Stuffed peppers are wonderful and nobody makes them on a weeknight, because hollowing out peppers and baking them for an hour is a project. Stuffed pepper soup is the same beef, rice, sweet pepper and tomato flavor in a bowl, done in forty-five minutes. The one thing we do differently is cook the rice on the side.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Stuffed Pepper Soup
It is a one-pot dinner that starts with things you probably already own. A pound of ground beef, two bell peppers and a few cans of tomatoes is the entire shopping list.
It feeds six generously and costs very little to make, which puts it in the same weeknight rotation as our easy taco soup for the weeks when the fridge is bare and payday is Friday.
And unlike most soup recipes with grains in them, this one is still soup on Thursday. Keeping the rice out of the pot is the whole reason.
Ingredients for Stuffed Pepper Soup
1 lb ground beef (85/15). Lean enough not to leave a pool of grease, fatty enough to actually taste of something. Ground turkey works but wants an extra tablespoon of oil and a heavier hand with the seasoning.
2 large bell peppers, one red and one green, cut into 1/2-inch dice. The mix is deliberate. Green brings the slightly bitter, vegetal note that makes this taste like a stuffed pepper; red brings sweetness. All red is pleasant but reads as generic tomato soup.
1 medium yellow onion, diced, and 3 cloves garlic, minced. The onion goes in with the peppers, the garlic thirty seconds before the tomato paste.
2 tablespoons tomato paste. Do not skip this and do not just stir it in. Cooked in the dry pan for a minute or two until it darkens, it is what gives the broth depth instead of a thin canned-tomato tang.
28 oz crushed tomatoes and 15 oz tomato sauce. Crushed for body, sauce for a smooth base. Diced tomatoes will work but leave the broth looser and chunkier.
4 cups low-sodium beef broth. Beef broth over chicken here — it stands up to the tomato instead of disappearing under it.
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon brown sugar. The sugar is not there to sweeten it; it is there to take the metallic edge off canned tomatoes. A teaspoon is enough that you will not taste it.
1 cup long-grain white rice, cooked separately. Makes about 3 cups cooked. Cook it in water or broth while the soup simmers, and keep it in its own container.
1 cup shredded provolone or mozzarella, and fresh parsley. Added to each bowl, where it melts into strings. Stirred into the pot it just seizes into a lump.
How to Make Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Brown the beef. Cook 1 lb ground beef in a large pot over medium-high heat for 6 to 7 minutes, breaking it up, until no pink remains. Drain off all but about 1 tablespoon of the fat.
- Soften the vegetables. Add 1 diced yellow onion and 2 diced bell peppers and cook for 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent and the peppers have just started to give.
- Bloom the garlic and paste. Stir in 3 minced garlic cloves for 30 seconds, then add 2 tablespoons tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens to a brick red.
- Build the broth. Add 28 oz crushed tomatoes, 15 oz tomato sauce, 4 cups low-sodium beef broth, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce and 1 teaspoon brown sugar. Stir to combine.
- Simmer it down. Bring to a boil, then reduce to LOW and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are tender and the broth has thickened slightly.
- Cook the rice separately. While the soup simmers, cook 1 cup long-grain white rice according to the package directions. Keep it in its own pot.
- Season at the end. Taste the soup and add salt and black pepper now. Canned tomatoes and broth vary enormously, so seasoning earlier is guesswork.
- Build the bowls. Spoon about 1/2 cup cooked rice into each bowl and ladle the soup over it. Top with 1 cup shredded provolone divided between the bowls and chopped fresh parsley.
Tips for Success
The rice is the failure everyone hits. Rice simmered in the pot keeps absorbing liquid in the fridge, and what was soup on Monday is a solid tomato casserole by Wednesday. Cooking it separately costs you one extra pan and keeps the leftovers genuinely brothy for four days.
Cook the tomato paste, do not just stir it in. Two minutes in the hot pan caramelizes its sugars and deepens the whole pot. Skipping it is the difference between a broth that tastes homemade and one that tastes like it came from a can.
Do not shortcut the 25-minute simmer. Bell peppers need real time to go from crunchy to tender-sweet, and the broth needs it to reduce and come together. Fifteen minutes gives you soup with raw peppers floating in it.
Stuffed Pepper Soup Variations
Make it meatless. Swap the beef for two cans of drained lentils or a pound of crumbled plant-based grounds and use vegetable broth — our vegan stuffed pepper soup takes that route properly.
Italian sausage version. Replace half the beef with hot Italian sausage and drop the Italian seasoning to 1/2 teaspoon. Richer and noticeably spicier.
Low-carb. Skip the rice and serve over cauliflower rice, or simply add an extra bell pepper and eat it as is.
Crockpot method. Brown the beef first, then add everything except the rice and cheese to a slow cooker on LOW for 6 hours — the same approach that works for our crockpot chili.
What to Serve With Stuffed Pepper Soup
Bread is the right answer. This is a tomato broth built for dunking, and cheesy garlic breadsticks bake in roughly the time the soup simmers.
A sharp green salad with a lemony dressing keeps the bowl from feeling heavy, especially if you have been generous with the cheese. Shaved parmesan and a handful of croutons is plenty.
If you are stretching it for a crowd, a tray of garlic bread and a big salad turn six bowls into eight comfortably. Nobody notices the smaller portions when there is bread on the table.
FAQs
Can I cook the rice in the Stuffed Pepper Soup? You can, and it is faster: add 1 cup uncooked rice with the broth and simmer 25 minutes. But it will absorb another two cups of liquid overnight, so only do it if you plan to finish the pot in one sitting.
What kind of rice works best? Long-grain white is traditional and stays separate. Brown rice works and adds chew, but cook it fully on the side first — it needs about 45 minutes and will never soften properly in tomato broth.
Can I freeze Stuffed Pepper Soup? Yes, and this is another reason to keep the rice out. Freeze the soup alone in flat portions for up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the fridge, and cook fresh rice when you reheat it.
How do I make Stuffed Pepper Soup thicker? Simmer it uncovered another 10 minutes, or add an extra tablespoon of tomato paste. Avoid cornstarch here — it dulls the bright tomato flavor that makes this worth eating.
Final Thoughts
Stuffed Pepper Soup is the version of stuffed peppers that actually gets made. All the flavor of the Sunday dish, none of the hollowing, and a pot that holds up for a week of lunches instead of collapsing by Tuesday.
Keep a container of cooked rice in the fridge alongside it and dinner reassembles in about ninety seconds. If you make it, tell us whether you went red pepper, green, or refused to choose.
Stuffed Pepper Soup
Equipment
- large soup pot or Dutch oven
- medium saucepan for cooking the rice
- wooden spoon
- chef’s knife
- cutting board
- measuring cups and spoons
- Can Opener
- ladle
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef (85/15)
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 large bell peppers (1 red and 1 green), cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 4 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup long-grain white rice, cooked separately
- 1 cup shredded provolone or mozzarella cheese
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cook the ground beef in a large pot over medium-high heat for 6 to 7 minutes, breaking it apart, until no pink remains. Drain off all but about 1 tablespoon of the fat.
- Add the diced yellow onion and bell peppers. Cook for 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent and the peppers begin to soften.
- Stir in the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens to a brick-red color.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar. Stir to combine.
- Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to LOW and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are tender and the broth has thickened slightly.
- While the soup simmers, cook the long-grain white rice according to the package directions in a separate pot. Do not add it directly to the soup.
- Taste the finished soup and season with salt and black pepper as needed.
- Spoon about 1/2 cup cooked rice into each bowl and ladle the soup over it. Top with the shredded provolone or mozzarella and chopped fresh parsley.