Low-Carb Stuffed Pepper Soup
Low-Carb Stuffed Pepper Soup is a tasty version of my popular Stuffed Pepper Soup without so many carbs, and this soup is also gluten-free.
PIN this tasty Low-Carb Stuffed Pepper Soup to try it later!
This Low-Carb Stuffed Pepper Soup was inspired by a popular recipe I made year ago called Stuffed Pepper Soup. That’s a delicious soup made from the ingredients you might use in stuffed peppers like green peppers, onions, sausage, ground beef, tomatoes, and herbs. There are a few seasonings to add flavor, and that recipe also has rice. The soup doesn’t have a huge amount of rice, but it’s too much rice for it to be considered a low-carb recipe.
For a long time I said in the notes for Stuffed Pepper Soup that I thought it would work well with cauliflower rice, so I’m not so sure why it took me so long to try it! But now I can happily report that this Low-Carb Stuffed Pepper Soup (with cauliflower rice) is absolutely the bomb!
I’ve already eaten some of my leftovers and I have more in the freezer waiting for a cold night. And if you like all those stuffed pepper flavors I described above, I hope you’ll try this soup!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is ONLY a list of ingredients for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- onion
- Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link)
- green bell peppers
- turkey Italian sausage
- ground beef
- canned crushed tomatoes
- canned beef broth (affiliate link)
- Worcestershire Sauce or Gluten-Free Worcestershire Sauce (affiliate link)
- sugar-free ketchup (affiliate link)
- frozen cauliflower rice
- salt and fresh-ground pepper
- freshly-grated Parmesan for serving (optional)
How did we make Stuffed Pepper Soup into a low-carb recipe?
Of course replacing the rice with cauliflower rice was the first change we made to reduce carbs in this tasty soup! In the low-carb version we also used a bit more sausage and left out the mushrooms, but you could add some chopped mushrooms if you’d like without increasing carbs that much.
Can you make this soup with frozen cauliflower rice?
We used frozen cauliflower rice which also made it easy, and the frozen cauliflower pieces were nice and small and cooked quickly, but you could definitely use chopped cauliflower and just cook it a bit longer.
Want more tasty soup recipes with cauliflower rice?
Check out Low-Carb and Keto Soups with Cauliflower Rice to find more tasty soup recipes like this one!
How to Make Low-Carb Stuffed Pepper Soup:
(This is ONLY a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Heat olive oil in non-stick pan, cook onion until it’s just starting to brown, then add the Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link) and cook a few minutes more. Add to the soup pot.
- Add the chopped green peppers and cook until they are starting to slightly char. Add the peppers to the soup pot.
- Add a little more oil and cook the ground beef and turkey Italian sausage, breaking it apart with the turner as it cooks. Add the meats to the soup pot.
- Then add the crushed tomatoes, water, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, and low-sugar ketchup, bring the soup to a low simmer and let it cook 30-40 minutes.
- Then add 2 cups of frozen cauliflower rice (or cauliflower you’ve chopped in the food processor) and cook 20-30 minutes longer. Use the longer cooking time for fresh cauliflower.
- Season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper and serve hot.
- Low-Carb Stuffed Pepper Soup is amazing with some freshly-grated Parmesan to add at the table if you like the idea of that!
More Soup with Cauliflower:
- Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
- Instant Pot Loaded Cauliflower Soup
- Chicken Pesto Soup
- Instant Pot Cauliflower Mushroom Soup
- Cheesy Cauliflower Soup with Bacon and Green Chiles
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Low-Carb Stuffed Pepper Soup
Enjoy stuffed pepper flavors without the carbs with this delicious Low-Carb Stuffed Pepper Soup.
Ingredients
- 4 tsp. olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped small
- 1 T Italian Herb Blend
- 2 large green bell peppers, seeds and stems removed and chopped into half-inch pieces
- 19.5 oz. uncooked turkey Italian sausage, squeezed out of the casing ()
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 2 15 oz. cans crushed tomatoes + 2 cans water (rinse out the can with the water)
- 4 14 oz. cans beef broth (or use 7 cups homemade beef stock)
- 1 T Worcestershire Sauce (or more)
- 1/2 cup ketchup (I used Heinz Reduced-Sugar Ketchup)
- 2 cups frozen cauliflower rice (Available at Trader Joes, Target, Kroger, and many other stores.)
- salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste
- freshly-grated Parmesan for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Heat 2 tsp. of olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan. (I used my favorite Green Pan (affiliate link) the largest size frying pan.)
- Add the chopped onion and cook until the onion is just starting to brown; then add the Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link) and cook a few minutes more. Put the seasoned onions into a large soup pot.
- Add the chopped green peppers to the same frying pan and cook until they start to slightly char. Add peppers to the soup pot.
- Add the other 2 tsp. of oil to the frying pan, add the sausage that you squeezed out of the links and the ground beef, and cook over medium-high heat until the sausage and beef is slightly browned. You might have to cook the beef and sausage separately if you don’t have a big enough frying pan. Use your turner to break the ground beef and sausage apart as it cooks. (Or I sometimes use an old-fashioned potato masher (affiliate link) to break the meat apart.)
- Add the beef and sausage to the soup pot.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, water, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, and low-sugar ketchup, bring the soup to a low simmer and let it cook 30-40 minutes.
- Then add the 2 cups of frozen (or fresh chopped) cauliflower rice and let the soup cook 20-30 minutes more, or slightly longer for fresh cauliflower. Season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
- Serve hot, with fresh Parmesan to add at the table if desired.
Notes
I used 5 links of hot Italian sausage, but if making for kids I might choose milder sweet Italian sausage.
Here's more about some of the ingredients we used in this soup: Italian Herb Blend, homemade beef stock, Worcestershire Sauce, Heinz Reduced-Sugar Ketchup. (affiliate links)
This soup will keep quite a few days in the fridge and also freezes well. For best results, reheat in a small pan on the stove.
This recipe was adapted by Kalyn and Kara from my recipe for Stuffed Pepper Soup.
Nutrition Information
Yield
10Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 317Total Fat 16gSaturated Fat 5gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 92mgSodium 1359mgCarbohydrates 9.7gFiber 3gSugar 8gProtein 30g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
It’s important to use sugar-free ketchup or low-sugar ketchup if you’re making this Stuffed Pepper Soup for a low-carb or Keto diet or for the original South Beach Diet. With that caution this should be good for low-carb and Keto diets as well as any Phase of the South Beach Diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Soup Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was posted in 2017. It was last updated with more information in 2022.
46 Comments on “Low-Carb Stuffed Pepper Soup”
Did the 2017 version of this recipe have sliced Portabella mushrooms in it? I am looking at the recipe I figured Weight Watchers points on so many years ago, and it has Portabella mushrooms in it. I’m not sure if you decided to take them out in the later version of the recipe, or if I just put the mushrooms in because I like mushrooms! My problem today is that I haven’t made the soup for a while, and figuring out exactly where to add the portobella mushrooms – – should I brown them with the onions and green peppers, or should I do them separately in order to be able to pour off the liquid? I know that the portobella mushrooms taste really really yummy in the soup!
You must not have noticed it, but in the first pargraph of the post there is a link to the original recipe for Stuffed Pepper Soup, and yes, it did have mushrooms so that recipe can answer your questions.
I enjoyed this recipe very much! I had to cook it longer from start to finish. My meat seemed to have a lot of water, so I cooked it longer in order to brown it. I think next time I may omit the water. I like a thicker, heartier broth. I boiled it longer to achieve more body, but it really was delicious!
Glad you enjoyed the soup. Definitely adjust to your preferences!
The soup was delicious !
I just wish it had been lower in calories due to the fact that I’m trying to lose weight & keep my calories below 900 a day.
I will definitely make this again.
Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it.
I don’t have much experience with counting calories, but that sounds pretty limited. Good luck with that.
Made this tonight and it was delicious! I used spicy pork Italian sausage and one can of water, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly.
So glad you enjoyed it!
made a batch of this last week for a very picky fiancée. he loved it and so do I. I just kept his separate from mine and added regular rice to his. thank you for another amazing recipie
So glad you enjoyed it!
Absolutely loved this recipe best homemade soup ever!! I tweaked it a little used 2lb beef instead of sausage bc I don’t like sausage and used only 1 can water instead of 2. Thank you so much for this recipe I will be making this very often!!!
Hi Laura, so glad you enjoyed it so much! And tweak as much as you like; I always do that when I use someone else’s recipe, and sometimes even with my own!
Hi there! I absolutely LOVE this recipe! I was going to make it today but I only have red onions in the house..would this be an ok substitute or should I just omit the onion all together?
I think red onion will be fine. Glad you are enjoying it.
Thank you for post these! I was just thinking today how I’d love so soup since I’m not feeling all that well! Love your posts and recipes!
Yeah…..disregard my IP question…helps to slow down & read previous comments. LOL!!!
Love when the readers have answered the question for me! Let me know how it works if you try in the Instant Pot!
After looking at it, I think I agree with you. This comes together pretty quickly on the stove top, so I’ll probably just stick to this method. 🙂
Hope you enjoy it!
I love this soup. I wonder how it would be adapted for the instant pot? Of course use Saute, but wondering about how long you would pressure cook this?
We love this soup. I made it for the third time. I save time by cooking all the veg together in the soup pot. I cook the meat in a pan that I can drain off the fat. A new family favorite!
So glad you are enjoying it!
Made the recipe and it was delicious. How would I go about freezing it?
I just freeze in plastic freezer containers; leave some room for the soup to expand. I thaw overnight in the fridge and heat in the microwave. You can also thaw and heat in a pan on the stove.
I LOVE this soup!!! Flavors are incredible! I’d love to turn this into an unstuffed pepper casserole. Any ideas?
I like that idea. The problem I’ve had using cauliflower rice in casseroles is that they often get watery (since cauliflower rice doesn’t absorb liquid like regular rice would.) I did have success with this casserole with cauliflower rice and also this one, but both those have a cheesy sauce. I’m not sure how this would work if you just left out the broth and combined the other ingredients, but I would pre-cook the cauliflower rice before you combine it. Love to hear how it goes if you experiment.
If you look after the recipe itself, I give two links (where it says “Nutritional Information”) for suggestions of two ways to get that information. That is all I am able to do at this time.
I’m not able to provide nutritional information for the recipes for several reasons, including the additional time it takes, the difficulty in doing it accurately, and the sheer number of recipes on my site. I have over 2000 recipes here and spend 6-8 hours most days working on the blog. I just can’t edit over 2,000 recipes to add that info, and I know once I do it on one recipe people will expect to see it on every recipe. Thanks for understanding.
I know someone asked about the Instant Pot but what about the Crock Pot?
To me it doesn’t seem worth using the crockpot for a soup that’s pretty quick to make on the stove, but it would probably work to cook the base of the soup in a slow cooker for a few hours, and then add the cauliflower rice for the last little while. I haven’t cooked cauliflower rice in a slow cooker so I can’t guess how long it would take. I would use a bit less liquid for the slow cooker, but again I haven’t done it that way so I can’t give an exact recipe.
Awesome soup! Everyone loved it! I made some slight changes – red bell pepper instead of green – 3 cans beef broth instead of four and no water. So so flavorful! Definitely going on the monthly rotation!!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Can you provide instant pot directions for this soup? Thank you!
I wouldn’t be comfortable trying to make up the Instant Pot directions without trying it. But I will say that cauliflower rice will just turn to mush in the Instant Pot so I’m not sure this recipe is that suitable for it. You could look at one of the soups in my section of Instant Pot Recipes if you wanted to find a recipe that’s similar to the earlier part and then add the cauliflower rice at the end.
I have only ever made this in the IP. 🙂 I cook the meats first, and take them out and cook the onions and as per directions. I use both cans of tomatoes and about half the liquid. (i add the broth, then the tomatoes then add the meat back in and seal and use the soup button) As far as the cauliflower rice, we have eaten it with and without. I would add it in at the end of the soup cycle and then just simmer or use keep warm until it’s done. I’ve also cooked Rice for the kids and cauli rice separately for DH and i and we just put that in a bowl and and ladle the soup over it. 😀
Thanks for sharing that! I hope Ami will come back and see it.
Making it again this, thanks!
Glad you like it!
I really enjoyed this on a cold day!
Glad you liked it!
I was all excited and now I see that I can’t get some of the ingredients here. In Italy there is no Italian seasoning blend. No Italian turkey sausage! No low-sugar ketchup! No riced vegetables at all. Anyway, it sounds delicious and thanks for the idea and I’ll try to take it from here.
OMG this is sooo good! I made it to take to work for lunches and I kept catching my boyfriend sneaking and eating it. Obviously, he loved it too!
Thanks, Tanya! So glad you both are enjoying it!
You are beginning to be a household name around here. I love your blog soooo much – I'm so glad I stumbled upon it in a Buzzfeed post where I happened to bookmark one of your recipes. Whenever I make a new recipe, my boyfriend usually asks "Is this from your favorite food blog lady?" and the answer is almost always yes LOL! Your recipes never disappoint and I bet you have more fans than you know. I have never enjoyed so many delicious meals while continuing to lose weight than I have before Kaylyn's Kitchen. You are a treasure. Thank you!
Well, wow! Thanks Tanya for that wonderful feedback. I think you just made my day!
OK, you've got me. Cauliflower rice is a must-try!
Lydia, it is really so good!