Stuffed Pepper Soup
by Chungah
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Coziest stuffed pepper soup! Made with ground beef, bell peppers, tomatoes and rice. Budget-friendly and comes together so fast in one pot!
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Why you’ll love this stuffed pepper soup
- No-fuss comfort food. This soup has all the best, warm, cozy flavors of stuffed peppers with a fraction of the work – no more hollowing or stuffing peppers here! With a savory tomato broth and all the hearty fillings (ground beef, vegetables, and rice), this is simply ultra-cozy comfort food.
- Budget-friendly. This is an incredibly budget-friendly meal, utilizing inexpensive ingredients such as ground beef, rice, and pantry staples, yielding large servings to feed a big crowd.
- Flexible recipe. You can swap out for different proteins or grains, or incorporate additional vegetables for a true clean-out-the-fridge meal (more on that below).
- Freezes like a dream. Yes, this can keep in the freezer for up to 3 months, perfect for a rainy day or the busiest of weeknights, adding in freshly cooked rice just before serving.
What is stuffed pepper soup?
This is a deconstructed version of traditional stuffed peppers, where bell peppers are hollowed out and filled with a ground beef mixture, topped with cheese, and then baked until tender.
How to make stuffed pepper soup
- Prep the bell peppers. Core, seed, and dice the bell peppers into similar-sized pieces for a consistent bite.
- Brown the ground beef. Cook and crumble the ground beef in a Dutch oven over medium heat, draining the excess fat.
- Add the onion and bell peppers. Cook until the bell peppers are just softened and tender. The peppers will continue to cook in the soup.
- Sauté the aromatics. Stir in the garlic, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes.
- Simmer. Stir in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth and ground beef, simmering for 15-20 minutes. The longer it simmers, the more it will naturally thicken.
- Add the rice. Add the cooked rice (always cooking the rice separately) and parsley.
- Serve. Serve warm topped with shredded mozzarella, or grated Parmesan, and crusty bread.
Helpful swaps
Meat
Use ground beef, ground chicken, ground turkey, or sausage, or omit completely for a vegetarian version.
Peppers
Mix green, red, yellow, and orange bell peppers.
Veggies
Add carrots, celery, zucchini, mushrooms, or leafy greens to bulk up the soup (and clear out the fridge).
Grains
Long grain white rice, brown rice, quinoa, orzo, and barley are all solid options. For a low-carb option, try cauliflower rice.
More favorited soup recipes
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Stuffed Pepper Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Green, red, yellow, and orange bell peppers all work very well here. A mix is ideal though, adding different flavors from each of the peppers. Green bell peppers are more savory (classic flavors) whereas red, yellow, and orange are more sweet.
Yes! The seeds (as well as the ribs) should be removed as they can be bitter and have an unpleasant crunchy texture.
Yes! Omit the rice or substitute cauliflower rice.
This soup pairs beautifully with crusty bread, a simple side salad, and a light vegetable side dish.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, adding a splash of beef broth when reheating.
Stuffed pepper soup freezes so well! Freeze the soup (without the rice) up to 3 months in individual freezer bags, thawing overnight and gently reheating on the stovetop until warmed through, adding in freshly cooked rice.
Stuffed Pepper Soup
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 3 cups beef broth
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Heat canola oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat and set aside.
- Add onion and bell peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in garlic, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth and ground beef; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until flavors have blended, about 15-20 minutes.
- Stir in rice and parsley until heated through, about 1-2 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Use any colored bell pepper. Feel free to use any type of bell pepper (green, red, yellow or orange), or a mix of colors for a blend of different flavors.
- Remove the ribs and seeds. Always remove the white ribs (pith) and seeds from the bell peppers as they hold a tough, bitter texture.
- Use lean ground beef. 90/10 is ideal, often labeled as ground sirloin, because its low fat content keeps the meat juicy without yielding excess fat (grease) in the soup.
- Get the right consistency. If you prefer a thicker soup, let it simmer for longer (uncovered). If you prefer a thinner soup, add a splash of beef broth.
- Cook the rice separately. This will prevent the rice from soaking up all the broth, yielding a better texture. This also makes for easy meal prep!
- Add the toppings. Finish the soup with a sprinkle of shredded mozzarella or freshly grated Parmesan when serving.
- Prepare for leftovers. If you are planning for leftovers or freezing for later, store the rice separately and add just before serving.
Did you make this recipe?
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Can I can the green pepper soup after I make it, so I can have it for a later time and date?
My experience was that just with regular leftovers, the rice continues to soak up moisture and becomes very mushy, and it was worse (though not bad) reheated. I imagine this would be the main problem with canning.
Any idea how many points this is for weight watchers? And what is a serving size for those point?
This is marked as My Fave! Tonight I had carrots from the garden so I added those. Thanks!
Fast and delicious and was enjoyed by some adult picky eaters!
I have made this a few times and see it becoming one of my go to meals.
I made this a few nights ago and we both enjoyed it very much. The downside was the amount of heartburn I got afterwards. The next time I make it I’ll be sure to take some Prevacid before.
Thanks I love it
What a fun weekend dinner. I added shredded chicken because I had some, and it was hit. We gobbled up almost the whole pot in one sitting. Yum!
Wow, this is excellent! Hearty like a stew.
I used red and orange peppers, omitted the Kosher salt and used a 14 oz can of tomato sauce. Plenty of ways you could “make it your own”.
This will be even better day two! I will definitely make this again. Might be great over pasta.
Hearty and delicious one of my favorite soups.
I made this tonight. The kids and I loved it.
Just made it this evening and it was delicious! I’ve been on the search for a good recipe for this type of soup and I’m so excited that I finally found this one!
Delicious and easy to make
This recipe is definitely a keeper. If you love all the best parts of a stuffed bell pepper but not crazy about the ratio of stuffing to bell pepper…this is the recipe for you. 10/10 recommend
Awesome read. I just passed this onto a friend who was doing a little research on that. He just bought me lunch since I found it for him! So let me rephrase: Thanks for lunch!
Favorite new soup!!! So full of flavor. I thought it made a bunch but everyone loved it and devoured it.
Love this soup. I used fire roasted canned tomatoes to spice it up. Also added a bit of celery and instead of using rice I add acini di pepe pasta, 3/4 cup as we weren’t feeling rice.
i agree with carrie w- this is absolutely great as written, but also so flexible that now i rarely follow it to the exact hah! just today when i made it, we had 1.3 lbs of meatloaf mix instead of 1lb beef, one 28 oz can crushed tomatoes instead of two small diced, added a third bell pepper because i had it to use up, did a whole 4 cup carton of beef broth because i didnt want to put part of one in the fridge (and figured id already added more solids anyway so itd compensate) and forgot all about the tomato sauce until we were about to serve. and it was still awesome! really, its soup, so as long as you play with the flavors and ratios to your liking, youre gonna be happy.
sometimes i sub a can of tomatoes with chilies, or add a can of adobes, or add corn and some southwest spices. its a great soup whether you make it as is or use it as a base! and i do strongly agree, keep your rice separate and add it per bowl, or else youll wont have soup when you reheat it, youll have saucy rice. which is still very tasty, just isnt soupy.
Made it for out of town guest, was such a big hit. Loved so much making it tonight on a cold snowy day, can’t wait!
Tried this Stuffed Pepper Soup, excellent recipe! This has become a family favorite You will not regret it. Easy easy to make! Thanks
What a delicious and hearty soup!
Had to add extras ! Spicy Italian sausage insides cooked, large can of fire roasted tomatoes, kale and diced potatoes.
Fresh grated Parmesan topping.
We served with rice and flaky layer biscuits.