All the comforting, delightful flavors of stuffed bell peppers in an easy soup that comes together so quickly! With just 7 minutes cook time in the Instant Pot, you’ll have this hearty stuffed pepper soup on the table in no time. The rich, tasty broth has a depth of flavor you will not believe, with all the classic pepper-stuffing ingredients swimming around – including that awesome melty cheese.
As much as I love stuffed peppers, I’m surprised it took me so long to try making stuffed pepper soup. Seriously, one taste and I was in heaven. I wanted my pot of soup to last forever! I savored and enjoyed every. last. drop. To be honest, I actually made this soup back in November and have been waiting for a moment when it felt right to post it. Now I can’t wait to make it again. But first, I have to eat the rest of the soup I have waiting for me in the fridge.
Make and store the rice separately so that it doesn’t soak up all the yummy juices of the soup.
To serve, put a scoop of hot rice in the bowl, then a few Tablespoons of cheese, then top with the hot soup. The hot soup and rice will melt the cheese, giving you a delightful bowl of comfort.
I have to say, at first I was not on the “cook the rice separately” train. But after reading through several posts about it, it really makes sense, especially if you’re stashing a bunch of the soup to enjoy later. Like me. There’s not much I love more than having some amazing soup to heat up for a quick lunch on a busy workday. Especially in the middle of a freaking cold winter day. Keeping the rice separate meant that the rice was perfectly fluffy and tender and the soup was still SOUP!
What makes THIS Stuffed Pepper Soup soup so good?
There are so many stuffed pepper soup recipes, why should you use mine? While I used all the classic ingredients, I also added in the juices that I save when I cook my beans. Along with some of my creamy good vodka sauce. Plus a bit of Trader Joe’s Umami Mushroom seasoning, a little jalapeno, and chopped zucchini. If you don’t have all of those things, I offered some suggestions in the recipe notes for alternatives.
It’s hard for me to use the saute setting on the Instant Pot because I’m short and my Instant Pot is tall. So when I set it on the countertop, it’s hard for me to reach in and stir. Also, I don’t like how things stick to the Instant Pot. So I always do the saute and browning in a nonstick pan on my stovetop and then throw it into the Instant Pot. In case you prefer to do that part IN the Instant Pot, I gave instructions for both ways in my recipe below.
Adapted from The Recipe Well
Print
Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 min
- Yield: 6 – 10 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Pressure cooker
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
All the delightful flavors of stuffed peppers in a much easier Instant Pot soup form! Hearty and delicious, this soup takes only 7 minutes cook time in the pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled & chopped
- 4 – 7 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
- 1 lb. ground venison or lean ground beef (could also use ground chicken or turkey)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups juices from cooking beans (or beef broth)
- 3 cups beef broth (or 3 cups water + 3 teaspoons Better than Bouillon Beef or Chicken flavor)
- 1 cup pasta sauce (I used my vodka sauce, but use a good marinara or whatever Italian sauce you love)
- 1 15-oz. can tomatoes or 1 pint home-canned tomatoes, with juices
- 3 – 4 bell peppers, seeded & chopped (red, yellow, orange or green)
- 3 teaspoons Italian Seasoning (or to taste)
- Flavor additions (optional, but recommended): 1 teaspoon Trader Joe’s Mushroom Umami seasoning, 1/2 – 1 small jalapeno, chopped, and 1 cup chopped zucchini
- For serving: Cooked brown basmati rice and shredded mozzarella or Italian blend of cheeses
Instructions
- In a nonstick pan over medium heat on the stove – or in your Instant pot on the saute setting, saute the onion in olive oil until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook briefly. If you’re doing this in a separate pan, pour the onion and garlic into the Instant Pot, then brown the ground beef in your pan. Otherwise, move the onions to the outside of the IP pan and add the ground beef in the center, cooking and stirring until it’s browned. Be sure to scrape up any browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Add all the other ingredients to the Instant Pot.
- Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 7 minutes. When done, use a quick release to let out the pressure.
- Once the quick release is done, taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. Serve your soup hot with cooked rice and shredded cheese.
Notes
- Red, yellow, or orange bell peppers will provide more sweetness than the green bell peppers. For best flavor, use a mix of colors.
- Whenever you cook beans, save any strained off juices for future pots of beans and soup! Bean juice (a.k.a. aquafaba) adds fiber, nutrients and depth of flavor and keeps well in the freezer for several months. To give your beans (and soups) even more flavor, use the 100-year-old stew method.
- If you don’t have bean juice, but still want that great flavor, use 1/2 cup lentils plus 3 cups broth in place of the bean juice. This will increase the amount of soup you get!
- If you don’t have Trader Joe’s Mushroom Umami seasoning, try grinding up some dried mushrooms, or toss in some chopped fresh mushrooms. Or stir in some of my bacon mushroom salt (at the end, to make sure it’s not over-salted).
- RECIPE SOURCE: Sumptuous Spoonfuls – https://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/ … © Copyright 2023, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.
Nutrition
- Calories: 146
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 14g
Keywords: Stuffed peppers, Cheese, Ground venison, Ground beef, Tomatoes, Italian, Soup
