Enjoy a big bowl of comfort food with hearty soup that mimics your favorite pizza! Complete with pepperoni, meatballs, a tomato-based broth, and topped with mozzarella, Parmesan, and garlic toast croutons for the “crust”! Easy enough for busy weeknights and sure to be a family FAVORITE!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: pizza soup, pizza soup recipe, recipe for pizza soup
Servings: 8
Calories: 803kcal
Author: Averie Sunshine
Ingredients
3or 4 pieces garlic toast or 18 large croutonsor as desired, for garnishing; divided
2tablespoonfresh parsleyoptional for garnishing; divided
Red pepper flakesoptional for garnishing
Instructions
If you're going to bake garlic toast, garlic bread, French bread, or similar do it now according to package directions which likely means preheating your oven to 350F and cube the garlic toast now into 1 1/2-inch cubes (or do it after baking if desired), and bake for 5 minutes, flip, and bake for 5 more minutes. Get started on the rest of the recipe while it toasts. If you're using croutons, no need to bake or toast anything and just start the rest of the recipe.
To a large soup pot or Dutch oven, add the olive oil, onions, bell peppers, and cook over medium-high heat to saute for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until vegetables are softening; stir frequently.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant; stir continuously.
Add the beef broth, marinara sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, sugar*, and stir to combine.
Add the meatballs**, pepperoni, and simmer for about 15 minutes; stir occasionally.
Taste the soup and if it needs salt, pepper, or more sugar, add it now. Tips - If the soup tastes at all flat or bland, it likely needs salt. if it tastes acidic or has too much of a bite, it needs more sugar. Pepper is always nice to give flavor without adding spiciness.
Ladle the soup into bowls and evenly distribute the baked garlic toast or croutons over the top of each bowl as desired.
Garnish as desired with the mozzarella, Parmesan, parsley, and optional red pepper flakes to taste, and serve immediately. Soup will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 4 months. Reheat gently in the microwave. Store any garlic toasts or croutons airtight at room temp and apart from the soup or they will get soggy and disintegrate into the soup. See Notes for Slow Cooker*** instructions.
Notes
*Sugar - You may wonder why you need to add sugar? That’s because tomatoes are acidic and in pizza soup there’s 32 ounces of marinara sauce and 6 ounces of tomato paste. Plus the beef broth can have a bit of a bite. I find a teaspoon or two of sugar really helps balance the flavor profile and makes the soup much more pleasant. It’s the same principle as adding sugar to any kind of red sauce or pasta sauce in Italian recipes. However, always add to taste (and slowly). Start with 1 teaspoon in step 4 and then after simmering if you think it needs more, add it.**Meatballs - Use previously cooked meatballs. I find it easiest to use frozen meatlballs that I thaw before adding to the soup. Beef, turkey, pork, sausgae, chicken, or your favorite protein is fine. I like using two bags of Trader Joe's Turkey Meatballs. ***To make pizza soup in a slow cooker, saute the onions, peppers, and garlic together on your stove. Transfer the mixture to a large 7 to 8-quart slow cooker, and add everything else (except the garnishes). Slow cook on LOW for 4 hours or on HIGH for 2 hours, or until done.Everything you’re adding has already been cooked so it’s really just a matter of simmering and letting the flavors marry. Then garnish and serve!