Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup

Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup is a cozy, hearty soup that tastes like a deconstructed stuffed pepper! This soup is easy to make and is on the table in just over 30 minutes from start to finish!

Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup is one of my favorite ways to enjoy the classic flavors of stuffed peppers.

While I love my recipe for Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers, I prefer NOT having to do the task of stuffing peppers. I also love that this soup is lighter, yet still incredibly hearty.

Filled with rice, peppers, meat, and tomatoes, this soup lacks NOTHING that the traditional recipe provides. And it is is a lot easier to make!

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

• 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 of 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, 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.
• 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 in ¼-1/2 teaspoon when adding the other spices.

Step-By-Step Instructions

• Turn the instant pot to saute, add in the oil, and let warm up for a minute.
• Add the ground meat and minced onion to the inner pot of the pressure cooker.
• Saute the beef and onion mixture, breaking up the meat into small pieces, until the ground beef is nearly browned.

• Add in the peppers and minced garlic and saute for 1 minute longer, just to toast the garlic and finish cooking the meat.

• Turn off the instant pot by hitting cancel. If needed, drain off any excess grease and then return the inner pot back to the pressure cooker.
• Add in a bit of the beef broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the inner pot. This is really important and will help prevent a burn warning.
• Add the remaining broth, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, Worcestershire Sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar, and rinced rice to the inner pot.

• 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.
• Once the pressure has been released, open the instant pot. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed.
• Serve immediately.

Leftover Soup

Leftover Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Keep in mind that the rice may absorb some of the liquid as the soup sits, so it is best to add a bit more stock or water before reheating.

This soup can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, add in up to 1 cup of stock and reheat the soup the desired temperature.

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 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.

More Instant Pot Soup Recipes

• Instant Pot Minestrone Soup
• Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
• Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
• Instant Pot French Onion Soup
• Instant Pot Lentil Soup
• Instant Pot Tomato Soup

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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.