Stuffed Pepper Soup

Stuffed Pepper Soup is the perfect cold weather meal! Loaded with all of your favorite stuffed pepper flavors, but without the hassle of having to actually stuff peppers. It’s easily cooked in either the crock pot or the Instant Pot and this hearty soup is also gluten-free and optionally dairy-free.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Are you guys ready for soup season yet? I am just about ready. And today we’re bringing an oldie but a goodie out from the archives. This Stuffed Pepper Soup has been a favorite at LCK for a while. It’s hearty, flavorful and dead-simple to make. We’ve updated the photos and have now added instructions so that you can make it either in the slow cooker or the Instant Pot. This soup has all that stuffed pepper flavor we love, but doesn’t require a lot of the steps needed to actually make stuffed peppers. It’s gluten-free and optionally Paleo and Whole30 friendly, if you omit the rice and cheese.

Stuffed Pepper Soup Ingredients

• Ground Beef
• Tomato Sauce
• Diced Tomatoes
• Beef or Chicken Stock
• Bell Peppers
• Uncooked Rice (omit for Paleo or Whole30)
• Onion
• Coconut Palm Sugar (omit for Whole30)
• Garlic
• Paprika
• Salt and Pepper

To make this Whole30 and Paleo friendly omit the white rice. You can substitute in cauliflower rice to cook at the end until heated through.

How to Make Stuffed Pepper Soup

There are a few different ways you can cook this soup! I love the choice of being able to use either the crock pot or Instant Pot when making soup depending on what my day looks like, so we’re including instructions for both. Additionally, this soup is easily made on the stove as well.

To Make Crock Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup:

To make this in the slow cooker, all you need to do is brown the meat and then add the remaining ingredients and cook on high for 4-6 hours. When I originally published this recipe I listed in the instructions to add in cooked rice at the end. Adding fully cooked rice right at the end prevents too much liquid from being absorbed by the rice during cooking. However, we’ve updated the recipe to use a small amount of raw rice instead. The reason for this is because using raw rice enables this to be a truly set-it-and-forget-it meal that doesn’t need any preparation such as making rice beforehand. The rice does lose its shape a bit, but we actually found we liked how it thickened the soup, just like a stuffed pepper would. However, if you do happen to have leftover rice and wish to add that in at the end of cooking just to heat through, feel free to do that instead. Additionally, the longer this soup sits, the more liquid the rice absorbs, the same as it would any soup with added rice.

To Make Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup:

To make this in the Instant Pot, you brown the meat, add the remaining ingredients and then cook on manual high pressure for 10 minutes with a natural pressure release for 5 minutes. It’s truly a super simple quick way to get dinner on the table!

To Make Stove Top Stuffed Pepper Soup:

Don’t have a slow cooker or Instant Pot and still want to make this soup? No problem! To cook on the stove:

1. Heat a large pot and add a teaspoon of oil.
2. Once hot, add the ground beef and cook through until no longer pink. Drain off all excess fat except 1 teaspoon.
3. Add in the peppers and onions and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.
4. Add in the remaining ingredients and cook until the vegetables and the rice are tender, about 20 minutes. Add any additional broth as needed to thin out the soup.
5. Serve immediately with garnish of choice.

If you like this soup recipe, check out these others:

• Egg Roll Soup
• Classic Chicken Soup (Slow Cooker & Instant Pot)
• Slow Cooker French Onion Soup (Gluten-Free)
• Easy Vegetarian Hot and Sour Soup

If you like this stuffed pepper recipe, check out these others:

• Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers
• Pizza Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Pepper Soup

5 from 8 votes

Stuffed Pepper Soup is the perfect cold weather meal! Loaded with all of your favorite stuffed pepper flavors, but without the hassle of having to actually stuff peppers. It's easily cooked in either the crock pot or the Instant Pot and this hearty soup is also gluten-free and optionally dairy-free.

Servings 4 -6

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 teaspoon avocado oil
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 green or red bell peppers chopped
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 3 cups beef or chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar omit for Whole30
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 cup white rice uncooked

To Garnish:

• Scallions sliced
• Cheddar cheese shredded (optional)

Instructions

To Make in the Crock Pot:

• Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. When hot cook the beef until no longer pink, 6-8 minutes. Drain off all but 1 teaspoon of oil.
• To a slow cooker add browned beef and all remaining ingredients except the rice. Mix to combine. Sprinkle the rice over the top of the mixture and close the lid.
• Let cook on high for 4-6 hours.
• Once the rice is cooked through, season to taste and serve, garnish with optional scallions and cheddar cheese and serve.

To Cook in the Instant Pot:

• Set Instant Pot to saute function. Heat oil and add ground beef. Cook until no longer pink, about 6-8 minutes. Drain off all but 1 teaspoon of excess oil.
• Add onions and peppers and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Shut off the saute function.
• Add in remaining ingredients and stir well.
• Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set the valve to sealing.
• Cook on manual high pressure for 10 minutes, with a 5 minute natural release. Release any remaining pressure. 
• Garnish as desired, and serve immediately.

To Cook on the Stove top:

• Heat a large pot and add a teaspoon of oil.
• Once hot, add the ground beef and cook through until no longer pink, 6-8 minutes. Drain off all but 1 teaspoon of oil.
• Add in the peppers and onions and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.
• Add in the remaining ingredients and cook until the vegetables and the rice are tender, about 25 minutes. Add any additional broth as needed to thin out the soup.
• Serve immediately with garnish of choice.

Notes

We are instructing to use uncooked rice here for the ease of making this without needing leftover rice. If you DO have leftover rice you wish to use up, feel free to make this soup as stated and add in the leftover rice at the end of the cooking time until it is warmed through.

To make this Whole30 and Paleo friendly omit the white rice. You can substitute in cauliflower rice to cook at the end until heated through. Also for Whole30 omit the coconut sugar.

Nutrition

Serving: 2cupsCalories: 303kcalCarbohydrates: 17.1gProtein: 28.4gFat: 13.7gSaturated Fat: 5.1gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 1307mgFiber: 4.6gSugar: 10.9g

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Gluten-free

Author: Lexi

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