This vegan stuffed pepper soup is made with lentils, tomatoes, rice and bell peppers in a savory tomato base. Comforting, healthy, and hearty enough to make a meal of!
Soup. It's such wonderful stuff and there's so much to love about it.
Reason number ten million why I love soup: it's easy. Soup is so unfussy, and for the most part, it involves throwing stuff in a pot and letting it simmer.
Reason number ten million and one: lots of times, when you have a recipe that's a little more involved than you want it to be, you can turn it into soup. Cases in point: my stuffed cabbage soup, cheeseburger soup, and mac & cheese soup.
I found myself craving some vegan stuffed peppers the other day, but just didn't feel like going through all the steps to make them. And that's when this magical soup was born!
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What You'll Need
- Olive oil. Feel free to substitute another type of high-heat oil.
- Onion.
- Bell peppers. I like to use one red and one green, but you can use whatever colors you like or have available.
- Garlic.
- Vegetable broth. I'm a big fan of Better Than Bouillon in roasted vegetable flavor.
- Long grain brown rice. You can substitute a different type of rice if you like, but you'll probably need to adjust the cook time.
- Spices. We're using dried oregano, thyme, and paprika.
- Dried brown lentils. Green lentils should work as well, though they'll probably take longer to cook. I don't recommend using red lentils for this recipe.
- Fire roasted tomatoes. Using fire-roasted tomatoes gives the soup a nice smoky flavor, but regular canned diced tomatoes will work in a pinch.
- Tomato paste.
- Salt and pepper.
How to Make Vegan Stuffed Pepper Soup
The following is detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Heat up some olive oil in a large pot, then add diced onion and bell peppers. Sweat the veggies for about 5 minutes, until they begin to soften up a bit.
- Stir in the garlic and cook it with the onions and peppers for about a minute, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Now stir in the broth, rice, and spices.
- Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
- Now stir in the lentils. Bring the soup back to a simmer and let it cook for about 20 minutes more, until the rice and lentils are almost fully cooked.
- Stir in the tomatoes and tomato paste, and let the soup simmer for about 5 minutes more. By now, the rice and lentils should be cooked.
- Take the pot off of the stove and season your soup with some salt and pepper before serving.
Vegan Stuffed Pepper Soup Tips & FAQ
- Is this soup gluten-free? It is!
- Leftovers & storage: Leftover soup will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 3 days, or in the freezer for about 4 months. The rice and veggies will suck up most of the broth during storage, so add more liquid when you reheat it if needed.
- Can a different variety or rice be used? Yes, but you may need to adjust the cook time. Short grain brown rice should cook in about the same amount of time, but any variety of white rice will probably cook quicker (about half the time would be a good estimate).
- Can a different type of lentil be used? Green lentils will work, but may need a bit more time to cook. I don't recommend using red lentils, as the texture is very different.
- Is there a way to reduce the sodium content of this soup? Try using low sodium vegetable broth and tomatoes.
More Vegan Soups
- Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Fresh Pea Soup with Herbs
- Blackened Cauliflower Soup
- Moroccan-Inspired Chickpea Soup
- Vegan Cabbage Roll Soup
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Stuffed Pepper Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium green bell pepper, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup long grain brown rice
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- ¾ cup dried brown lentils
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can fire roasted tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil and place it over medium heat.
- When the oil is hot, add the onion and peppers. Sweat the veggies for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften up.
- Stir in the garlic and cook it with the onion and peppers for about 1 minute, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in the broth, rice, oregano, thyme, and paprika.
- Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Lower the heat and let the soup simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the lentils. Bring the liquid back to a simmer and let it cook for about 20 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until the rice and lentils are almost fully cooked. Add some hot water if the liquid reduces too much while cooking.
- Stir in the tomatoes and tomato paste. Let the soup simmer for 5 minutes more.
- Remove the pot from heat and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and serve.
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Delicious! Added cooked quinoa before serving… No rice in the pantry.
How could I adapt this to the instant pot? Cooking time?
Thanks!
I had some leftover Red Thai Curry from last night I made with rice, peppers, onions & soy curls, so when I saw this lovely soup recipe I made it with a couple bay leaves, and threw the leftovers in! SO GOOD!!! I had Puy French lentils & Nishiki white rice, so I reduced the cooking time, but it was divine!!! Thank you again for the best recipes on the web!!!!
This is one of my favourites! So easy and hearty, everyone loves it!
Very tasty! I added some Gardein veggie ground and it was really hearty and satisfying! My girls loved it too.
I just made this soup and it spilled on the ground but I licked it a little and it was good
I just made this tonight and it’s amazing! I’m not a huge fan of soup in general, but this is fabulous. I used calrose (white) rice since that’s what we had on hand. I halved the cooking time before adding the lentils and it came out perfectly.