Posted Jan 12, 2024 This stuffed peppers recipe is an easy and delicious meal, perfect for entertaining. A delicious ground beef filling contains veggies, spices, tomato sauce and rice – making it hearty and healthy. Then peppers are pre-cooked in the oven (not boiled), then stuffed with filling, topped with cheese and baked until bubbly perfection. Serve with your favorite sides or enjoy these stuffed bell peppers as a complete meal on their own.
Stuffed Peppers: Ingredients & Substitutions
White rice. This is the perfect recipe for using up leftover cooked rice. If cooking your own, you can use any rice you prefer – white, brown, wild, etc. Just remember that cooking brown or wild rice takes about twice the amount of time as cooking white rice. Bell Peppers. Use your favorite color or a variety. Ground beef. Ground turkey is a great substitute. Diced tomatoes. You can use crushed if you prefer. Worcestershire sauce. BBQ sauce is a good substitute. Cheddar Cheese. I prefer a sharp cheddar – you can use your favorite cheese variety such as mozzarella, Colby Jack, gouda, et.c
How to Make Stuffed Peppers
This stuffed peppers recipe is really easy to make – especially if you have cooked rice ready to go in the refrigerator. We’ll walk through the process step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video.
Cook the Rice
Begin by cooking the rice according to package instructions. White rice takes about 25 minutes, brown rice takes about 45 minutes. Be sure to measure it after cooking, for some brands, 1 cup uncooked rice yields 2 cups of cooked rice. For others, 1 cup uncooked rice yields more than 2 cups cooked rice. You will use 2 cups of rice in this recipe.
Pre-Bake the Peppers
It’s important to pre-cook the peppers so they have just the right amount of firmness without being too crunch. I choose to bake them instead of boil them for a few reasons: Begin by preheating the oven to 375 degrees F and greasing a baking dish, then set it aside. Next, cut whole bell peppers in half lengthwise, then remove the seeds and core from each half, carefully. Then, place the bell pepper halves open side up on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes (baking time depends on thickness of your peppers) in the preheated oven until they just begin to soften. Remove the peppers from the oven and set aside.
Make the Stuffed Peppers Filling
While the pepeprs are baking, make the filling by combining the ground beef, onion, carrot, celery and minced garlic to a 5-quart Dutch oven or sauce pan. Cover and cook until the meat is no longer pink and the vegetables are soft., stirring often and breaking up the ground beef into small pieces, Then, turn the heat to medium-low and stir in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, paprika, cumin, coriander salt and pepper. Then, turn off the heat and add cooked rice and stir until combined. At this point, you should taste filling and adjust salt/pepper/seasonings to your liking.
Assemble the Stuffed Peppers
Now that all the components are ready (rice, filling, pre-baked peppers), it’s time to assemble the stuffed peppers. To do this, add about ½ cup of filling to each bell pepper half (or as much as can fit without overflowing). Then, top each filled bell pepper with about 2 Tablespoons of cheddar cheese. Then, bake the stuffed peppers in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and serve warm.
Serve
These stuffed peppers are best served warm garnished with some fresh parsley. They are a meal in themselves, and I usually just serve them without any sides. But, if you’d like, here are some suggestions for dishes that pair well with this recipe.
Salad – burrata salad, kale salad and spinach salad are all great choices. Roasted vegetables – you can serve them with roasted broccoli, roasted Brussels sprouts or roasted asparagus for extra greens! Bread – Homemade french bread, dinner rolls, and no knead bread go great with these stuffed bell peppers.
Store/Freeze
Store leftovers in a single layer in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days, or in the freezer for 2 months. Reheat in the oven set to warm, or in the microwave. If you make and love our recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so we can see your creations!
