Easy Stuffed Pepper Soup
The ultimate comfort food, Easy Stuffed Pepper Soup is a hearty blend of tender peppers, savory beef, and aromatic spices in a rich tomato broth. Perfect for cozy nights or feeding a crowd, this easy weeknight dinner is sure to become a family favorite. Make it tonight and warm up from the inside out!
Equipment
- Skillet
- Large Pot
- Saucepan
- Chef's Knife
- Cutting Board
- Wooden Spoon
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 1.5 pounds lean ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 red bell pepper chopped finely
- 1 green bell pepper chopped finely
- 1 13.5 fluid ounce tomato sauce
- 1 28 fluid ounce fire-roasted diced tomatoes (with juices)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by cooking the rice according to package directions. If you have already cooked rice on hand, save it for later in the recipe.
- While the rice is cooking, add the olive oil and onion to a large soup pot and sauté for 5-7 minutes (ok if it browns slightly – that'll give the soup more flavor). To save time, I chop the peppers while the onions are cooking.
- Add the ground beef to the pot and cook it for 5 minutes, using a spoon to stir/break up the beef as it cooks. If the beef is particularly fatty (it shouldn't be if you bought lean), drain most of the excess grease before proceeding to the next step.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for about a minute.
- Add in the peppers, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and paprika. Increase the heat to high and bring it to a gentle boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and let the soup simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the cooked rice to the pot and continue to cook the soup for another 10 minutes or so. This will help thicken the broth a bit and infuse more flavor into the soup. Season as needed with salt & pepper.
Notes
- You can use regular diced tomatoes if you wish, but the fire-roasted ones give it extra flavor.
- I used jasmine rice in this recipe. Feel free to swap with another rice e.g. brown rice or any variety of long grain white rice.
- Freezing and leftovers: If you plan on freezing the soup or eating most of it as leftovers, I suggest not adding the rice until you’re warming it up again. It’ll either go mushy or soak up most of the broth.
- Crockpot version: You can definitely make this stuffed pepper soup in a slow cooker. Brown the beef first, and then transfer it to your Crockpot, along with everything except for the rice and salt & pepper. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. About 20-30 minutes prior to serving, add the cooked rice.