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A classic, timeless meal turned into a one-pot soup! Vegan stuffed pepper soup has all the flavors you're familiar with and less of the work! Perfect for busy families, and ready in under 30 minutes.
Do you enjoy stuffed peppers but find it's kind of a hassle to make when you just want to be lazy? Me too. This soup is stuffed peppers without most of the work.
Not only is this stuffed pepper soup... a soup, it's also a delicious lasagna! And it's great for using up leftover rice!
I love stuffed peppers, but I always preferred to have the pepper mixed in with the good stuff inside the pepper, that's where this delicious soup comes in.
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🥘Ingredients
I ended up not needing the tomato sauce because I had enough tomatoes to cut up and replace that. If you do not have fresh tomatoes, use the tomato sauce.
Bell peppers can be any color
I use TVP for my ground in this recipe, however you can use any mince available. Beyond, impossible, boca, or you can use soy curls and even red lentils.
*Water is not pictured, but you an swap the veggie bouillon and water with veggie stock.
See recipe card for exact measurements.
🔪Instructions
Step One - Dice up bell peppers and tomatoes.
Step Two - In a pot or dutch oven add a bit of oil and throw in the bell peppers to cook them until they are soft and starting to turn translucent.
Step Three - Add in the tomatoes.
Step Four - Add in the tomato paste and mix.
Step Five - Add in all seasonings.
Step Six - Add in the TVP.
Step Seven - Add in water and mix well. Bring back up to temp.
Step Eight - Add in the cooked rice.
Step Nine - Add in a little more water and bring back up to almost boiling.
👩🏻🍳Cook's Tip
Rice will be the thickener for this soup. When storing, the rice will soak up more of the liquid and may even take all of it by the time you go back for leftovers. Feel free to add some more veggie broth if you prefer a thinner soup.
👪How to Meal Prep
This soup is really easy to meal prep! Just place the desired amount for each day's meal into a few microwavable glass dishes and you can keep them in the refrigerator or freeze them!
Pop one into the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until desired warmness is achieved and enjoy for a lazy lunch, kids school lunch or even a quick family dinner on really busy nights.
📖Substitutions & Variations
There's a lot of room to play with this delicious soup.
- Make it spicy - I like things mild, but maybe you enjoy spice, add more! Cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes or even hot sauce will work.
- Soy free - Because of the TVP, this soup is not inherently soy free, replace the TVP with a soy-free mince.
- Not a fan of rice? - No worries! You can replace the rice with quinoa or even barley! You could also replace it with oats (yeah oats can be use for savory dishes).
- Add cheese! - Traditionally, stuffed peppers do contain cheese, but I wanted to keep this soup a little lighter. Definitely throw some vegan cheese into this soup if you want it.
- Toppings - Top this soup with vegan sour cream, vegan cheese or onions, jalapenos, or avocado.
- Change up the mince - Use my awesome plant-based ground sausage as the meat option instead! Or go for lentils!
🍱Storage
Refrigerator - Place in airtight container and store for up to 5 days.
Freezer - Store in airtight container for up to 6 months.
Reheat - Reheat in a pot on the stove or in the microwave. I recommend thawing naturally in the fridge, or in a bowl of cold water.
⏲️Equipment
This recipe can be done in other things besides a on the stove top! Read on for instructions:
- Instant Pot - Saute' the bell peppers in a little bit of oil and get them slightly softened, then dump everything, besides the cooked rice, into the pot. Place a lid on the pot and press "pressure cook" on high pressure for 5 minutes. When 5 minutes has passed, release pressure and remove lid. Stir everything around and then add the rice. Wait about 5 minutes for the soup to thicken up and serve.
- Crockpot - Add all ingredients except rice. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 6 hours. Add in the cooked rice just before serving.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
It can be! Bell peppers are loaded with nutrients, plus nutrients from whichever protein you use. Be careful of salt and sugar content and you should be on the relatively healthy side. Always consult your doctor for proper confirmation.
You can use Jasmine, Basmati, or brown rice in your stuffed pepper soup.
Other popular soups!
📖 Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Knife
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon oil - for cooking
- 1 cup diced bell peppers - any color
- 2 cups diced tomatoes - use 1 can tomato sauce in place of this.
- 1 cup TVP
- 3 cups water - divided 2:1
- 1 Tablespoon cumin
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder
- ½ Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- pinch of salt
- pinch of pepper
- 1 veggie bouillon cube
- 2 cups cooked white rice
Instructions
- Dice up bell peppers and tomatoes (if using).1 cup diced bell peppers,2 cups diced tomatoes
- In a pot or dutch oven on medium-high heat, add the oil and saute the bell peppers until translucent and soft.1 Tablespoon oil,1 cup diced bell peppers
- Then, add the tomatoes and continue heating. (Add in tomato sauce if using that)2 cups diced tomatoes
- Add in tomato paste and mix into the peppers and tomatoes.1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- Next, throw in all seasonings.1 Tablespoon cumin,1 Tablespoon chili powder,1 teaspoon sugar,pinch of salt,pinch of pepper,1 veggie bouillon cube,½ Tablespoon garlic powder
- Throw in TVP and mix everything together1 cup TVP
- Add in 2 cups of water and bring back to a boil.3 cups water
- Add the rice and mix well. Bringing back to temp.2 cups cooked white rice
- Add in the last cup of water and continue heating.3 cups water
- Once the soup is to your likeness on thickness, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- For Soy-Free - Replace TVP with a frozen ground like Beyond or your favorite soy-free, meat-free option.
- Add-ons - Jalapenos, onions, onion powder, garlic powder, liquid smoke (if you want a smokey flavor of course), nutritional yeast,
- Sugar substitutes - You're welcome to try something like Stevia, but I must warn you that it may change the flavor a bit. I recommend either using plain cane sugar, or leaving it out. But let me know if you do try it with something else and how it turns out!
Nutrition
This post was originally done in January 2021 and has been updated on 9-22-2022
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Nathan
Great idea, loved stuffed peppers and this is an easier and fun way to eat without using the whole pepper as the base.