Sunny's Insta-Famous Cheesy Bread Bowl with Hot Roasted Tomato and Peppers Soup

  • Level: Easy
  • Yield: 4 to 6 servings
  • Total: 1 hr 20 min
  • Active: 35 min
Presentation is everything and social media often nails it when it comes to the looks, but the recipes aren't always tested or complete. Here, I share my version of a viral online sensation that turned a bread bowl into so much more. This is perfect for any season, because Roma tomatoes are dependable and firm all year. Feel free to use your favorite melting cheese and even your own dip; a pesto dip would be fun here. As long as it looks and tastes good, you'll get plenty of likes!
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Ingredients

Soup:

6 Roma or plum tomatoes, left whole

2 red bell peppers, halved, stems discarded

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 leaves fresh basil

1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves

Red wine vinegar, to taste

Bread:

1 large sourdough boule

10 to 12 slices Gruyere

1/2 cup garlic butter, melted

Directions

Special equipment:
nonstick aluminum foil
  1. For the soup: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil.
  2. In a large bowl, add the tomatoes, bell peppers and garlic. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss to coat. Place everything on the baking sheet, arranging the bell pepper halves skin side up, covering the garlic. Sprinkle with salt and a few grinds of pepper. Roast until the tomatoes shrivel a bit and the bell peppers are charred, about 25 minutes.
  3. Remove everything to a blender and add the basil and oregano. Blend until smooth, then add a splash of red wine vinegar. Blend again and season with salt and pepper. If needed, reduce in a pot over medium heat. Keep warm.
  4. For the bread: Lower the oven to 375 degrees F.
  5. Use a serrated knife to cut out a square the size of a cheese slice in the top center of the bread, making sure to not go all the way to the base and leaving about 1/2 inch at the bottom. Remove the bread from the square to create a bowl. Tear or cut the removed bread into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
  6. Starting an inch around from the square bowl, begin making vertical slices parallel to the frame of the bowl through the top of the bread without going all the way through to the base. Then, make vertical cuts 90 degrees from the first cuts to create square portions that end up as planks if pulled away from the bowl. Place the slices of cheese between the sections and place 2 slices in the bottom of the bread bowl. Use all but 2 tablespoons of the garlic butter to brush inside the bowl and over the top of the bread. Use the rest to toss with the reserved bread bites. Use a base of nonstick aluminum foil to frame the base of the bread to keep the bread together, if needed.
  7. Place the bread bowl and croutons on the lined baking sheet and bake until the bread is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and pour the soup in the bowl.
  8. Serve with the croutons and pull apart the cheesy bread from the sides of the bowl to use in the soup.

Let's Get Cooking!

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Chrys Brown

I made this today and used thyme and rosemary and also added two jalapeños. Super good with a lot of kick.

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