Stuffed pepper soup is a comforting homemade soup packed with rich flavors of bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, ground beef, and rice. It’s a delicious and easy soup that’s perfect to enjoying any day!
Essentially, this recipe is a deconstructed stuffed pepper that’s served in soup form. Now you can have all of the comforting flavors of stuffed peppers in a comforting bowl of soup that’s perfect for chilly evenings! (You can also try these classic flavors in a pasta casserole that your family will love)
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.
This soup is also known as “unstuffed pepper soup.” Instead of stuffing the bell peppers with the ground beef and rice mixture, the bell peppers are IN the soup along with other ingredients. It’s a lot less work but all the same great flavors we know and love.
How to Make Stuffed Peppers Soup
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add the liquid. Mix in tomato paste, then pour in beef stock.
- Season and cook. Season with oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, (5) 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.
- Add rice. Mix in rice (6), close the lid back up and cook until rice is done (7).
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.
Can I Add More Vegetables?
Absolutely, you can always add extra veggies that are already in the soup or add some other vegetables. Some good veggies to add are mushrooms, leeks, kale, carrots, green beans, and corn.
Can I Make Stuffed Pepper Soup in the Crockpot?
Yes, 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.)
Storing, Reheating, and Freezing Instructions
Storage – Store the stuffed pepper soup and rice in separate airtight containers and keep in the refrigerator. Both will last up to 4 days before the texture starts to change.
Reheating – Simmer the soup on the stove or heat in the microwave until warmed through. Then, mix in fresh rice or add cooked rice towards the end of reheating to warm it at the same time.
Freezing – Again, store the unstuffed pepper soup without the rice for best consistency. Freeze in a zip-top bag or sealed container for up to 3 months, then thaw in the refrigerator before reheating. It may help to store the soup in individual portions so you can thaw just what you need.
More Comforting Recipes To Try
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Stuffed Pepper Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion
- 1 green or red bell pepper*
- 1 yellow bell pepper*
- 1 large tomato
- 1 lb ground beef 85/15 recommended
- 3 cups beef stock
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper
- salt
- 3/4 cup Jasmine rice**
Instructions
- Dice all the vegetables first and set the aside.
- Preheat a Dutch oven over medium heat and add olive oil.
- Add diced onions and bell peppers and cook until they start to soften. Mix it diced tomato and cook for a few more minutes.
- Move vegetables over to the sides and add ground beef to the center of the pan. 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.
- Mix in tomato taste and then, pour in beef stock.
- 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.
- Mix in rice, close the lid back up and cook until rice is done.
- Serve right away.
Alternate option:
- If you don't plan to eat all of the soup right away, you can cook rice separately and add some to individual soup servings. Cook the rice in salted water according to the package instructions and add it to each bowl of soup as needed.
- Store cooked rice separately from the soup. Make sure to keep it refrigerated in an air-tight food storage container.
Video
Notes
- * When it comes to the bell peppers, feel free to choose any colors you want. Choosing a couple of different colors will make the soup more fun though.
- **Jasmine rice is a personal preference but you can substitute long grain rice, Basmati rice, or even brown rice.
- Ground Beef – You can use lean ground beef like 90/10, but it tends to be chewier due to the lack of fat. I prefer to use 85/15 or even 80/20 ground beef for juicier and tastier beef. You can also substitute ground turkey for a leaner version of this recipe.
- You can also use lean ground turkey meat instead of ground beef. (Not extra lean!)
- Storage – Store the stuffed pepper soup and rice in separate airtight containers and keep in the refrigerator. Both will last up to 4 days before the texture starts to change
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in January, 2014.
Stephanie says
I did a grocery pick up order for this and didn’t realize that they sent ground turkey instead of beef. I hate ground turkey and the veggies were already cooking. We had some frozen meatballs so I cooked and diced them and added them in. It was AMAZING! Love this recipe!
LyubaB says
Oh, what a creative idea to save dinner! I am so glad it worked out and was tasty!
Kim says
Can this be adapted for the instant pot? I have cancer so standing to cook is often hard for me. Can I brown the meat then toss in everything to the pot?
LyubaB says
This is actually a fast soup so honestly, even though it is on the stove it doesn’t take much longer since you will need to preheat to saute and then let it natural release. It should only take 45 mi from start to finish including prepping everything. But if you want to do instant pot then you could saute the meat and cook it for 8 minutes without the rice and then do a natural release. Cooking the rice separately and then adding it at the end into the rest of the ingredients in the instant pot may save you 10 or so minutes of standing. I wouldn’t add the rice with everything to the pressure cooker because it’s going to add on more time and actually take longer then on the stove.
If you look under instant pot I have some soups that don’t have so many steps that would be easier for you to make in the instant pot.
RaDonna says
Made this tonight, so good!!! Only tweak, because we like heat, we added ground beef and hot Italian sausage. I WILL make again and soon now that cold nights are coming!
LyubaB says
Yum! SO glad you liked it!
Connie says
This was delicious. I was kind of hesitant with green pepper because in my opinion green pepper has a very strong taste , so I used more of yellow and red peppers, along with green and it was fabulous. I did have some leftovers and I believe it is even better on day two. I definitely will make this again!!!
LyubaB says
I am sure mixing the color of the peppers also made the soup look beautiful! I am so glad you liked it!
Meg says
Hello do you add rice in un cooked or cooked
LyubaB says
Hi Meg,
You add the rice to the pot uncooked. I hope you enjoy it!
LeeAnn says
Why do you need to add the rice separately if your not going to eat it all right away? I’m sure we won’t eat it all in one sitting but was curious about this?
LyubaB says
Hi LeeAnn,
It’s so the rice doesn’t get over cooked and mushy.
Mary Jo says
This was a super easy and delicious recipe. I will definitely make it again. The rice does soak up most of the broth, so I wonder if a half cup would be sufficient.
Lynette Burnett says
Made this for dinner tonight on this icy cold Texas day. Used ground chicken and diced garlic tomatoes. Also added another bell pepper because I didn’t read the directions very well :). This soup is delicious! Thank you!
LyubaB says
Glad you liked it, Lynette! 🙂
Emily says
So good! I added zucchini, cumin, and chili powder and it was a definite hit in my house! Thanks!
LyubaB says
Yum! Glad you liked the recipe, Emily!
Beth says
Looks wonderful! Can’t wait to try it! I think I’ll use canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh, wrong time of year… Do you think that would work ok??
Cristina Scribner says
So if u cook the rice separately is it still 3/4 cup of rice u r making? How do I know how much to put in 2 servings of soup? Want to eat it for two meals with my husband
LyubaB says
You would cook the same amount of rice and then divide it into four servings. If you really want equal portions you can weigh the cooked rice and divide it up but I find eyeballing it works fine.
Teresa says
Can I omit the oregano and basil if I use Italian tomato paste? Or shall I still use the spices?
LyubaB says
I would say taste it before adding to the soup to see if it is strong enough or maybe just add half the herbs.