One of my family’s favorite weekend lunches is old-school grilled cheese sandwiches alongside a bowl of steaming hot tomato soup.  Most of the time, canned tomato soup is fine, especially when we’re short on time, but the flavor in canned soups just don’t come anywhere close to making it yourself.

So today, I took advantage of having a few hours of free time, picked up some fire-roasted tomatoes and colorful bell peppers and came up with this deliciously rich, spicy, and hearty bisque.  A little trick when making a thick soup like this is to use cooked rice.  It will add the luscious texture you’re looking for without adding the calories found in heavy cream.

Ingredients:

8 cups vegetable broth
4 cups fire-roasted diced tomatoes
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup Sriracha sauce
1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons crushed oregano
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

1) Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, chopped peppers and sun-dried tomatoes and sauté the vegetables until they are tender, 5 – 10 minutes.

2) Stir in the diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, cooked rice, Sriracha, salt, pepper, oregano, and lemon juice. Cover the pot and allow the mixture to come to a boil, stirring occasionally.

3) Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until you have a thick puree.

4) Reduce the heat to low, stir in the half-and-half and simmer the soup for 30 minutes until the flavors are combined. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve hot.