Greek-Style Stuffed Pepper Soup: Gemista Soup

All the flavors of delicious stuffed peppers in an easy and comforting soup!

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Greek-style stuffed pepper soup is known as Gemista soup. It has all the delicious flavors of caramelized roasted peppers stuffed with beef, onions, tomatoes, and rice. Gemista is not a quick, throw-together meal, but we love it. So, I turn it into a comforting soup to get the same flavors in a fraction of the time. It’s a great way to use leftover rice or even pasta. You can put it right in the soup to create a complete meal or spoon it over rice or pasta to make a stew-like meal. Either way, you’ll be eating stuffed peppers in no time!

Why you’ll make this over stuffed peppers

Caramelized peppers

Tender onions

Meaty beef

Juicy tomato

Hearty rice

Deep herb beef broth

A quick and easy stuffed pepper dinner in a comforting soup!

Everything you need

• Ground beef –substitute ground turkey, chicken, or lamb
• Olive oil –try the one in our shop made from my family’s olive trees in Crete!
• Onion –finely chopped
• Garlic cloves –grated or minced
• Bell peppers –diced and any color
• Crushed or diced tomatoes –canned tomatoes are so easy!
• Salt or to taste
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• Crushed red pepper flakes –optional for a bit of heat
• Dried dill
• Beef broth –use chicken or vegetable broth if that’s what you have
• Cooked Basmati rice –you could use pasta too
• Dried oregano
• Feta cheese and olives for serving

How to make Greek-style Stuffed Pepper Soup known as Greek Gemista Soup

1. In a soup pot, cook the onion and olive oil with a pinch of salt over medium heat until soft and golden –about 10 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and warm through for a few seconds until fragrant.
3. Then, add the beef and cook until no longer pink, breaking the meat into crumbles as it cooks.
4. Next, add the tomatoes, broth, salt, pepper, dill, and crushed red pepper flakes and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 30 minutes.
6. Then, add the rice and oregano until warmed through, and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Serve

There’s no doubt that this soup will warm you up from the inside out, and you’ll be able to get it on the table quickly any night of the week. I serve it with creamy feta, Kalamata olives, and crusty toasted bread. The bread soaks up the delicious herby beef broth, and you definitely don’t want to leave a drop in your bowl. We rarely have leftovers, but if you do, keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Kali Orexi!

More Soup Recipes:

• Lemony Chicken & Potato Soup
• Lentil Soup
• Mediterranean Tortellini Chicken Soup
• Greek Fisherman’s Soup
• Greek Lemony Chicken Soup

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Greek-Style Stuffed Pepper Soup: Gemista Soup

Yield: Serves 6

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Ingredients

• 1 pound (450g) ground beef
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 5-6 garlic cloves
• 2 belle peppers, diced
• 28 oz (794g) crushed or diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper or to taste
• a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• 2-3 cups chicken or beef broth
• 1 cup cooked Basmati rice
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• feta cheese and olives for serving

Instructions

In a soup pot add the onion and olive oil with a pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat until soft and golden. About 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and warm through for a few seconds until fragrant.

Add the beef and cook until no longer pink.

Add the tomatoes, broth, salt, pepper, dill, crushed red pepper flakes and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 30 minutes. Add the rice and oregano.

Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed and warm through.

Serve with feta, olives, and toasted bread. Kali Orexi!

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