There is nothing better than some comfort food. This Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup is one of those comfort foods you can whip up quickly and the whole family will love. You need ground beef, bell peppers and pantry basics to make this easy Instant Pot dinner. Let me show you how to make it!

There are just some recipes that you will always cherish as you grow up. For me one of those recipes is homemade stuffed peppers. My grandma would make them and then my mom made them and now I make them!

Stuffed peppers are so versatile and easy to make. Normally I would make them on the stove top buy after I started using my Instant Pot, I made a pressure cooker version. Then I took it a step further and made stuffed pepper soup!

What is Stuffed Pepper Soup?

Stuffed pepper soup is a comfort soup with delicious sweet bell peppers, white rice, seasoned ground beef, and crushed tomatoes. The best thing about this is that you don’t have to actually stuff peppers to have the same great taste.

Stuffed Pepper Soup is basically just your Classic Stuffed Peppers without the stuffing part. Let’s call it a deconstruction version that saves you time!

Instant pot Stuffed Pepper Soup Ingredients

The basic ingredients that you need for this recipe are bell peppers, rice, ground beef, and crushed tomatoes. The rest is to season it to perfection! Here is what is needed:

• extra virgin olive oil
• medium red onion, diced
• 2 large bell peppers, seeded and diced
• garlic powder, minced
• Italian seasoning
• Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
• lean ground beef
• beef or chicken broth
• crushed tomatoes, with liquid
• long-grain white rice, uncooked
• fresh parsley, chopped

Fresh vegetables – You need two different vegetables for this recipe. Grab a medium onion and 2 bell peppers. I used a red onion, but feel free to use whatever onion you prefer or have on hand. And when it comes to the bell peppers, feel free to use whatever color or variety you like.

Spices – The spices that I used are Italian seasoning, garlic powder and salt and pepper. This gives the dish a mild Italian-inspired flavor. Fresh parsley is recommended, but optional for topping.

Meat – I used a lean ground beef in my stuffed pepper soup but you can used any ground meat you’d like. Ground turkey or pork would work fine here as well.

Pantry – Like I mentioned, this easy Instant Pot dinner is made up of mostly pantry items. You need olive oil, broth (chicken or beef), crushed tomatoes and rice. Feel free to use your favorite type of canned tomatoes here.

How to Make Stuffed Pepper Soup

Stuffed pepper soup really isn’t hard to make, and the best thing about this recipe is you don’t have a ton of dishes to do afterwards. The entire meal is made all in one pot!

Step 1: Saute the veggies. Add olive oil to Instant Pot and select the sauté function. Add red onion, bell peppers, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste, and cook, stirring continually, until the onions and pepper soften and develop a bit of color, approximately 4-5 minutes.

Step 2: Saute the ground beef. Transfer veggie mixture to a medium bowl. Add ground beef and brown for 3-4 minutes, or until no longer pink inside, stirring occasionally. Turn the unit off and carefully drain any excess fat from the container, if desired. The leaner the meat you use, the less you have to worry about this part.

Step 3: Put everything in the inner pot. Pour sautéed veggies on top of the browned beef. Add broth, crushed tomatoes, and white rice. Stir to combine and season with salt and black pepper, as desired.

Step 4: Pressure cook for 10 minutes. Add the lid and set the pressure valve to “sealing.” Select the “Manual” cooking option on the high setting and set cook time to 20 minutes. When done cooking, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, and then do a quick release for any remaining pressure.

To serve, transfer soup to individual bowls and garnish with fresh chopped parsley, if desired. Enjoy!

Side Dish Ideas

Whenever I make a soup, I try to make a side dish that makes your feel a little more full. When it comes to rice, protein, and veggies, it doesn’t always keep you full for very long. And, if you have teenagers in the house, they could devour 3-bowls of this soup and still want more. So, here are my side choices to beef up your soup meal:

• Mashed potatoes: Carbs always make you feel fuller faster, and potatoes go perfectly with all the veggies in this soup.
• French Bread: Who doesn’t love French Bread? It is the perfect dipping bread for soups. If you can’t find any in the stores, make your own French Bread.
• Crostini’s: These are made with sourdough bread which really brings out the flavor of your soup.
• Corn Bread: Whether its made from scratch or straight from that Jiffy box, corn bread is the ultimate comfort food perfect for soups.

How to Store Leftovers

One of the great things about soup is that there are multiple ways you can store the leftovers. You can store it in the fridge, can it, or freeze it.

How to Store it in the Fridge

If you will eat your soup in the next 3-4 days, you can store it in the fridge. You want to store it in a large, resealable container. If you plan on taking individual servings for lunches, store the soup in portion size containers.

How to Freeze Stuffed Pepper Soup

Freezing your stuffed pepper soup allows you to keep if for up to 6-months. You can store the soup in glass or plastic quart sized containers, or you can store it in resealable freezer bags.

Keep in mind that the more oxygen that is removed from the container, the better quality of soup you will have when you reheat it.

Canning Soups

We never know when we will fall on tough times, so canned food is a great way to stock pile your food storage. Canning your soup means you can keep it for up to a year without it going bad.

Canning is the process in which you ladle your soup into pint or quart size glass jars. You then process them in a high-temperature pressure canner. Canning slows the growth of bacteria, removes the air from the container, and seals the soup in a safe, anaerobic environment.

Keep in mind that soups contain low acid ingredients which means you must process them according to safe and proven canning methods that are tested by food safety experts. Otherwise, you could end up very sick.

If you have the Instant Pot Max, you can use it to can your soups otherwise, you will need a pressure canner.

Related: Different Types of Instant Pots/Pressure Cookers

Did you enjoy this Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup recipe? If so, check out our Instant Pot Shipwreck Stew!

Pin this recipe to Pinterest where you can find it any time you need it!