Stuffed Green Pepper Soup (Small Batch)

An “unstuffed” pepper soup recipe, if you will. 🙂 This small batch stuffed pepper soup recipe makes 1 1/2 quarts, and tastes even better as leftovers! I love to use lean ground beef, onion, green bell pepper, seasonings, beef broth, tomato sauce, and cooked rice for this soup recipe.

This recipe holds a special place in my heart because my dad really loves it! I originally created this soup for a social media collaboration with a Midwestern beef organization, but as soon as we all tried it, I knew I had to give it its own place on the blog. It tastes just like classic stuffed peppers, but in soup form. 🙂

Most of my soups are small batch recipes, and this is no exception. This makes 1 1/2 quarts of soup, or about 3-4 servings. The entire recipe comes together in about 45 minutes, but only 35 minutes of that is spent just simmering the soup. This soup is super delicious right away, but it’s REALLY great as leftovers, and tastes even better the next day!

I personally prefer to use brown rice for my stuffed pepper soup recipe, but you can absolutely use long-grain white rice or basmati rice if you prefer! Yellow onion can be substituted with white onion if necessary, too.

Ground turkey can absolutely be substituted for ground beef, as well. And if you prefer the sweetness of red peppers over green peppers, that’s OK! Feel free to use red bell peppers to make a stuffed red pepper soup instead. 🙂 However, I don’t recommend changing any of the other ingredients!

Green peppers vary in size, but any size will work for this recipe. If you really love green peppers (like my dad!), look for a huge one at the store so you can really add a lot of the green pepper flavor to this soup. If you want to use a smaller one, that’s totally fine, too! There’s no specific measurement of green pepper, just go with what feels right and what you enjoy. As long as the stems and seeds are removed, you’re good to go. 🙂

Directions

See below for a full step-by-step guide on how to make this Stuffed Green Pepper Soup.

1. Heat olive oil in a medium-sized deep saucepan (or in this case, a medium-sized dutch oven)* over medium heat. Add ground beef, onion, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until beef is browned and cooked through, crumbling the beef into small pieces as it cooks. *(The dutch oven used in these photos is a 3.5 qt. dutch oven. Any saucepan or dutch oven sized from 3.5 qts. – 5 qts. will work!)

2. Stir in green pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic, brown sugar, and tomato paste. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes until peppers are tender.

3. Stir in tomato sauce and beef broth. Cover and cook for 25 minutes over low heat.

4. Uncover and stir in the cooked rice. Cook for 10 minutes.

5. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve hot!

I garnished my soups with some chopped fresh parsley for these photos, but parsley isn’t necessary if you don’t have any on hand. It adds a nice pop of color, but the flavor of the soup is awesome without any additional flavors.

This is such a simple soup recipe that is so satisfying! If you have time to let the soup simmer before adding the rice, it can easily simmer for up to an hour. The longer it simmers, the better it tastes! Just don’t let it simmer too long once the rice is added, or the rice could start to break down and lend a mushy texture to the soup.

Soups have a tendency to taste even better as leftovers because the flavors have a chance to sit with one another and really develop a loving relationship together. 🙂 This is a great recipe to make on a Sunday afternoon, then enjoy as lunch or dinner on a couple of days throughout the week when you find yourself strapped for time and can’t devote a lot of energy towards making dinner. Serve this soup with some crusty bread or a quick salad, and you’ve totally got yourself a cozy, comforting meal.

What to Serve with Stuffed Pepper Soup

• Crusty Bread
• Mixed Green Salad with Small Batch Maple Balsamic Dressing
• Small Batch Roasted Garlic Cheese Bread
• Steakhouse Style Homemade Caesar Dressing with crunchy romaine lettuce
• Greek Yogurt Caesar Dressing with crunchy romaine lettuce (a lighter version of Caesar dressing!)

How to Reheat Stuffed Green Pepper Soup

Easy! Just reheat this soup in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat until it is hot. A trick I use to help keep soups warmer longer is warming a bowl in the microwave for about 20 seconds, then serving the hot soup in it. Soups taste even better a day or two later, so leftovers are definitely welcomed!

If you make this Stuffed Green Pepper Soup and love it, I would love it if you left a rating and comment below! If you have questions about any of the ingredients or the process, feel free to shoot me an email so I can get back to you ASAP. Tag me on Instagram if you post it, too!

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xx Sara