Stuffed Peppers Soup

What is Stuffed Pepper Soup and Why We All Love It!

Essentially, this recipe is deconstructed stuffed peppers served in soup form. You can have all of the comforting flavors of stuffed peppers in an easy bowl of soup that’s perfect any day of the week!

As a bonus, everything cooks in the same one pot, so there are fewer dishes to wash after the meal. We can always appreciate one pot meals… because who wants to do the dishes all night?! Enjoy the night of sharing a wonderful meal with the family instead or make a double batch for a gathering of friends.

I love bringing all those flavors in an easy weekday meal! I’ve created this recipes many years ago for that reason and have not needed to change it. It’s till something I make every month. I’ve even made another dish that features the classic flavors of stuffed peppers, it’s my pasta casserole and if you love this soup, you will love the pasta.

Key Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

Ground beef – use ground beef with a little more fat but not too much, like 85%/15 meat to fat ratio. This will help keep the soup flavorful and keep the meat tender. You can also substitute ground turkey or ground Italian sausage.

Bell peppers – use any color of bell peppers because they will tase the same in the soup. I like to variate the colors simply for presentation.

Tomato paste – don’t confuse tomato paste and tomato sauce! (Very different products.) Tomato paste is much more concentrated and that’s what you want in this recipe.

Rice – while I prefer to use jasmine rice, you can choose any rice you wish. This is a great recipe for leftover rice as well, just don’t cook it in the soup but add at the end. You can also substitute brown rice, or another grain all together like quinoa, farrow, or couscous. One important thing about substituting rice is to note the cooking time and don’t mix grains because not all grain cooks at the same time.

How to Make Stuffed Peppers Soup: Visual Guide

1. Prepare. This is great to do before you get started. That way, everything is ready to go! Dice all of the vegetables and set the aside.
2. Sauté the vegetables. Preheat a Dutch oven (or other large pot) over medium heat and add olive oil. Add the diced onions and bell peppers and cook until they begin to soften. Mix in diced tomato and cook for a few more minutes.
3. Cook the ground beef. Move the vegetables over to the sides and add ground beef to the middle of the pot. Break it apart, cover the pot with a lid, and cook for a few minutes. After a few minutes, break up the meat some more and start mixing it with veggies. Close the lid and keep cooking until the beef is mostly done. Make sure to break up as many clumps as you can.
4. Add the liquid. Mix in tomato paste, then pour in beef broth.

5. Season and cook. Season with oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, mix well and lower the heat to low. Close the lid but leave a small crack for the heat to escape. Cook for about 20 minutes.
6. Add rice. Mix in rice, close the lid back up and cook until rice is done.

PRO TIP: If you know you’ll have leftovers, cook the rice separately instead and add it to the soup as needed. Otherwise, the rice will continue to absorb the liquid from the soup and the texture may become too mushy.

Variations & Optional Add-ins

This is a great simple soup with classic ingredients but you can always adjust the flavors:

• Adding more vegetables: Some good veggies to add are mushrooms, leeks, kale, carrots, green beans, and corn. 
• Other meats: if you want to try another meat, some options include ground turkey, ground pork sausage, or ground pork.
• Rice options: you can use brown rice in this soup or wild rice. If you want to substitute rice in the soup, try quinoa, farro, or couscous. (Note, farro and couscous are not gluten free.)
• Herbs: you can use dried herbs or fresh herbs in the soup. While fresh herbs are more aromatic, they are not as potent as dried ones. So adjust amounts accordingly. You can also use Italian seasoning with some salt and pepper to season the soup.

Can I Make This Recipe in the Crockpot?

While technically you can make this soup in a Crockpot, I do want to note that is is a fast soup made with ground beef, which is a soft meat, so there’s no reason to make it in a slow cooker. You will also have much more flavor making it in a pot rather than slow cooker.

• To make it in the slow cooker: Follow the instruction of cooking veggies and beef in the recipe and when beef is just about done, transfer everything to the slow cooker. Mix in tomato taste, beef stock, and season with oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix well, close the lid, and cook on LOW for 6 hours.
• You can add the rice during the last 20 minutes or so and cook until rice is just tender. (Or, you can cook rice separately and add rice to each bowl as you serve.) 

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More Comforting Recipes To Try

• Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup
• Vegetable Soup
• Sausage & Onion Stuffed Peppers
• Loaded Baked Potato Soup
• Tomato Basil Soup
• Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers

Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in January, 2014.