Stuffed Pepper Soup

Total Time

Prep: 15 min. Cook: 45 min.

Makes

8 servings (2 quarts)

Updated: Feb. 12, 2024
I was talking about stuffed peppers with the other cooks at the restaurant where I work. We decided to mix similar ingredients for a soup. Customer response was overwhelming! —Krista Muddiman, Meadville, Pennsylvania

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 can (28 ounces) tomato sauce
  • 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 2 cups chopped green peppers
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 cups cooked long grain rice
  • Chopped fresh parsley, optional

Directions

  1. In a Dutch oven over medium heat, cook and stir beef until no longer pink, breaking it into crumbles; drain. Stir in next 8 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until peppers are tender, about 30 minutes.
  2. Add cooked rice; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes longer. If desired, sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley.

Stuffed Pepper Soup Tips


What goes well with stuffed pepper soup?

With ground beef, peppers and rice, this stuffed pepper soup doesn’t need a ton of support to make a complete meal. A great accompaniment would lean on this soup’s comfort food flavor with a little bit of zing to offset the natural sweetness of the peppers. Try some Sour Cream & Cheddar Biscuits or Jalapeno Buttermilk Cornbread. If you want something more substantial, pair the soup with a grilled cheese sandwich made with Garlic Fontina Bread.

Should I use dark or light brown sugar?

Dark brown and light brown sugar are largely interchangeable in recipes. The difference between them is that dark brown sugar contains more molasses, so it has a bolder flavor. The choice is entirely up to you.

Do I have to peel peppers for soup?

The skin of bell peppers is thin and easily digestible; peeling them is very rarely required. Even in pureed soups, like our Red Pepper Soup, the peppers are chopped and cooked without peeling them.

What are other variations of this stuffed pepper soup?

This stuffed pepper soup recipe is ripe for experimentation! Check out our collection of stuffed pepper recipes for inspiration. You could swap out half the ground beef for sausage—mild or spicy—or trade it all for ground chicken or turkey. Riff on homemade chili recipes by adding chili powder and beans and topping each bowl with shredded cheese or sour cream. If you’re a garlic lover, add a couple of cloves of garlic or some garlic powder when you’re browning the beef; for more kick, try adding cayenne pepper or using diced tomatoes with chilies. You can also use brown rice, quinoa, barley or orzo pasta in place of the long grain rice. The rice does absorb a lot of liquid so instead of stirring it in, you may want to spoon the rice into individual bowls and ladle the soup over top.

Research contributed by Hazel Wheaton, Taste of Home Books Editor

Nutrition Facts

1 cup: 337 calories, 14g fat (5g saturated fat), 70mg cholesterol, 1466mg sodium, 30g carbohydrate (13g sugars, 4g fiber), 24g protein.