Stuffed Pepper Soup Recipe
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This Stuffed Pepper Soup Recipe is pure comfort food. It has the perfect balance of hearty ingredients and incredible flavor for a cozy meal that satisfies any hungry belly. Simmer it on the stovetop in just under an hour — it’ll be hard to resist that aroma!
Stuffed Pepper Soup Recipe
The aroma of simmering soup that tastes just like your favorite stuffed peppers is going to have you drooling!
And that first bite of tomato-based soup with tender beef, bell peppers, delicious seasonings, and rice will make it hard to resist a second bowl.
While this stuffed pepper soup recipe is ridiculously simple to make, you do need to plan ahead a little bit. It takes at least 45 minutes to simmer, but it’s so worth every second!
If you are in a bit of a hurry, make a batch of my Italian basil sausage soup! It cooks up in 30 minutes and tastes fantastic.
Or if you are craving something with classic flavors go for my crockpot potato soup or homemade chicken noodle.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Bell Peppers – I typically use 1 green and 1 red when making this stuffed bell pepper soup recipe. That said, you really just need 2 cups of diced peppers total.
Use all of one color or a variety of colors! Green peppers tend to taste more earthy and slightly bitter, red are the sweetest, and orange and yellow fall somewhere in between. - Ground Beef – Choose a lean blend so there isn’t too much grease, though you’ll still need to drain off whatever is in the pan after browning.
- Onion & Garlic – Our flavor makers! A yellow or white onion is the best choice, and you can substitute garlic powder in place of the cloves if needed.
- Canned Tomatoes – Use both diced tomatoes and tomato sauce for this easy stuffed pepper soup recipe.
And if you want that “simmered all day” flavor with a little bit of heat, try fire-roasted diced tomatoes instead! - Beef Broth – Feel free to substitute vegetable broth or chicken stock for a lighter, less “meaty” flavor. Or, use mushroom stock if you can find it.
- Rice – Use either brown or white rice in this stuffed peppers soup recipe, as long as it’s cooked and cooled first. You can even use leftover rice!
Tips for Making this Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup Recipe
- Cut veggies the same size.
When chopping the bell peppers and onions, be sure that everything is a similar size — and bite-sized too!
This guarantees that the veggies cook evenly and are perfectly tender throughout.
- Don’t drain the tomatoes.
There is a lot of flavor in the juice of canned tomatoes. Add that to the pot to make it taste even better.
- Save time by prepping ingredients ahead of time.
Chop all the veggies when you get home from the store and keep them in the fridge until you are ready to cook the recipe.
- Add the rice right at the end.
That’s why we’re using cooked rice in this stuffed bell pepper soup recipe! You’d need a lot more broth to cook it all together, but you wouldn’t be able to simmer everything together for as long.
Don’t worry, it will soak up plenty of flavor in your bowls!
Prep Ahead
- Cook rice
- Mince garlic
- Chop onion and peppers
Kitchen Tools You Will Need
- Dutch Oven – I love this set and use it all the time. It is perfect for roasts, and I especially love it for my one-pot meals. You could also use a 4-Quart Stock Pot for this stuffed pepper soup recipe.
- Quality Knives and a big solid Cutting Board make prepping a breeze and are well worth the investment.
- Wood Turner – My most used spoon or spatula in my kitchen! It’s amazing for sautéing vegetables and browning meat.
- Ladle – A must for dishing up stuffed bell pepper soup!
Serving Suggestions
You don’t need much extra with this easy stuffed pepper soup recipe — maybe some crusty bread for mopping up every last drop!
Or, make skillet cornbread to serve on the side or crumbled into the bowl.
This soup is extra delicious with shredded cheese or sour cream on top, and you can never go wrong with a sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley.
Add a green salad or your favorite roasted vegetable and dinner is served!
Stuffed Peppers Soup Recipe FAQ
As written, this stuffed peppers soup recipe is not spicy at all. Bell peppers score a 0 on the Scoville heat scale, which is how we measure how hot peppers are.
That doesn’t mean you can’t make it spicy if you want! Toss in some jalapenos or red pepper flakes for a little heat, or add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce to really spice it up.
It should continue to thicken as it simmers, but if not, you can make a cornstarch slurry.
Mix together 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with an equal amount of water, then stir that mixture into the pot.
Let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes until it reaches your desired consistency.
You bet! Swap the ground beef for beans or lentils, or replace it with extra veggies such as corn, mushrooms, or zucchini.
Be sure to replace the beef broth with vegetable or mushroom stock as well.
Storing and Reheating Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup
Let leftovers cool down all the way before transferring to an airtight container — you can use one large container or smaller ones for individual servings.
NOTE: If you are planning to make leftovers, don’t add the rice until you are ready to serve it because it will turn mushy.
Stuffed bell pepper soup lasts around 4 days in the fridge. Or it can be frozen in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before reheating on the stove.
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Stuffed Pepper Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup onion, 1 small onion, diced – yellow or white
- 1 large green bell pepper, cleaned and chopped ** see notes
- 1 large red bell pepper, cleaned and chopped
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 cups cooked rice, white or brown
Instructions
- Heat oil in dutch oven or large pot
- Add ground beef, salt and pepper and cooked until almost done
- Add diced onion and cook until soft
- Add peppers and cook over medium-high heat until soft, about 5-8 minutes
- Add brown sugar, Italian seasoning and garlic, continue stirring and cook 1 minute
- Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and beef broth, stir until well combined
- Bring mixture to a boil
- Reduce to simmer and cover
- Cook for 45-60 minutes or until heated through and flavors have had a chance to blend well
- Stir in cooked rice and serve immediately.
Donna’s Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published August 2021, updated and republished September 2024
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I tried this delicious soup before and I love it, especially in a cold winter time. I'll definitely make this soup and follow your recipe for me and my two boys. Lyndon
Thanks so much! We are happy you enjoyed it!
How much rice?
It is 2 cups cooked rice, white or brown. You can always find the ingredients in the recipe card above, hope that helps!
I love this soup. I'm making it a third time in the last three months. Do you have the nutritional information on it. I'm on Weight watchers and don't want to eat too much at a time.
Very yummy. Warm and comforting, I love it.
Oh man mine turned out a potpourri of ingredients not realizing I didn’t have tomato sauce nor enough diced tomatoes and no Italian seasoning! So I used Italian dressing and spaghetti sauce, added can of black and red kidney beans! Omgosh, not too shabby! I lavished with shredded mozzarella! Delicious!
Great comfort food! It freezes beautifully too.
Can you do this in a slow cooker?
Do you drain the meat? Will it be to greasy
I loved this! Didn’t have diced tomatoes, so I used spaghetti sauce and it was so good! Might try it with ground Italian sausage for a little extra boost!
This turned out AMAZING! Wow, just made it today. I added red pepper flakes to it to give a little heat and some mozzarella cheese on top when serving. Definitely will make again 😘 thank you for the recipe!
Hi Jaclyn,
Thank you so much! We are so happy you enjoyed it!
TSRI Team Member,
Holli
I plan on making this for dinner tonight- do you drain the meat? Will it be too greasy if you don’t?