Name: Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: ½ tablespoon oil ((olive oil, canola oil, or avocado oil)); 1 pound lean ground beef; 1 small yellow onion (chopped); 2 cloves garlic (minced); 2 bell peppers (chopped); 5 cups low sodium beef broth; 2 teaspoons garlic powder; 1 teaspoon onion powder; ½ teaspoon dried oregano; 2 teaspoons paprika; 1 (15 ounce can) tomato sauce; 1 (15 ounce can) diced tomatoes; 1 teaspoon sugar or honey (optional); 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce; ¾ cup long grain white rice; Salt and pepper to taste

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Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup is a cozy, hearty soup that delivers all the flavors of classic stuffed peppers with minimal effort!

Bowl of Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup next to instant pot and fresh peppers.

While I love my recipe for Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers, when I need something with less hands-on prep, I turn to this recipe for Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup.

Just like my recipes for Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup, Instant Pot Chicken Gnocchi Soup, and Instant Pot Cabbage Soup, Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup delivers a cozy, comfort food soup fast.

Filled with rice, peppers, meat, and tomatoes, this soup lacks NOTHING that the traditional recipe provides. And it is a lot easier, not to mention lighter, than classic stuffed peppers. This Instant Pot Pepper Soup is the perfect recipe to serve up when you are craving comfort but are short on time!

Notes on Ingredients

Ingredients for Stuffed Pepper Soup on counter labeled.

Ground Meat: Use any type of ground meat you like for this soup. Lean ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken all work well.
Bell Peppers: Obviously, you can not have Stuffed Pepper Soup without peppers! I use a variety of red and green bell peppers, but any bell pepper works. Feel free to use all of one color or a mixture of two or three colors. Just be sure they are BELL peppers, not another variety that may be spicy.
Beef Stock/Broth: Use low-sodium beef stock to control the sodium. If you don't have beef broth on hand, you can substitute chicken stock or Instant Pot Chicken Stock, but the soup will not be as rich in flavor.
Sugar: I RARELY add sugar to savory dishes, but to help balance out the acidity of the tomatoes, a tiny bit of sugar or honey is recommended. Feel free to omit it.
Rice: Use long-grain white rice for best results. Brown rice requires too much cooking time for this recipe. By the time the brown rice would cook, the peppers would be mush!
Spices: I add in oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Those are the classic flavors for Stuffed Peppers, so they work great in this soup recipe. Marjoram is another classic spice, but one that I don't typically have on hand and it is not worth purchasing just for this soup. If you do have marjoram on hand, add ¼-1/2 teaspoon when adding the other spices.

recipe modifications

Adding heat: Feel free to top your Stuffed Pepper Soup with a bit of hot sauce after cooking. It is a great way to add a little kick to individual bowls of soup. If preferred, you can also add up to ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the soup before pressure cooking.
Gluten-Free Modifications: Be sure your broth/stock and Worcestershire Sauce are gluten-free. Everything else is naturally gluten-free.
Using Frozen Peppers and Onions: Feel free to use a 16-ounce bag of defrosted peppers and onions. I recommend sauteeing the mixture with the ground beef for the last few minutes, to give the frozen blend more flavor.

How to Make Stuffed Pepper Soup in the Instant Pot

The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Step One: Brown the Meat. Using the saute function, saute the ground beef and minced onion until the beef is fully browned. Turn the instant pot to saute, add in the oil, and let warm up for a minute.

Beef and onion sauteed inside inner pot.

Step Two: Add Peppers and Garlic. Add in the peppers and minced garlic and saute for 1 minute longer, just to toast the garlic and finish cooking the meat, you don't want to burn the garlic.

Peppers, onions, and meat sauteed in instant pot for stuffed bell pepper soup.

Step Three: Deglaze the Inner Pot. Add in a bit of the beef broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the inner pot. This is important and will help prevent a burn warning.

Step Four: Layer Ingredients. Add the remaining broth, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, Worcestershire Sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar, and rinsed rice to the inner pot.

Ingredients for Stuffed Pepper Soup inside inner pot.

Step Five: Pressure Cook. Place the lid on the inner pot and be sure it is sealed. Set the cooking time to 5 minutes on high pressure. Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally or for at least 15 minutes. Do NOT try to do a quick release of pressure. To do so, would result in hot liquid spewing out of the vent knob.

Ladle dishing out Stuffed Pepper Soup from Instant Pot.

Storage & Reheating Instructions

Refrigerate: Leftover Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freeze: Allow the soup to fully cool and then transfer to a freezer-safe container, leaving 1 inch of space for expansion, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheat: If needed, defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat on the stove over low heat or in the microwave, adding up to 1 more cup of broth to thin the soup (as the rice will absorb some of the liquid as it sits).

More Instant Pot Soup Recipes

If you enjoyed this recipe for Stuffed Pepper Soup, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.

This post was originally published in 2019 but updated in 2022 with a new video.

Comments

5 from 14 votes (5 ratings without comment)

Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup

Notes on Ingredients

recipe modifications

How to Make Stuffed Pepper Soup in the Instant Pot

Storage & Reheating Instructions

More Instant Pot Soup Recipes