This stuffed peppers soup recipe is made with a variety of fresh ingredients including ground beef, fresh vegetables, and rice. Make any weeknight or weekend for a comforting version of the classic dish!
Now you can have all of the summer flavors of stuffed peppers in a comforting bowl of soup that’s perfect for chilly evenings.
As a bonus, everything cooks in the same 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 peppers soup.” Instead of stuffing the bell peppers with 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.
Ingredient Notes
Note: This is only a partial list of ingredients. For the full ingredient list, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
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 substitute ground turkey for a leaner version of this recipe.)
Bell peppers – Feel free to use whichever color you prefer. Using a mix of different ones can add a fun variety of colors to this bell pepper soup.
Tomato – Use a can of fire roasted or garlic diced tomatoes to save time and add an extra depth of flavor.
Beef broth – although beef broth is preferred for deeper flavor, you can substitute vegetable broth if needed.
Rice – I prefer to use jasmine rice, but any long grain rice, basmati, or brown rice will work just as well. Just keep an eye on the soup as some will take longer to cook than others.
Which Bell Pepper To Choose
All bell peppers are good sources of nutrients like potassium, fiber, folic acid, and vitamins A and C. Although, the are not all the same.
The longer a bell pepper sits on the vine, the richer in nutrients it becomes. As a result, red bell peppers are the healthiest, with orange peppers right behind them. Yellow and green bell peppers have the fewest nutrients.
In fact, red bell peppers have almost 11 times more beta-carotene than green ones!
Cooking Instructions:
This recipe is actually quite simple, and the soup is ready in under an hour! Just sauté the vegetables, brown the meat, and then simmer everything together until done.
While it’s filling enough on its own, this soup pairs well with a side salad or some crusty bread.
Cook the vegetables: Heat the oil in a Dutch oven, then sauté the onion and bell peppers until soft. Stir in the tomatoes and cook until they release their juices.
Brown the meat: Push the vegetables to the side and add the ground beef to the center of the pot. Break into smaller chunks with a spoon, then cover and cook until most of the pink is gone.
Simmer the soup: Stir in the rest of the soup ingredients, then place the lid back on while leaving a gap on the side. Simmer for about 20 minutes for the flavors to combine.
Add the rice: Next, combine the uncooked rice with the soup. Replace the lid and continue simmering until the rice is tender. Serve and enjoy!
NOTE: 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.
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 peppers 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.
Got extra bell peppers?
Bell peppers are quite versatile. Use up small amounts by using them to make an omelet, garden salad, or even to tuna or chicken salad for sandwiches.
More Stuffed Peppers Recipes To Try
For the more classic version of this dish, try any of the following flavor varieties:
Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers
Sausage and Onion Stuffed Peppers
Chorizo and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Salisbury Steak Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed Pepper Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion
- 1 green 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
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in January, 2014. Updated August 28, 2020.
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.