✧ ¾ shallot, peeled and cut into 3 pieces
- ✧ 1 head of garlic, slice the top portion off to reveal cloves, remove excess paper
- ✧ approx 2 cups (a little more or a little less depending on preferred consistency) veg or chicken broth (i used chicken) -- start with 1 cup and move up from there
- ✧ olive oil & salt
- Place all ingredients on a lined baking sheet (my non-stick baking sheet is black so hard to see)
- Generously drizzle the veggies with olive oil (use a good glug as jamie oliver would say :) and intermingle so that all veggies are well coated including the garlic cloves
- Sprinkle generously with salt (and pepper if you like)
- Roast in a 400 F degree oven until fork tender
- In an air roaster (i'm using a ninja sp100), it takes appprox 20-25 minutes
- In a standard oven, it may take up to 40 minutes but start checking around the 20-30 minute mark and give the veggies a shake at that time (you want to make sure the veggies don't burn but just acquire a nice sear and are fork tender -- also, the smaller you chop your veggies, the quicker they'll cook but the higher the risk of burning so there's a balance there - the sizing i have on the sheet seemed about right).
- Once done, take sheet pan out of oven and remove the stems from the bell peppers (they should fall off easily)
- Carefully transfer everything except the garlic into a blender/processor.
- Once the garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the head from the bottom upwards (you may want to hold it upside down over the blender for this) to release the cloves into the blender - it is a thing of beauty to watch the soft caramelized cloves emerge from their pockets - (it is quite hot though so approach with that in mind).
- Add 1 cup of broth to the blender with the vegetables and start blending to desired consistency adding more broth as needed -- i used 2 cups of broth to get a relatively thick (as pictured) purée.
- Taste the soup and make any desired adjustments to seasonings.
- note: the roasted flavour is an experience in itself and I didn't want to smother that with husky seasonings like paprika or cayenne etc - the salt and oil felt just right - but experiment as you wish.
- Serve the soup from the blender with a sprig of herbs for garnish (i used thyme) or a dollop of cream/yogurt (or both) or allow the soup to cool and refrigerate in a sealed container (or freeze) then thaw and reheat to serve.
👆 the parsnip, leek, pear & thyme sheet pan that i referenced at the top, in case you want to experiment (i ended up adding some carmelized garlic to this one too).
quick side note in case helpful to anyone … our oven died last year on Christmas eve (yes, the timing was impeccable, also the warranty on the oven had just expired so it was still quite new but no longer covered) anyhoot, while i was contemplating a campfire brunch (that’s our main meal on Christmas day) my husband and son went out and bought a little ninja oven (not much bigger than a toaster oven, it’s called the ninja foodi digital air fry oven) — i have 0 affiliation with ninja but this little oven has changed my life! it does it all — air roast (the feature i use most), air fry, air broil and conventional baking — all from the convenience of a small box… i rarely use a big oven anymore.
Easy, colorful and healthy…it doesn’t get much better than that.