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!

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

• 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.

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!

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,

More Cozy Soup Recipes

• Meatball Wild Rice Soup
• Italian Sausage Soup
• Potato Soup with Crispy Pancetta
• Mushroom Leek Soup
• Tomato Soup with Homemade Croutons

📣 Do you love this recipe? I would love to know! Leave a comment below the recipe, along with your recipe star rating.

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