Italian Unstuffed Pepper Soup

Unstuffed Pepper Soup is what happens when you take classic stuffed bell peppers and serve them up soup-style! This cozy soup is loaded with fresh bell peppers, Italian sausage, and rice for a hearty and delicious dinner. Add some crusty bread on the side to soak up every last drop!

a bowl of stuffed pepper soup with a spoon.

I love a throwback with a twist, and this pepper soup recipe is a new favorite. It takes the ingredients from retro stuffed peppers and turns them into a cozy, hearty soup.

It begs the name unstuffed pepper soup because that’s exactly what it is – a combination of bell peppers, Italian sausage, and rice simmered together and ladled up with, hopefully, some bread on the side for sopping up all of the broth.

It’s a comfy feel-good soup recipe with tons of flavor and a hint of nostalgia. In other words, my favorite kind of dinner.

ingredients for pepper soup.

Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • Italian sausage – I like spicy Italian sausage for this recipe. It adds just a hint of heat, but if you’re not into spice, feel free to substitute mild Italian sausage. You can use ground beef or ground turkey but the soup won’t have as much flavor.
  • Diced yellow onion
  • Diced bell peppers – I like to use green pepper and yellow bell pepper, but any color you like will work great.
  • Minced garlic
  • Italian seasoning
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Tomato sauce
  • Water – I like to use water as the soup base because it doesn’t mask the flavor of the peppers. Plus, the sausage adds a ton of flavor, too, so you don’t really need a broth. That said, you can use chicken broth, veggie broth, or even beef broth – just reduce the amount of added salt in the recipe.;
  • Medium-grain white rice – Brown rice will also work, but it will need to simmer a little longer.
  • Garnishes: Grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley

How to Make Stuffed Pepper Soup

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or pan. Add the sausage and break it up as it cooks.

Once the sausage is browned, add the onions, bell peppers, garlic, seasonings, vinegar, tomato sauce, and water. Increase the heat, and once the soup is simmering, add the rice.

two process photos showing how to make the soup.

Simmer the soup for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the rice is tender.

Garnish the soup with Parmesan cheese and parsley for serving. That’s it!

the finished soup in a pot with a spoon.

Recipe Tips

  • Favorite shortcuts: If you want to save on chopping, use frozen diced onion and jarred minced garlic.
  • Leftovers: This soup is best when it’s made. If you store the leftovers, the rice will absorb the liquid. You can add more water or broth when you warm the soup, but the rice will be mushier.
  • Love this pepper soup with crusty bread or some garlic toast on the side!

I hope you give this one a try soon! It’s a cozy dinner when you want some comfort.

Happy soup-making,

April
a bowl of unstuffed pepper soup.

More Cozy Soup Recipes

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Unstuffed Pepper Soup

a bowl of unstuffed pepper soup.

This hearty unstuffed soup recipe takes stuffed peppers and turns them into a simmering bowl of goodness. It’s a cozy dinner loaded with fresh bell peppers, Italian sausage, and rice.

  • Author: April Anderson
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Simmer
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 12 ounces spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
  • ½ yellow onion, diced
  • 2 large bell peppers, diced
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic, about two to three cloves
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 (8-ounce can) tomato sauce
  • 5 cups of water
  • 1 cup medium-grain white rice
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage and break it up while it cooks.
  2. Once the sausage is browned, add the onions, bell peppers, garlic, seasonings, vinegar, tomato sauce, and water. Adjust the heat to bring the soup to a simmer.
  3. Add the rice and stir. Simmer the soup uncovered until rice is tender (should be 15ish minutes.)
  4. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each with Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Notes

Leftovers: This soup is best when it’s made. If you store the leftovers, the rice will absorb the liquid. You can add more water or broth when you warm the soup, but the rice will be mushier.

Nutrition

  • Calories: 578
  • Sugar: 7.9g
  • Sodium: 1046.4mg
  • Fat: 32.4g
  • Saturated Fat: 19.4g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 19.4g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 51.1g
  • Fiber: 4.3g
  • Protein: 19.5g
  • Cholesterol: 68.2mg

Keywords: bell pepper soup, Italian sausage pepper soup, sausage and rice soup

Do you love this recipe? Don’t forget to leave a comment and your recipe star rating!

The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.

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