Stuffed Bell Peppers

Here’s a super tasty, family friendly meal. Tender, sweet bell peppers stuffed full of everything you need for a delicious dinner: savory ground beef, rice, and veggies in a tomato sauce and topped with cheese. Yum!

Bell peppers are native to Mexico and stuffing them to create a delicious meal has been around for more than 100 years.

There are so many variations when it comes to making stuffed peppers, which is the beauty of this versatile dish. Make it with rice. Without rice. With sausage. With corn. Green, yellow, or orange peppers. Peppers cut in half or hollowed out. There are lots of options when it comes to stuffed bell peppers.

This recipe is one that I’ve been making for years. I use rice, because there’s usually an abundance still warming in my rice cooker from the previous night’s meal. I also prefer using hollowed out peppers because they’re like little portable, edible bowls. I usually top the peppers with a little cheese, though there are times I don’t — it really depends on what I have in the refrigerator that day.

You can easily change this recipe to suit your liking. Whichever way you decide to make these stuffed peppers, the premise is always the same: stuff, bake, and serve.

It’s that easy!

Worry-Free Cooking

• I use a covered Granite Ware casserole roaster for this recipe because of its non-stick surface, and it cooks evenly. The lid is also convenient because it covers nicely and pops off easily during the final 15 minutes of baking time.

• Keep rice warm until you’re ready to cook using a rice cooker with warmer — a must have in any kitchen.

Menu Planning

• Stuffed peppers make a meal in themselves, so there’s little to worry about when it comes to sides. Corn on the cobb, a small Caesar Salad, or Creamy Pea and Beet Salad are good options.

• You could easily make this a make-ahead meal. Cook the filling ahead of time, and store in the fridge up to two days. When ready, clean peppers, stuff, and bake as directed.

• May sound crazy, but I love adding a little Crystal Hot Sauce to the top of my cooked peppers for a little Cajun zest.

• Freeze leftover peppers in an airtight container for up to two months in the freezer. Thaw overnight and reheat in the microwave or 350°F oven until warm.

Helping Hand

• Any color bell peppers will work. I tend to use the red and yellow because they’re a bit sweeter; however, the green ones are just as good. Pick a favorite or mix it up. Whichever you choose, though, be sure to pick larger, rounded peppers.

• Preboiling or steaming bell peppers before stuffing them isn’t necessary. Bell peppers cook well and get nice and tender in the oven. All you need to do is stuff the peppers with the rice mixture and pop them into the oven for a whole lot of deliciousness.

• Cut a tiny bit off the bottom of the peppers to help them stand up in the baking dish. Be careful, though. If you cut too much, you risk having the pepper filling seep out the bottom.

• While this recipe calls for lean beef, ground turkey or a mixture of beef and sausage are good alternatives. Shredded leftover rotisserie chicken is another possibility for a tasty mustgoes meal.

• Any variety of white or brown rice will work for this recipe. I prefer white rice, which I always prepare well in advance using my rice cooker that keeps rice warm until I’m ready.

• You can easily make these stuffed peppers keto-friendly by using cauliflower rice instead — or skip the rice altogether.

• Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning adds an extraordinarily good blend of spices that enhance the flavors in this dish. You can easily add a little more for added zest; however, be careful to not go overboard. Too much of this seasoning may cause the dish to be overly salty.

• You can use all types of cheese like cheddar, mozzarella, Colby jack, Monterey jack, and pepper jack.

• After stuffing all the peppers, you may find there’s rice stuffing leftover. That’s never a problem because the stuffing is tasty all on its own. I usually spoon all the remaining rice into the bottom of the baking dish before placing the stuffed peppers in the dish. This helps the peppers stay upright and gives me a little extra rice to serve alongside the stuffed peppers.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Recipe by Annette (•‿•)

Tender, sweet bell peppers stuffed full of savory ground beef, rice, and veggies in a tomato sauce and topped with cheese. Everything you need for a super tasty, family friendly meal.

Course: EntréeCuisine: Hispanic

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Servings

6

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• 6 large 6 bell peppers, cleaned

• 2 tablespoons 2 oil

• 1 large 1 onion, diced

• 1 pound 1 lean ground beef

• 1 cup 1 celery, diced

• 2 cloves 2 garlic, chopped

• 1 can 1 tomato sauce

• 1-1/2 teaspoons 1-1/2 Italian seasoning

• 1/4 teaspoon 1/4 Tony Chachere’s seasoning

• 2 cups 2 water

• 4 cups 4 cooked rice

• 1 6-ounce can 1 tomato paste

• Shredded cheese

• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Cut the tops off the peppers about ½ to 1-inch from the stem end. Remove and discard the stems, then rinse peppers clean. Finely chop the tops, less the stems; set aside. Place peppers, cut side up, in a roasting pan large enough to hold them upright.
• Preheat oven to 350° F.
• In a large skillet, cook onions in oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until onions are translucent.
• Add beef and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up lumps, until cooked and browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain excess oil.
• Stir in celery, garlic, tomato sauce, water, seasoning, and chopped pieces from pepper tops. Cook about 5 minutes until bubbly hot, stirring often.
• Remove from heat and add rice, stirring well to combine all ingredients.
• Fill peppers with the rice mixture and spread tomato paste on top of each using a spoon, then top with shredded cheese.
• Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an added 15 minutes or until peppers are tender.
• Garnish with parsley or a little extra cheese.
• Serve and enjoy!

Grocery & Gourmet

• Use Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning for its extraordinarily good blend of spices that will enhance the flavors in this dish.
• Add Crystal Hot Sauce to the top of cooked peppers for a little Cajun zest.

Worry-Free Cooking

• Granite Ware RoasterView Details
• Rice Cooker & WarmerView Details

Have you tried this recipe? Tag @annettes.cooking on Instagram and hashtag it #annettescooking

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a comment and star rating below. It’s always refreshing to hear how others like a recipe, find success with it, or tweak to suit. I’d love to hear from you!