For a healthy, comforting soup that comes together with minimal effort, try this slow cooker stuffed pepper soup! As it simmers together, the flavors merge together into a hearty meal that tastes just like your favorite stuffed peppers in soup form. It’s the perfect slow cooker meal for those busy weeknights! {Gluten-free & dairy-free}
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Healthy Stuffed Pepper Soup in Crock Pot with Uncooked Rice
If you’re looking for the ultimate hearty soup, you’ll love this slow cooker stuffed pepper soup! It tastes just like your favorite stuffed green bell peppers, but without nearly as much work. Because the recipe calls for uncooked rice, you don’t even have to cook the rice ahead of time!
Packed with fiber and protein, it’s also incredibly satisfying and makes for a great balanced meal.
Who doesn’t love an entire meal in one dish? It doesn’t get much easier than this!
Why We Love This Easy Stuffed Pepper Soup Recipe
- Healthy: By using lots of green and red bell peppers, whole grain rice, and lean ground beef, this hearty soup is a meal in one! It’s a great source of vitamins and minerals in addition to protein and fiber. It’s also naturally gluten free for those with intolerances.
- Convenient: Slow cooker meals are the best! Although you do need to brown the beef and saute the veggies before popping them into the crockpot, the rest of the magic happens while you’re out for the day. You’ll come home to a delicious, homemade supper ready to go!
- Family favorite: This really is the best stuffed pepper soup! It’s incredibly flavorful thanks to lots of aromatic ingredients, marinara sauce, fire-roasted tomatoes, and a variety of spices and seasonings. Who said healthy meals have to be bland? The whole family will ask for this delicious soup again and again!
Ingredient Notes
- Extra lean ground beef: To keep the fat content low in this crockpot stuffed pepper soup, choose extra lean ground beef or your favorite lean ground meat. Ground turkey or chicken is a great option!
- Yellow onion: Dice your onion into bite-sized pieces. Yellow or white onions work best.
- Bell peppers: Choose any color bell peppers; we prefer green peppers and yellow peppers. Remove the stem and seeds, then cut into small pieces.
- Garlic: Either freshly mince garlic or use storebought minced garlic.
- Beef broth: Use reduced sodium beef stock to avoid excess salt. Vegetable broth works well too!
- Marinara sauce: Look for a low sugar tomato sauce to add a rich flavor without sugar.
- Fire-roasted tomatoes: These add a nice smoky flavor.
- Quick cooking brown rice: We used Uncle Ben’s 20-minute brown rice, which cooks so quickly while still adding extra fiber. Instant white rice also works if that’s what you have.
- Seasonings: Season this delicious soup recipe with a mixture of marjoram, chili powder, dried basil, red pepper flakes (optional), salt and black pepper.
How to Make Stuffed Pepper Soup in Crockpot – Step-by-Step
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 5-7 minutes, making sure to break up the beef as it cooks. Drain excess fat.
- Add onion, bell peppers and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. You can also do these steps in your slow cooker if it has a saute function.
- Transfer beef and vegetables to a slow cooker along with the remaining ingredients.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
- Serve topped with parmesan or shredded mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of fresh parsley, if desired.
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
Recipe Tips:
- We used Uncle Ben’s 20 minute brown rice and it worked really well in this recipe. You can try using regular brown rice or sub in regular long grain rice if that’s what you have.
- If you have some leftover rice on hand, you can add that in at the end of the cooking time instead of using uncooked rice. You’ll need about 1 cup of cooked rice.
- For a richer, more savory flavor, feel free to add a little tomato paste or a teaspoon or two of Worcestershire sauce.
Recipe FAQs
If you add the red pepper flakes, it does have a slight kick to it, but it’s not overly spicy. If you prefer to keep it on the mild side, skip the red pepper flakes or add less.
Yes, you can freeze leftover stuffed pepper soup, but any time you freeze soups with rice, the rice has a tendency to become very puffy and soggy after thawing. If you are okay with this, freezing is a great way to store extra soup for later!
Alternatively, you can freeze all of the uncooked ingredients in a bag (other than the broth) and dump them into the crockpot and cook for a dump and go meal! Simply add the broth and press start.
Absolutely! The Instant Pot is a great option. If you use your pressure cooker like a slow cooker, you don’t need to change anything. Just saute everything using the saute function before letting the soup cook slowly.
If you want to use the high-pressure feature, it won’t take long. You only need about 10 minutes of high pressure and 5-10 minutes of natural release before opening the lid. It’s a great choice for an easy meal on the fly!
Storage Guidelines
Refrigerator: Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, either microwave a serving in a bowl or warm the leftovers in a small pot on the stove.
To freeze: You can also freeze leftovers, but the rice may become soggy and overcooked. If you plan to freeze, you could leave out the rice and then add in cooked rice when ready to serve.
To reheat: Either microwave a serving in a bowl or warm the leftovers in a small pot on the stove.
What to Serve with Stuffed Pepper Soup
This stuffed green pepper soup is a meal all on its own! However, it’s also great with these toppings or sides:
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Sprinkle of fresh parsley or other herbs
- A side salad (like this tossed green salad)
- Extra rice
- Whole grain dinner roll
- Shredded cheese
- Diced red onion
Recipe Variations
- Switch up the protein: Try using ground Italian sausage instead of ground beef.
- Experiment with different grains: Try quinoa, pasta or barley instead of rice.
- To make low carb: Use cauliflower rice instead of brown rice.
- Make it vegetarian: For a plant-based soup, skip the ground beef and use lentils or vegetarian crumbles. Be sure to use vegetable stock as well.
More Easy Soup Recipes
- Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Italian White Bean Soup
- Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup
- Healthy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Italian Sausage Spinach Soup
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Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup {with Uncooked Rice}
Ingredients
- 1 pound extra lean ground beef
- 1 medium yellow onion diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 bell peppers diced (I used green and yellow)
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 3-4 cups reduced sodium beef broth (adjust depending on how thick you like your soup)
- 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
- 1 14.5 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes
- 1/2 cup uncooked quick cooking brown rice (we used Uncle Ben’s 20 minute rice)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons marjoram
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 5-7 minutes, making sure to break up the beef as it cooks. Drain excess fat.
- Add onion, bell peppers and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. You can also do these steps in your slow cooker if it has a saute function. Transfer beef and vegetables to a slow cooker along with the remaining ingredients.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Serve topped with parmesan or shredded mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of fresh parsley, if desired.
Notes
- We used Uncle Ben’s 20 minute brown rice and it worked really well in this recipe. You can try using regular brown rice or sub in regular long grain rice if that’s what you have.
- If you have some leftover rice on hand, you can add that in at the end of the cooking time instead of using uncooked rice. You’ll need about 1 cup of cooked rice.
- For a richer, more savory flavor, feel free to add a little tomato paste or a teaspoon or two of Worcestershire sauce.
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