This hearty and healthy stuffed pepper soup is made with ground beef and bell peppers in a savory broth with diced tomatoes, rice, and the best blend of Italian seasonings. It’s easy to make on the Stove Top or the Crock Pot!

Be sure to try my Chicken Taco Soup recipe next!

A bowl of Stuffed Pepper Soup with a spoon in it and bell peppers in the background.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

I am in love with this hearty, delicious, and healthy stuffed pepper soup. It is so satisfying and encompasses all of the elements of a complete meal in a single soup pot!

This recipe uses a combination of beef and chicken broth for depth of flavor. Tomato sauce and diced tomatoes with green chilies add a nice tomato base, and we offset the acidity of those tomatoes with a hint of brown sugar. (It adds the perfect touch!)

Simple flavor enhancers include a touch of hot sauce, mustard powder, and Worcestershire sauce– none of which you can taste outright. The seasoning blend is just perfect, and I love sprinkling in freshly shredded cheese at the end for a savory finish!

How to Make It

See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

Season the ground beef with salt/pepper and cook the beef and onions in a large soup pot. Drain grease. Add garlic and peppers and sauté for 3 minutes. 

A soup pot filled with cooked ground beef and onions with green and red bell peppers being added for stuffed pepper soup.

Add the seasonings, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and brown sugar. Stir to combine, then add the beef/chicken broth.

Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover partially and let it simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Meanwhile, cook the rice in chicken broth in a separate pot and add it to serving bowls.

A soup pot with with beef broth being added to stuffed pepper soup next to a pot of cooked white rice.

Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the shredded cheese, (if using). Ladle the soup on top of the rice and serve!

A soup pot with cheese being added to it and combined into Stuffed Pepper Soup.

Crock Pot Method

  • Cook the ground beef and onions and drain grease. Transfer to the slow cooker along with remaining ingredients except for the rice and shredded cheese.
  • Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Flip to warm and stir in the cheese, if using.
  • Cook rice separately as outlined in the stove top method and add directly to serving bowls. Ladle the soup on top and serve.
  • Store any leftover rice and soup in separate containers and refrigerate or freeze.

Can You Cook the Rice in the Stuffed Pepper Soup?

  • I highly recommend that you cook the rice on the side in some chicken broth. As soon as the rice is added to the soup itself, it starts to absorb the broth. The longer it sits in the soup, the more broth the rice absorbs, which makes it overly soft and leaves you with little leftover broth.

Pro Tips

  • You can’t taste the hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or mustard powder in this recipe. They are used as flavor enhancers and add umami. I use Frank’s Hot Sauce for this recipe, but any variety is fine!
  • Ground Turkey can be used instead of ground beef. 
  • 2 1/4 cups of leftover rice can be used for this recipe as well.
  • Shred the cheese from a block to ensure it melts well and tastes the best.

Storage

  • Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
  • Be sure to freeze the rice in a separate container from the soup. The soup and the rice both freeze well.

A soup pot filled with Stuffed Pepper Soup with a wooden spoon in it.

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A bowl of Stuffed Pepper Soup with seasoned ground beef, peppers, tomatoes, and rice.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
5 from 48 ratings
Servings: 6 people
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This stuffed pepper soup is made with ground beef and bell peppers in a savory broth with diced tomatoes, a hint of brown sugar, and the best blend of Italian seasonings. A combination of beef and chicken broth adds depth of flavor along with subtle flavor enhancers.

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Seasonings

  • 1 teaspoon EACH: dried basil, oregano, parsley, mustard powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 pinch red pepper flakes

Soup

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 ¼ lb. ground beef, 90% lean
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt/Pepper, to taste
  • 1 large red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 large green bell pepper, diced
  • 10 oz. diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
  • 16 oz. tomato sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce
  • 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup Shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, (optional)

Rice

  • 1 ½ cups chicken broth
  • 3/4 cups white long grain rice, uncooked., (Or 2 ¼ cups cooked rice.)

Instructions

  • Note: The rice is cooked separately in this recipe to ensure that it doesn’t soak up too much broth in the soup. This allows leftover soup and rice to be stored separately as well, as the rice continues to soak up broth during storage. This soup freezes very well, the rice can also be frozen in a separate storage container.

Prepare the Soup:

  • Heat the olive oil in a 4 ½ quart soup pot over medium-high heat. Season the ground beef with salt and pepper and add it to the pot. Cook and crumble it for 3 minutes. Add the onions and cook for 5 more minutes, or until the beef is brown and cooked through. Drain grease.
  • Reduce heat to medium. Add the garlic and toss to coat. Add the diced bell peppers and let them soften for 3 minutes.
  • Add the seasonings, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and brown sugar. Stir to combine, then add the beef broth and chicken broth.
  • Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover partially and let it simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cook the Rice:

  • Add 1 ½ cups chicken broth to a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Add the rice and submerge it in the liquid. Bring back to a boil. Cover tightly and reduce to a gentle simmer, cook for 15 minutes. Turn heat off. Let the rice sit in the pot, covered, for 10 full minutes. Any rice stuck to the bottom will release during this time. This will yield 2 ¼ cups of flavorful rice. Note: Other varieties of rice can be used and will require different amounts of liquid and simmering time. (Refer to package for instructions.)

Serve:

  • Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the shredded cheese, (if using).
  • Spoon the rice into serving bowls and ladle soup on top. If you don’t anticipate leftovers, you can add the rice right to the soup pot. Serve!

Notes

Crock Pot Method
  • Cook the ground beef and onions and drain grease. Transfer to the slow cooker along with remaining ingredients except for the rice and shredded cheese.
  • Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Flip to warm and stir in the cheese, if using.
  • Cook rice separately as outlined in the stove top method and add directly to serving bowls. Ladle the soup on top and serve.
  • Store any leftover rice and soup in separate containers and refrigerate or freeze.
Pro Tips
  • You can’t taste the hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or mustard powder in this recipe. They are used as flavor enhancers and add umami. I use Frank's Hot Sauce for this recipe, but any variety is fine!
  • Ground Turkey can be used instead of ground beef. 
  • 2 1/4 cups of leftover rice can be used for this recipe as well.
  • Shred the cheese from a block to ensure it melts well and tastes the best.
  • The nutritional information includes the 1 cup of optional cheese.
Storage
  • Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
  • Be sure to freeze the rice in a separate container from the soup. The soup and the rice both freeze well.
Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. There are 6 servings in this recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 371kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 31g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 75mg, Sodium: 1544mg, Potassium: 1015mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 1242IU, Vitamin C: 63mg, Calcium: 219mg, Iron: 5mg
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Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Author: Stephanie