Stuffed Peppers Soup

This unstuffed pepper soup is your go-to cozy meal without any of the hassle of stuffing bell peppers or baking casseroles. It’s loaded with bell peppers, tomatoes, seasoned beef, and rice, all in a hearty one-pot soup. It’s so easy to get on the table and simple to clean up — perfect for those busy nights when you want comfort food without stress.

Here’s what you get with this recipe:

• A warm, family-friendly dinner that’s ready in roughly an hour and serves about 6 people.
• One pot cooking with a Dutch oven means less mess; leftovers heat up well, and if you skip cooking the rice in the soup, it freezes beautifully too.
• Super flexible ingredients and simple swaps — try ground turkey, Italian sausage, or add extra veggies. Cooking the rice separately is a smart move if you plan to freeze or stretch out the servings.

I put this recipe together years ago to get big flavor without complicated steps, and it’s still a winner every time. Keep reading for detailed ingredient info, easy steps, and tips so you’ll nail your batch tonight.

What Makes This Soup Great

Enjoy all the great flavors of classic stuffed peppers—bell peppers, tomatoes, seasoned beef, and rice—in a simple, cozy unstuffed pepper soup. It’s everything you love without the extra steps of stuffing peppers or baking—think a deconstructed lasagna soup for stuffed-pepper lovers.

Why you’ll want to make this soup:

• One pot wonder: cooks all in a Dutch oven for hassle-free cleanup (if you love one-pot dinners, try this One-Pot Veggie Pasta).
• Family friendly: basic ingredients with a flavor that kids and adults love — a go-to weeknight meal in our house.
• Make ahead & flexible: leftovers taste great reheated (store rice separately) and freezer friendly without rice.
• Customizable: swap ground beef with turkey or Italian sausage, add more vegetables, or switch up grains for what works best for you.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 green or red bell pepper*
• 1 yellow bell pepper*
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 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**

How to Make the Soup

1. Dice the onion, both bell peppers, and the tomato.
2. Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat and add the olive oil.
3. Add the diced onion and bell peppers and cook until just softened.
4. Stir in the diced tomato and cook for a couple minutes.
5. Push the veggies to the sides, add the ground beef to the center, break it up, cover and cook a few minutes.
6. Uncover, break up the beef, mix it with the veggies, then cover and cook until the beef is mostly browned, breaking up clumps and scraping browned bits as needed.
7. Stir in the tomato paste.
8. Pour in the beef stock.
9. Add dried oregano, dried basil, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper; stir to combine.
10. Reduce heat to low, cover the pot leaving a small crack for steam to escape, and simmer about 20 minutes.

11. Stir in the rice, seal the lid, and cook until the rice is tender, watching to avoid mushiness.

Expert Tips for Success

• Get prep done first—dice all veggies before cooking so everything cooks evenly and smoothly.
• Pick the right beef: 85/15 or 80/20 blend gives juicy, flavorful results. Extra-lean (90/10) can end up dry and tougher.
• Don’t confuse tomato paste with tomato sauce. You want the paste’s concentrated richness for this soup.
• Break up the ground beef well and brown it with the veggies for maximum flavor, then scrape those tasty browned bits from the bottom into the soup—techniques you’ll also use in these 30-minute ground beef zucchini boats.
• If you want leftovers, cook rice separately and add to bowls as you serve. When cooking rice in the pot, keep the lid cracked slightly and watch the rice closely to avoid mushy results.
• Substituting brown rice, farro, quinoa, or wild rice? Adjust liquid amounts and cooking time because different grains soak up liquid differently.
• Season gradually: start with herbs and salt, then taste near the end to adjust seasoning since tomato paste intensifies flavor as it simmers.
• Slow cooker option: brown the veggies and meat first, then transfer to slow cooker. Add stock, tomato paste, and seasonings. Cook on LOW for 6 hours. Add rice near the end or cook it separately to avoid mushiness. For more slow-cooker soup pointers, see why this Crock Pot Hamburger Potato Soup works so well.
• Storage: Keep soup and rice in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days. Freeze the soup (without rice) for up to 3 months in portions to thaw as needed.
• Reheating: Heat gently on the stove or in the microwave until warm. Add fresh or reheated rice at serving time for best texture.

Swaps, Add-Ins, and Tweaks

Ground beef – I recommend beef with a little fat, around 85/15 meat to fat ratio, to keep it juicy and tasty. You can easily swap in ground turkey or ground Italian sausage if you want.

Bell peppers – Any color works well here since they all soften into the soup. I like mixing colors just to brighten up how it looks in the bowl.

Tomato paste – Make sure you’re using tomato paste, not tomato sauce — they’re very different! Tomato paste gives the soup that rich, concentrated flavor it needs.

Rice – I usually opt for jasmine rice, but feel free to use whatever you have. Leftover rice works great too—just stir it in right before serving instead of cooking it in the pot. Brown rice, quinoa, farro, or couscous are good swaps. If you prefer tiny pasta, orzo also works—see Creamy Chicken Pot Pie Orzo for cooking cues on getting it perfectly tender; just watch timing since different starches cook at different rates.

Storage and Make-Ahead Tips

• Storage – Store your unstuffed pepper soup and rice separately in airtight containers in the fridge. Each will keep up to 4 days before texture changes.
• Reheating – Warm the soup gently on the stove or microwave until hot. Add fresh or previously cooked rice just before serving to keep it nice and fluffy.

• Freezing – Freeze the soup without rice for best results. Portion it in freezer-safe containers or bags and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

  Make-ahead serving tip: bake a loaf of Zucchini Cheddar Cheese Herb Beer Bread, then freeze sliced portions to reheat alongside bowls of soup.

Common Questions Answered

You might wonder if this unstuffed pepper soup can be made in a slow cooker. While technically yes, this soup cooks quickly and ground beef is tender, so it’s really best made on the stove for the most flavor. For another cozy stovetop option, try our Chicken Pot Pie Soup.

• Slow cooker method: Brown veggies and beef on the stove first. When beef is nearly cooked, transfer everything to the slow cooker. Stir in tomato paste, beef stock, oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook on LOW for 6 hours. Craving a true set-it-and-forget-it meal? Check out Slow Cooker Cowboy Potato Casserole for an all-day, hands-off dinner.
• Adding rice: Cook rice separately or add it during the last 20 minutes of slow cooking until just tender. Adding rice too early in slow cooker often leads to mushy results.