Amaze your family with this blend of an Italian classic and hearty broth—it’s Pizza Soup. Made with pepperoni, mozzarella, bacon, tomatoes, onion, peppers, and mushrooms, it’s the culinary crossover you never knew you needed.
I am an adult and I giggle when I have this for dinner.
I mean, how can you not? It’s pizza… and soup! Even when I’m just making it, I smile uncontrollably. I’m sure it looks like I’m cooking up something sinister but I’m really not. In fact, quite the opposite. How many times as a kid were you asked what you wanted for dinner, only to respond invariably, “PIZZA!”? Well, now, that’s possible without having to order delivery every time. That’s because this recipe takes all the flavor you love in pizza and turns it into a soup, for those cold and rainy days. Your soul will thank you; heck, the pizza delivery person will thank you.
I’ve made this with all the toppings our family fight over when it comes time to put our orders in. We’ve got pepperoni (natch), mushroom, green peppers, mozzarella, onions, and tomatoes. We’ve even got bacon. The result is a soup that is incredibly hearty and thick. It’s also incredibly flavorful. Close your eyes and you’ll swear you are seated at your favorite pizza parlor about to take a big bite out of a gargantuan slice of ‘za.
The only difference? This is one slice you eat with a spoon.
How do I make homemade tomato sauce?
Yay! You’ve decided to make your tomato sauce (or, at least, you’ve decided to enquire about making your own tomato sauce). Either way, it’s a big step in Italian cuisine. For this recipe, you’ll need a lot of what you should already have on hand for this recipe: tomatoes, onions, garlic cloves, oregano, and basil. You’ll want to sauté your veggies, add the diced tomatoes, then the basil, salt and pepper. Then blend it up with a stick blender to the desired consistency. The specifics are all laid out here for you: it’s a recipe I put together for Tomato Sauce. Just follow along with it and you’ll soon have your own sauce to add to this pizza soup.
Ingredients
- 3 cups low or no-sodium beef broth
- 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes
- 2 cups tomato sauce (your favorite brand or a simple homemade version)
- 1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
- ¼ tsp. coarse black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz. pre-sliced mushrooms
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 small onion
- 4 slices bacon, cooked
- 4 oz. sliced pepperoni
- 2 cups pre-shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ loaf of Italian bread
How to Make Pizza Soup
Step 1: To prepare you cheesy toast, preheat your broiler and adjust the rack to 6-8 inches from the heat source.
Step 2: In a large pot or Dutch oven over high heat, combine the beef broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, and black pepper. Give it a good stir and cover. Once it reaches a simmer, turn the heat down to low.
Step 3: While the soup base is cooking, warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Toss in the mushrooms and give them a stir. Chop the green pepper and onion and add them to the skillet. Stir occasionally.
Step 4: As the veggies cook, chop the pre-cooked bacon and pepperoni into bite-sized pieces and add them to the skillet. Stir until everything is combined and the onions translucent.
Step 5: Slice the Italian bread into 4 thick pieces and place them on a broiler pan. Slide under the broiler for a rapid toast then flip. Sprinkle each slice with a ¼ cup of mozzarella and broil again until the cheese is melted.
Step 6: Add the skillet contents into the soup. Pour the hot soup into bowls, sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella, and serve with a slice of the cheesy toast.
FAQs & Tips
Let the soup cool completely then store it in an airtight container. You should be able to keep it in the fridge for up to three days. You can also freeze it for up to three months. Split it up first into smaller containers; this will make thawing what you need later much simpler. To thaw, let it sit overnight in the fridge, then warm it up in the microwave or on the stove. You may need to add a bit of broth or water to get back the original consistency.
If your soup is too thick, simply add more water or broth to the pot. If your broth is too thin, the simplest way to thicken it up is to let it simmer awhile longer. This will evaporate the water and leave you with a thicker broth. If you have some tomato paste (note not tomato sauce), you can add some of that; it’s similar to pizza sauce, though slightly thicker. It should do nicely.
I have a couple of suggestions: croutons or breadstick (this is soup, after all!) or buy one of those ready-made pizza crusts. Give it an olive-oil glaze and put it in the oven for a few minutes until it’s golden. Then there you have it: your own pizza crust to dip into your pizza soup. (You could even sprinkle herbs atop the crust if you wanted to get fancy.)
Sure, just drop the pepperoni and bacon and replace the beef broth with vegetable broth. In their place you can use tempeh, vegetarian pepperoni, tofu, beans, lentils, or chickpeas.
Probably in the oven, seeing as how you will already have turned it on. Set the oven to 400°F. Lay out the bacon strips on a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil. Put the cookie sheet on the middle rack and cook for 15–20 minutes. Remove the strips from the oven then wrap them in paper towel to absorb the excess grease. Once cooled, the bacon can be chopped up and added to the soup.
Serving Suggestions
While this soup is totally hearty and chock-full of ingredients, you may still want to pair it with a side or two. If that’s the case, let me make some suggestions. If you want an entree to go along with the soup, you can’t beat this Italian Baked Chicken: chicken breast dressed in the flavors of tomatoes, garlic, lemon, and olives. A garden salad would also lighten things up. With it, you can serve this Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe. Last, make your favorite cupcakes but top them with this Italian Meringue Boiled Icing.
Easy Pizza Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups low or no-sodium beef broth
- 1 (28 oz. can) diced tomatoes
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 1 tsp dried oregano leaves
- ¼ tsp coarse black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz. pre-sliced mushrooms
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 small onion
- 4 slices bacon
- 4 oz. sliced pepperoni
- ½ loaf of Italian bread
- 2 cups pre-shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat your broiler and adjust the rack to about 6-8 inches from the heat source. This will be for your cheesy toast.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven over high heat, combine the beef broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, and black pepper. Give it a good stir and cover. Once it reaches a simmer, turn the heat down to low.
- While the soup base is cooking, warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Toss in the mushrooms and give them a stir. Roughly chop the green pepper and onion and add them to the skillet. Stir occasionally.
- As the veggies cook, chop the pre-cooked bacon and pepperoni into bite-sized pieces and add them to the skillet. Stir until everything is combined and the onions translucent.
- Slice the Italian bread into 4 thick pieces and place them on a broiler pan. Slide under the broiler for a rapid toast then flip. Sprinkle each slice with a ¼ cup of mozzarella and broil again until the cheese is melted.
- Add the skillet contents into the soup. Pour the hot soup into bowls, sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella, and serve with a slice of the cheesy toast.
