Stuffed Peppers Soup
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“This is my boyfriend’s favorite thing I make. Its easy and the leftovers are just as good.” ~Karen
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
- 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 broth.
- 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.
- 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.)
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.
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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
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper to taste
- salt to taste
- 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
More Comforting Recipes To Try
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in January, 2014.
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Categories:
Beef Recipes, Dinner Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Most Popular Recipes, Rice Dinner Recipes, Soup Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
So good! I added zucchini, cumin, and chili powder and it was a definite hit in my house! Thanks!
Yum! Glad you liked the recipe, Emily!
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??
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
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.
Can I omit the oregano and basil if I use Italian tomato paste? Or shall I still use the spices?
I would say taste it before adding to the soup to see if it is strong enough or maybe just add half the herbs.
I made this recipe for my family tonight. It was so great! We loved it and know it will become part of my regular Fall/ Winter rotation.
Thanks, Lisa!
This is delicious! Thanks for sharing.
You are so welcome, Jackie!
Made this for tonight. Just waiting to pour over rice. Looks good & smells fantastic!
Awesome! I hope you loved it!
Great addition to my soup recipe rotation…after the first try my husband said it’s his new favorite!
Awe thank you! I am so happy you guys enjoyed it!
When do I drain the ground beef?
Hi Julie,
I don’t drain it because the fat adds a lot of flavor but you can drain it after step 4 before adding the tomato paste.
Love this recipe! Super easy and delicious. I subbed tomatoes for a can of Rotel (because I was too lazy to chop a real tomato lol) and I browned Chorizo instead of ground beef. Came out delicious with a little extra kick. Thank you!
You’re very welcome! I am glad you liked it!
Loved this recipe! So delicious, but curious how much one serving is?
I like to split it into 6 servings. You can make your servings a bit bigger or smaller depending on how hungry you are at the time!
Hi there
Looking forward to making this today. Love your recipes
Why do you have to make rice separately if not eating all In same day?
Hi Madeline,
I make it separately so it won’t be soggy and overcooked when you reheat the soup.
Everyone loved it. New favorite added into the rotation!
Hi Stacy,
I am so glad you like it! Thanks for stopping by to let me know! 🙂
Could I make this in the crockpot?
Hi, Malinda! Sure you can make this in the crockpot. I would first brown the hamburger before adding it to the crockpot, then cook on low for 6 hours adding the rice at the 4th hour and cooking another 2 or so hours till the rice is done. You may need to add a little extra stock.
This is so funny. When my husband and I were first dating, the first meal he cooked for me was ….. Stuffed Green Pepper Soup. He is a soup lover and his mother had forced several stuffed peppers on him the weekend before. He pulled them out of the freezer, chopped them up and added a can of chopped tomatoes. For a non-soup-lover, it was actually very good. I’ll share this and we’ll get a nice smile.
Thanks for making my day a little sweeter.
Isn’t it funny to think about that 🙂
Thank you, Carrie!
Should i decrease the amount of liquid if im cooking the rice seperately?
Rena,
It’s really up to you. You can keep the amount of broth and the soup will just be runnier or you can decrease it by a cup. I don’t think it will hinder the final result much.
I hope you enjoy it!
Was trying to use up the bell peppers in my CSA box since no one in the house is a fan but me. I found your soup and was like okay my family loves soup. Boy was that a good decision. It’s a superstar! Both kids had seconds and asked me to add it to my freezer soups for school lunches. Now I’m telling everyone I know to make it. Thanks for saving my bell pepper supply from rotting.
Awesome! I’m SO happy to hear that!
Thank you, Teena!
I really enjoyed the Stuffed Pepper Soup. Easy, simple directions and it was fast on a work night.
I’m so happy you liked it! Thank you, Lichelle!
How many adults will this recipe feed? It sounds delicious!
Hi Carin!
So sorry for the late response! I would estimate 5-6 but it would depend on the appetite and what else is served. Soup makes roughly 6-7 cups.
I hope you enjoy it!
I love this recipe!!! I made it as part of my Meal Prep Sunday this week! Thanks so much for sharing it.
It makes me so happy that you liked it, Toyin! Thank you for your sweet comment and for trying my recipe 🙂