Pizza Soup

If you were to give kids a poll about their favorite food, just about all of them would put pizza in their top five. Heck, most adults probably would too! That’s why this fast and easy recipe for pizza soup is sure to be family pleasing and will appeal to even your pickiest eaters.

Now we all know our kids can’t eat just pizza for the rest of their lives, as much as they might want to.  I confess, I’d probably eat pizza multiple times a week if I thought I could get away with it. So, consider this my way of working the system.

This Pizza Soup has a secret ingredient that makes me feel like it’s a better option for my family. What’s the secret? Beans! Yep, that’s right Beans. Hurst 15 Bean Soup to be exact. I used it as my base and then created the pizza flavor from there.

To make it mom friendly and fast, I did the quick cook version of the beans. So, no soaking overnight! Super simple and my kids ate it all up as did my husband who looked at me a little suspiciously when I told him what was on the menu for dinner that night. 😉

Here’s what you’ll need to make Pizza Soup:

1 package of Hurst 15 Bean Soup

1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce

1 package of pepperoni chopped

1 onion chopped (I used red, but white is totally good too)

1 package of shredded mozzarella cheese

You can also throw in whatever pizza toppings your family loves:

Mushrooms (yes, my kids are weirdos and LOVE mushrooms)

Fresh Basil

Green Pepper

Ham

Sausage

Garlic ( I really wish I had used garlic, I highly suggest it)

Anchovies (ewwww, but if you like ’em)

How to Make Pizza Soup:

Start with the package of Hurst 15 Bean Soup. Rinse the beans and discard any debris. Then following their quick cook method place the beans in a soup pot of our choice along with 10 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer covered for 90 minutes stirring occasionally.  Make sure this a low boil and you do check them at least a few times or the water could get soaked up faster than you expect and the beans could burn to the bottom of the pan (this could happen, not that it happened to me, just looking out for you).

In the last 15 minutes that the beans are cooking, prepare the toppings in a separate pan. I started with the onions and the pepperoni and cooked them about 7-10 minutes. Next I added in the mushrooms and cooked for an additional 5-7 minutes.

When the beans finished cooking, I added the pasta sauce right to the pot of beans and then the pizza toppings. I opted to use a little fresh basil so I chopped that up and added it into the pot as well. Then I left to soup to simmer an additional 30-45 minutes. If you want, just before serving the soup, you can add in the seasoning packet that comes with the beans to give it a meatier flavor and then just let the soup simmer another five minutes.

When you are ready to serve, top with a generous helping of mozzarella cheese. I also held aside a little bit of the onion, pepperoni and mushroom mixture and added that on top as well.  You’ll definitely want to pair this meal with some tasty garlic bread or breadsticks for dipping and dunking. This was by far  my kids favorite part of the meal!

If this sounded fantastic, but a slow cooker version sounds even better, check out  Hurst Beans Pizza Beans Recipe and you’ll find several other recipes as well!

If you liked this post, you’ll also want to check out:

Tortilla Soup with Pinto Beans

Homemade Tomato Soup (with to die for croutons!)

What Toppings Would Your Family Include In This Pizza Soup Recipe?