When should you add bell peppers to slow cooker?

I add only part of the bell peppers in the beginning , which gives the tomato sauce and the chicken the flavor of peppers, but still keeps most of the bell peppers nice and crisp, since they are sort of steaming during the second part of the cooking process.

Can you freeze stuffed pepper filling?

You can now freeze them whether filled or empty . Make your filling. You can freeze the rice and hamburger mix either in the peppers or in a bag. You should add the sauce and cheese at the time you bake the dish, but you can freeze the sauce with the peppers and the filling.

Will peppers soften in a slow cooker?

Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours . Once the peppers are tender, remove the lid, and sprinkle the peppers with cheese. Cover the slow cooker again, and let sit for a few more minutes (we want to let the cheese become melty and delicious).

How long does it take vegetables to soften in a slow cooker on high?

Tender vegetables such as zucchini and beans can be added to your dish in last ¾ - 1 hour of cooking when cooking on High, or 2 hours if cooking on Low. Hard, starchy vegetables like potato and carrots are best added around 3 hours before the meal is done if cooking on High, and 4 hours on Low.

How do you keep stuffed peppers from getting soggy?

To prevent it from happening, you should try to avoid or reduce excess moisture – here are three of the things you can do: Pre-cook Peppers. ... Use Leftover Rice. ... Save Cheese for the Topping.

How do you keep stuffed peppers from falling apart?

Watch the clock. Avoid baking the stuffed peppers for too long . This causes them to fall apart and become soggy. Save the sauce.

Is it better to freeze stuffed peppers raw or cooked?

You can absolutely freeze stuffed peppers, and they make for a really great freezer-friendly dish. It's important to make sure that your stuffing is fully cooked before it goes into the peppers and is then frozen. Go ahead and pop a pepper out of the freezer and heat it up in the oven.

When should you add pepper when cooking?

Seasoning meat and other proteins ahead of cooking also gives salt and pepper the time to penetrate the centre for full flavour impact. For more rapidly cooked meals, seasoning at the end is preferable. Many chefs specifically advise adding white pepper after cooking as overheating can make it bitter.

When should I add vegetables to slow cooker?

For more delicate vegetables, add them last. Precooking Can Boost Flavor. While the slow cooker is designed to make meals as easy as possible, you can add another depth of flavor by sautéing vegetables first, before adding them to the crock. This is especially true with aromatics like onion and garlic.

Do you cook peppers before or after meat?

The peppers need to be par-cooked before filling so that they cook through. Many recipes call for boiling the peppers first, but I prefer to roast them – more flavor and less cleanup!

Do bell peppers take longer to cook than onions?

Note we like to start cooking the pepper first (before the onion) because it takes longer for pepper to cook down to the same softness . Add the onion to the same pan and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes until it's just starting to soften.

Stuffed Pepper Soup [stove or slow cooker] + VIDEO

The Recipe Rebel / Dinner

written by Ashley Fehr

5 from 10 votes

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 38 minutes mins

Servings 8 servings

Jump to Recipe

Last updated on February 5, 2024

This Stuffed Pepper Soup is a flavorful, healthy soup recipe that’s loaded with Italian sausage (for even more flavor!), peppers, rice and tomatoes. Stove top or slow cooker versions.

Looking for more quick soup recipes? Try this Easy Taco Soup recipe or this Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup!

Stuffed Pepper Soup [stove or slow cooker] + VIDEO - The Recipe Rebel (2)

How to make Stuffed Pepper Soup:
Variations on this Stuffed Pepper Soup:
How to make Stuffed Pepper Soup in the slow cooker:
More healthy soups you’ll love:
Stuffed Pepper Soup Recipe

Soup season!

And here we are celebrating with yet another new soup recipe, because who can have too many soup options for these long and dreary winters? (I know we’re not technically there yet, but it sure feels like it sometimes!)

Some of my favorite soups from this year? ThisCrockpot Potato Soup, this heartyBeef and Barley Soup,and this Cheeseburger Soup — a family favorite!

I love this Stuffed Pepper Soup because it is so incredibly flavorful, and yet it doesn’t have a lot for ingredients.

Although most of my ingredients here you see in any Stuffed Pepper Soup, there’s one swap I made that I think makes all the difference: substituting regular ground beef with mild Italian sausage.

Friends, just do it.

Stuffed Pepper Soup [stove or slow cooker] + VIDEO - The Recipe Rebel (3)

I love ground beef and we use it a lot for easy meals because it’s so versatile, but in a soup recipe like this one?

You want those Italian herbs and spices.

Italian sausage packs such an awesome punch of flavor, that we can reduce the other ingredients we throw in because you just won’t miss them.

This Stuffed Pepper Soup is easy to make (and I’ve included crockpot instructions down below!), healthy, and ticks all my boxes for a well-rounded meal:

protein
grains
veggies
a ton of flavor

How to make Stuffed Pepper Soup:

Brown your Italian sausage in a large soup pot or dutch oven.
Add onions and peppers and saute several minutes, until slightly softened.
Add your herbs and spices — dried herbs can lose their punch after sitting a long time in your pantry. By adding them to a hot dry pot, it wakes up their flavor!
Dump in everything else and simmer away — there are lots of Stuffed Pepper Soup recipes that call for cooked rice, but you will not see me calling for an extra, totally unnecessary pot. If you prefer to cook your rice separately, you go right ahead (although you’ll likely want to reduce the broth by 1-1.5 cups)
Give it some cheesy love and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Stuffed Pepper Soup [stove or slow cooker] + VIDEO - The Recipe Rebel (4)

Variations on this Stuffed Pepper Soup:

If you don’t have Italian sausage, you can easily substitute for lean ground beef or ground turkey, but you will likely want to also bump up the seasonings — feel free to give the soup a taste after cooking and adjust as necessary.
To lighten it up a bit, you can opt for Italian turkey sausage instead of pork
You can add in a bunch more veggies if you prefer! I wanted to keep my Stuffed Pepper Soup on the traditional side, but just like there are a thousand different ways to make stuffed peppers, there are a thousand different ways to make this soup. Mushrooms and spinach would be the first two I’d add in if I wanted to mix things up!
Use cauliflower rice for a lower carb option.

Stuffed Pepper Soup [stove or slow cooker] + VIDEO - The Recipe Rebel (5)

How to make Stuffed Pepper Soup in the slow cooker:

Brown your Italian sausage or ground beef.
Throw everybody except the cheese in the pot and let it simmer until the veggies and rice are tender — roughly 5-6 hours. (If you only have Instant Rice on hand, be sure to add it just for the last 10-15 minutes or so)
Top with cheese and extra garnishes as you desire and serve

More healthy soups you’ll love:

Beef and Barley Soup— so hearty and flavorful!
Crockpot Vegetable Beef Soup recipe
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup– an updated classic
Chicken Rice Soup: Stove Top or Slow Cooker– a reader favorite for good reason!

Pin this recipe to save for later

Pin this recipe to your favorite board

Stuffed Pepper Soup

written by Ashley Fehr

5 from 10 votes

This Stuffed Pepper Soup is a flavorful, healthy soup recipe that's loaded with Italian sausage (for even more flavor!), peppers, rice and tomatoes. Stove top or slow cooker versions.

Save

Review

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 28 minutes mins

Total Time 38 minutes mins

Cuisine American

Course Main Course, Soup

Servings 8 servings

Calories 345cal

Ingredients

▢ ¾ lb Italian sausage casings removed, spicy or mild
▢ 1 medium onion finely diced
▢ 1 green bell pepper chopped
▢ 1 red bell pepper chopped
▢ 1 tablespoon minced garlic
▢ 1 teaspoon salt
▢ 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
▢ 1/4 teaspoon paprika *optional – for extra kick
▢ 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
▢ 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
▢ 798 ml canned diced tomatoes, no salt added (28oz)
▢ 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
▢ 1 cup dry long grain brown rice (rinsed well)
▢ shredded mozzarella cheese for serving

Instructions

In a large (around 5 quarts) dutch oven or soup pot, brown Italian sausage over medium-high heat, stirring often to crumble, about 3-4 minutes.
Add onion and peppers, and cook over medium-high heat until softened, about 4-5 minutes.
Stir in garlic, salt, oregano, paprika (if using) and pepper and cook 1 minute.
Add broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce and rice and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, until rice is cooked through, stirring occasionally.
See Also
Beef Kaldereta Recipe Texas Tacos Recipe - The Girl Who Ate Everything Rigatoni With White Bolognese Recipe Best Beef Chili Recipe - Weekend at the Cottage
Serve with mozzarella and fresh parsley as desired.

Notes

*One serving is roughly 1 &frac13; cup

Nutrition Information

Keywords healthy soup, stuffed pepper soup

Want to save this recipe?

Create an account easily save your favorite content, so you never forget a recipe again.

Tried this recipe?

Tag @thereciperebel or hashtag #thereciperebel — I love to see what you’re making!

Tag @thereciperebel

Meet Ashley

My name is Ashley Fehr and I love creating easy meals my family loves. I also like to do things my way, which means improvising and breaking the rules when necessary. Here you will find creative twists on old favorites and some of my favorite family recipes, passed down from generations!

Reader Interactions

Comments

Yesenia says
December 6, 2022 at 10:58 pm
Delicious, my family loved it!
Only thing is the cook timing has to be doubled as a few others mentioned. I did use the dutch oven but it took 40min to cook through. I will keep this one in my dinner rotation recipes for sure!
Reply
- The Recipe Rebel says
  December 9, 2022 at 9:13 pm
  Hi Yesenia! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
  Reply
  - maureen says
    February 3, 2023 at 12:33 pm
    Hello, if you are going to cook rice separately, how much broth would you use? Also, can the recipe be doubled easily? This looks delicious enough to share with relatives! I am going to try half spicy italian sausage and half ground beef.
  - The Recipe Rebel says
    February 3, 2023 at 10:22 pm
    Hi Maureen, you’ll likely want to reduce the broth by 1-1.5 cups. It seems like it could be doubled easily.
Celeste Heilbrunn says
February 4, 2022 at 1:02 pm
I made the soup yesterday and my family loved it. I did make a few modifications based on my family’s tastes. I added more sausage including some hot Italian sausage and instead of diced tomatoes I used stewed tomatoes. My son just had some for lunch and asked when I could make it again! Thanks for the recipe!
Reply
- The Recipe Rebel says
  February 4, 2022 at 7:48 pm
  Hi Celeste! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
  Reply
Roxy Reed says
February 23, 2021 at 7:44 pm
This soup was delicious and my kids loved it. However I don’t agree with the cook time. My rice was still pretty hard after 20 mins so simmered for another 25 ish even then a bit crunchy still! Otherwise it was very good.
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  March 1, 2021 at 2:14 pm
  See Also
  Japanese Curry 4 Ways Recipe & Video - Seonkyoung Longest
  Thanks Roxy! Yes, the cook time will vary depending on your type and brand of rice, and the exact temperature of the cooking liquid. 45 minutes is quite long, but the important thing is that the rice is cooked to your liking.
  Reply
Carrie says
January 17, 2021 at 11:02 pm
Thank you so much for sharing it was delicious. I will definitely be making this again.
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  January 18, 2021 at 12:40 pm
  Thanks Carrie!
  Reply
Danielle Frankford says
January 11, 2021 at 6:13 pm
Very good but for some reason it took forever for my rice to cook. I put brown rice in on med high temp,, covered, but after 20 min my rice was still hard. I had to double the timing
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  January 14, 2021 at 2:24 pm
  Thanks Danielle! It can take longer depending on the variety of brown rice. “20 minutes or until rice is cooked”, so the timing is right on 🙂 The texture and doneness is the most important thing to watch for!
  Reply
Tara says
December 21, 2020 at 9:12 pm
Really easy and so so yummy! Seasoned perfectly! Thank you.
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  December 22, 2020 at 12:25 pm
  Thanks Tara!
  Reply
Meredith says
December 21, 2020 at 4:27 pm
This was SO good and SO easy! I’ve been making a lot of soups as the weather has gotten colder and absolutely loved how flavorful this was (while having not too many ingredients and with minimal chopping required). Thank you!
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  December 22, 2020 at 12:29 pm
  Thanks Meredith!
  Reply
Jeri says
December 17, 2020 at 10:08 am
Does this freeze well?
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  December 17, 2020 at 12:24 pm
  Yes it freezes great!
  Reply
Katie says
August 10, 2020 at 3:22 pm
This looks amazing. If cooking in 8 qt instant pot, what cook times would you suggest? TIA! Your recipes are my fav!
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  August 17, 2020 at 4:22 pm
  Thanks Katie! I actually haven’t tried in the Instant pot, so I can’t say for sure!
  Reply
Diana says
May 25, 2020 at 6:45 pm
I love this soup! I serve it with a dollop of Sauerkraut.
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  May 28, 2020 at 10:48 am
  That’s a great addition!
  Reply
Lauren says
May 19, 2020 at 9:09 pm
I have regular ground sausage on hand not Italian. Would it taste as good using a different flavored sausage.
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  May 21, 2020 at 11:06 am
  I would probably add a few more spices and seasonings to compensate, but yes, it will still be good!
  Reply
Karen says
May 11, 2020 at 12:37 pm
If using frozen cauliflower rice, when should I add it to the pot?
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  May 14, 2020 at 9:55 am
  I actually have never cooked with frozen cauliflower rice, so I can’t say exactly though I would probably add it in a few minutes before serving as it should cook fairly quickly, right?
  Reply
Lana says
April 22, 2020 at 10:38 am
Not a fan of rice, is there something else I could put in it’s place?
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  April 23, 2020 at 11:32 am
  You could use orzo pasta. That is about the same size and shape!
  Reply
Mary Jo Reynolds says
March 14, 2020 at 3:43 pm
This became my new favorite earlier this fall after the 1st time I made it. OMG…wonderful. I haven’t added paprika (don’t have it in the pantry & rarely use it). Long grain white rice because that’s what I always gave on hand. Today I used beef broth. So quick, easy, & freezes well. Thank You!!!!!
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  March 16, 2020 at 3:06 pm
  Thank you Mary Jo! It is one of my personal favorites too!
  Reply
Silvia says
November 24, 2019 at 2:42 pm
Making this soup today and it smells great. I was wondering though about the rice. Do I want some bite in the rice or do I want it to be soft as if I made it separately on the stove top? I made the chicken rice soup but I think for that one I cooked the rice too long because the soup was very thick. Still tasted good but I want to get it near perfect. My extra veggie I added was celery so we will see how that tastes! Thanks for sharing your recipes!
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  November 25, 2019 at 11:49 am
  Hi Silvia! You can cook it as long as you like! It really depends on your preference. The soup is thick (as you can see in the video), but if you want a thinner soup, just add additional broth or other liquid. I hope you enjoy it!
  Reply

Stuffed Pepper Soup [stove or slow cooker] + VIDEO - The Recipe Rebel (2024)

Table of Contents

How to make Stuffed Pepper Soup:

Variations on this Stuffed Pepper Soup:

How to make Stuffed Pepper Soup in the slow cooker:

More healthy soups you’ll love:

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition Information

Meet Ashley

You May Also Like

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

15 Chicken Casserole Recipes

Garlic Parmesan Orzo Pasta recipe

Reader Interactions

Comments

Leave A Reply

FAQs

When should you add bell peppers to slow cooker? ›

Do bell peppers take longer to cook than onions? ›

References