Instant Pot Stuffed Green Peppers With Tomato Soup

These Instant Pot Stuffed Green Peppers with Tomato Soup are tender, hearty, and packed with a rich, slow-cooked flavor that tastes like they simmered all day — but they’re ready in just 40 minutes.

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How Grace Taught Me This Recipe

One of the first things my mother-in-law, Grace Buonpane, taught me to cook was her stuffed green peppers. She’d learned it from her own family, a true Depression-era dish built on simple, affordable ingredients. Ground beef. Rice. Canned tomato soup. That’s really it.

She made it every summer when Guerin’s garden would produce a beautiful bumper crop of big, dark green peppers. The whole pot would simmer on the stove for close to 90 minutes, filling the kitchen — and the whole house — with the most incredible smell. Jim has loved this recipe his entire life, and it didn’t take long for our girls to feel the same way.

But summers in the kitchen with a pot simmering all afternoon? It heats up the entire house. After years of making Grace’s stovetop version, I finally started testing it in the Instant Pot. I wasn’t sure it would taste the same, but it does. The tomato soup sauce, the tender beef and rice filling, that deep, slow-cooked flavor, all of it comes through in 40 minutes flat.

Now I make it both ways. The Instant Pot version for busy weeknights and hot summer days. Grace’s original stovetop method, when I have the time and want the house to smell like her kitchen. Both recipes are below, you pick.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Done in 40 minutes under pressure — vs. 90 minutes on the stove
• Make-ahead friendly — stuff the peppers the night before or freeze them raw
• Simple, budget-friendly ingredients you likely already have
• A classic comfort food the whole family asks for, every single time
• Two methods: Instant Pot for busy weeknights, stovetop for the full traditional experience

Ingredients You’ll Need

• 8–10 large green bell peppers
• 2 lbs ground beef (or ground turkey)
• 1 cup uncooked white rice
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp dried onion flakes (or ½ cup finely chopped fresh onion)
• 3–4 cans Campbell’s Tomato Soup (10.75 oz each)
• Water — ½ can per can of soup

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Ground beef vs. turkey: Grace always used ground beef, but ground turkey makes a lighter version with the same great flavor.
• Rice: Use uncooked white rice — it absorbs the tomato soup as it cooks and comes out perfectly tender. Do not pre-cook.
• Tomato soup: Campbell’s is the classic and gives the richest flavor. Canned tomato juice or crushed tomatoes work for a cleaner version.
• Onion: Dried onion flakes are Grace’s trick for easy prep. Finely minced fresh onion works just as well.

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Equipment Needed

• 6 or 8-quart Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker)
• Large mixing bowl
• Latex-free plastic gloves (for mixing the meat)
• Instant-read meat thermometer
• Sharp knife and cutting board
• Large deep pot or Dutch oven (for stovetop method)

How to Make Instant Pot Stuffed Green Peppers with Tomato Soup

Step 1: Prep the peppers. Wash each pepper well. Use a sharp knife to cut around the stem and remove it, keeping as much of the pepper intact as possible. Remove seeds and white membrane from inside each one.
Step 2: Make the filling. Combine uncooked ground beef, uncooked white rice, salt, pepper, and dried onion flakes in a large bowl. Mix with your hands until evenly combined. Gloves make this easy and mess-free.
Tip: Do not pre-cook the beef or the rice. They cook perfectly inside the pepper under pressure.
Step 3: Stuff the peppers. Fill each pepper firmly with the meat mixture. If you have leftover filling, roll it into small meatballs and add them to the pot — they cook right alongside the peppers and taste wonderful.
Step 4: Make the soup base. Add 3–4 cans of Campbell’s Tomato Soup to the Instant Pot with ½ can of water per can. Stir to combine.
Step 5: Cook. Stand the stuffed peppers upright in the Instant Pot so they are submerged in the soup. Seal the lid and cook on HIGH pressure for 40 minutes. Allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then carefully release remaining pressure.
Step 6: Check temperature. Use an instant-read thermometer to check the center of the largest pepper. Beef should be cooked at least 165°F to ideally 190°F for fully cooked rice and tender filling.

Serve in a deep bowl with a generous ladle of tomato soup sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.

Tips for Perfect Stuffed Peppers

Uncooked rice is mixed with the ground beef. The rice is mixed uncooked, as it cooks beautifully in the tomato soup and water. Simple ingredients are added to the beef and rice: salt, pepper, and dried onion flakes (very finely chopped onion can also be used).

When mixing the meat mixture, I use latex-free plastic gloves.
I first wash the green peppers, taking the stem off, leaving as much pepper as possible, but leaving a hole in the top to stuff.

Traditional Stovetop Method — Grace’s Original Way

This is exactly how Grace Buonpane made this recipe for decades. It takes longer, but there’s something deeply satisfying about a pot of stuffed peppers simmering slowly on the stove, filling the whole house with that homey smell.

Step 1: Prep and stuff the peppers exactly as described above — same filling, same technique.
Step 2: Arrange in a large pot. Stand the stuffed peppers upright in a large, deep pot or Dutch oven. They should fit snugly so they stay upright.
Step 3: Add the tomato soup. Pour 3–4 cans of Campbell’s Tomato Soup over and around the peppers, adding ½ can of water per can. Every pepper should be fully submerged in the liquid.
Step 4: Bring to a boil, then simmer. Heat over medium-high until the soup starts to boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and simmer for 60–90 minutes.
Step 5: Check the temperature. After 60 minutes, insert a thermometer into the center of the largest pepper. You’re looking for at least 165°F, ideally 190°F. The longer it simmers, the more the sauce deepens in flavor.

Tip: If you have time, go 90 minutes. The tomato soup reduces down and gets incredibly rich. That’s the version Grace served, and it’s worth every extra minute.

Serve in deep bowls with plenty of the sauce spooned over the top. Season with salt and pepper at the table.

Tips for Perfect Stuffed Green Peppers Every Time

• Always use uncooked rice — it absorbs the tomato soup broth and comes out perfectly. Pre-cooked rice turns mushy.
• Wear gloves when mixing the meat — makes cleanup so much easier, and you mix more thoroughly.
• Roll extra filling into meatballs and drop them right into the pot — nothing goes to waste.
• Make ahead: Stuff the peppers the night before and refrigerate. Cook straight from the fridge — just add a few extra minutes.
• Freeze raw stuffed peppers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before cooking.
• All peppers must be submerged in the soup — this is how they cook evenly and stay tender.

Best Side Dishes to Serve with Stuffed Green Peppers

Let’s make a complete meal that the whole family will love!

• Simple Sweet Moist Cornbread
• Instant Pot German Red Cabbage with Apple
• Easy Instant Pot Fresh Corn on the Cob

Frequently Asked Questions

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