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A hearty and delicious Meatless Stuffed Pepper Soup that will remind you of the real thing.
Bell peppers are one of our most favorite veggies! We love them stuffed, grilled, roasted, sautéed, blended in sauces, and simply raw for snacking. Peppers are the #1 veggie my son asks for in his lunchbox and my twin 3 year old daughters love them too. They also happen to be my hubby’s favorite veggie! Consequently, this Meatless Stuffed Pepper Soup has been a long time coming.
Traditionally, stuffed pepper soup is made with ground beef and I didn’t want to lose the texture of what we (particularly hubby) are used to. I really really don’t like the faux ground meat products on the market. Not only do they not taste very good, but they aren’t good for you either. I use lentils to replace meat in chili, but the texture of lentils just didn’t seem right for this soup. I decided to use bulgur wheat and it worked perfectly!!
Bulgur is made from whole grain hard red wheat and has a healthy balance of fat, fiber and protein. It holds up really well when cooked and still retains a sort of al dente bite. In this soup, it looks exactly like finely minced ground meat.
With a few seasonings added to give it that “beefy” flavor, I’m telling you this Meatless Stuffed Pepper Soup will satisfy even the most finicky omnivores.
My whole family loved it and everyone had seconds!
Meatless Stuffed Pepper Soup
I hope you love this Meatless Stuffed Pepper Soup as much as we do. If you try it, please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback. You can also find me on social media. Be sure to tag @veggie_inspired and #veggieinspired so I’m sure to see it. Enjoy!
- 1 cup rice (I used brown, but use what you like)
- 3/4 cup Bulgur
- 2 bell peppers (I used 1 red and 1 green...use what you like)
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 7 cups veggie broth
- 1/2 onion (diced)
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tbsp Bragg's liquid aminos (or Tamari or Soy Sauce)
- 2 tsp liquid smoke
- salt/pepper to taste
- In a large soup pot, sauté the onion and garlic in 1 tbsp of water over medium heat until softened.
- Add the peppers and sauté another 3-4 minutes.
Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, veggie broth, parsley, oregano, basil, liquid aminos, liquid smoke, salt/pepper, bulgur and rice. Stir.
- Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes until rice is cooked through.
- Taste and adjust seasonings according to taste.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
~If you have leftovers, you may need to add additional veggie broth or water when reheating, as the rice and bulgur will continue to soak up some liquid.
More Meatless Soups to Love:
Coconut Curry Soup w/ Sweet Potato Noodles
Jes says
01/21/2018 at 3:03 pmThis was good!! Eating my first bowl now. I added green Chiles and two jalapeños as well and didn’t have Blugar so just used 1 3/4 cup of basmati rice. Used an orange and yellow pepper. Will def be coming back to your blog for more veggie recipes as my husband is a new vegetarian (not me, but i am more than happy to make veggie meals!)
Jenn S. says
01/21/2018 at 6:53 pmSo glad you enjoyed it! The rest of my family is not vegan, or even vegetarian, but they happily eat these recipes too. I hope you both find some new things to love! Thanks, Jes!
Barb says
04/02/2017 at 3:50 pmMaking this soon. Is the rice or bulger cooked before adding?
Jenn S. says
04/03/2017 at 7:16 amHi, Barb! No, you add the rice uncooked. I hope you like it! Let me know how it turns out.
Monique says
03/26/2017 at 11:23 amOh man this has quickly become one of my favorite recipes! It is so delicious! And I like that the leftovers are less soupy. I had a big bowl of soup the first night and then used the leftovers to stuff some bell peppers. Cook once, and get 2 different meals! This made enough for 2 big bowls of soup and then there were enough leftovers to fill 6 bell peppers!! Everyone loved it! Thank you SO much!! We will make it again and again!
Jenn S. says
03/26/2017 at 7:12 pmSo glad you love it, Monique. And I LOVE the idea of stuffing peppers with leftovers! I’m totally trying that next time!
Christie Anderson says
08/22/2016 at 10:50 amThis is my most favorite soup recipe! Thank you, so much. I could eat this every day. It is so hard to find good meatless recipes these days and this one is a hit.
Jenn S. says
08/22/2016 at 10:58 amOh, thank you so much, Christie! That makes me so happy! It’s one of our favorites too. Thank you so much for stopping by to leave me a comment. Much appreciated! Enjoy your week!
Christie Anderson says
09/04/2016 at 8:48 pmMade it again tonight. I used a mix of peppers. I also add a tad bit of Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar and tomato paste which gives it a taste like my Grandmother’s galumpki sauce.
Jenn S. says
09/05/2016 at 12:10 pmOooooh, galumpki! YUM!!! My mother’s side of the family is Polish and I grew up on galumpki. I don’t know why I have never though to veganize them, but I’m so going to now! Thanks for the inspiration, Christie! And thanks for making this soup and loving it! 🙂
Paulina says
01/31/2016 at 4:56 pmBy mistake added more tomato sauce than needed. I added the beefless crumble along with some TVP. If you like tomatoes, this soup is out of this world delicious! It will be a new staple at my house! Thank you for a fabulous recipe 🙂
Jenn S. says
01/31/2016 at 5:18 pmI’m so glad you liked it, Paulina! Thank you so much for stopping by to let me know!!
Joanne says
01/26/2016 at 3:53 amCould you use freeka instead of rice
Jenn S. says
01/26/2016 at 7:45 amHi, Joanne! I’ve actually never cooked with freeka. I think it’s a bit thicker than rice, so might change the texture just a little bit, but I’m sure it would probably be great. Let me know if you try it!
jill says
10/31/2015 at 11:40 ami also made some adjustments, but absolutely love this soup! you really don’t elaborate on preparing the peppers, so i roasted mine first, almost a little burnt. i don’t add the liquid amines or smoke since i didn’t have them, and don’t think you need it when peppers are roasted. fabulous! thanks so much.
Jenn S. says
11/01/2015 at 8:29 amSo glad you liked it, Jill! I just throw in the peppers as is, but I love that you roasted them first. I can see why that would eliminate the need for the liquid smoke. Thanks for stopping by to let me know how it turned out!
Betty McLean says
02/02/2015 at 7:39 pmOf all of the recipes I’ve made from blogs, this is the first time I’ve felt compelled to comment. This soup is fabulous! It was so easy to put together and absolutely delicious! I used only a few dashes of liquid smoke because a little goes a long way for me, but otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. Definite comfort food and made plenty to freeze. Thanks for the great recipe!
Jenn S. says
02/02/2015 at 8:50 pmBetty, you just totally made my day! Thank you so much for your comment. I’m so delighted to hear you loved it. I hope you find a few more recipes here that you love as well!
Heathery says
02/01/2015 at 1:29 pmI just made this with a few adjustments (no bulgur) and 1 of the crushed tomato cans replaced with 1 can of Rotel. This was so delicious! Definitely going in my “favorite recipes” folder!
Jenn S. says
02/02/2015 at 6:48 pmI’m so glad you liked it! Did you replace the bulgur with something else or just leave it out entirely? I never thought of adding Rotel, but I bet that was delicious!
Michelle B. says
01/30/2015 at 1:39 pmThis was a great recipe. I did a Pinterest search for vegetarian stuffed pepper soup and found you. Followed your recipe and made some minor changes based on what I had on hand – barley instead of bulgur (worked well, also gave a nice chewy texture), I added some Worcestershire too. Everyone loved it and it was really satisfying. It was also really quick to put together and then I used the slow cooker on low for a couple of hours. Turned out great! Thanks:)
Jenn S. says
01/30/2015 at 5:42 pmI’m so glad you liked it! I love barley…will have to try that next time too!