Best Stuffed Peppers Recipe

These stuffed peppers are a perennial family favorite, featuring a savory blend of ground beef, garlic, onion, tomatoes, spinach, and rice. Not only are they satisfying and nutritious, but they also make for mouthwatering leftovers or meal prep.

What Do You Need To Make Stuffed Peppers?

Bell peppers — You have the flexibility to choose any colored bell peppers for your stuffed peppers. The red ones are known for their sweetness, while the green ones are the least sweet. You’re free to choose your favorite. To ensure that the peppers remain upright during the cooking process, select ones with the flattest bottoms.

Ground beef — My preference is to use lean ground beef. In case you opt for fattier ground beef, it is necessary to drain the excess fat after browning the meat and before adding other ingredients to it.

Tomatoes — This recipe incorporates diced canned tomatoes and tomato sauce, which serve to enhance the flavor and moistness of the stuffing. If you desire a smokier taste, you could substitute diced fire-roasted tomatoes.

Rice — For the beef filling in this recipe, either brown rice or white rice can be utilized, but it is important to pre-cook the rice. Additionally, this recipe presents a wonderful opportunity to utilize any leftover rice. Wild rice is also an excellent alternative.

Mozzarella cheese — I suggest shredding your own cheese for better melting, but if you’re short on time, pre-shredded mozzarella will suffice.

How to make Stuffed Peppers ?

This recipe can be easily made, although it does take some time.

To prepare the peppers, start by cutting off their tops and removing the seeds and ribs from the interior. Then, stand them upright within a spacious casserole dish.

In a sizeable frying pan, warm up the olive oil over medium heat. Next, incorporate the onion and cook until it turns tender and starts to brown at the edges. Include the garlic and keep cooking for another 2 minutes.

Brown the ground beef by cooking it for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly and using the back of a spoon to break up any clumps. Once it’s browned, mix in the diced tomatoes.

Combine the tomato sauce, cooked rice, parsley, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, and mix well. Heat the mixture until it is fully heated through, which should take approximately 5 minutes. Next, remove it from the heat source and gently incorporate 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.

Transfer the filling into the peppers by using a spoon.

After spooning the filling into the peppers, sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of cheese over the top of the filling. Place the peppers in the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until the peppers are tender and the cheese has turned golden brown. After completion, take them out of the oven and let them cool for approximately 5 minutes prior to serving.

Tips For Recipe

• Long-grain rice is my preferred choice for stuffed peppers due to its ability to hold up well during cooking. Short-grain rice can be used as an alternative, nonetheless.
• For this stiffed peppers recipe, I prefer to use medium to large-sized peppers. However, since the size of bell peppers can vary significantly, if the ones you come across are too big for the amount of filling, simply trim off the tops of the peppers to reduce their capacity.
• You can opt to substitute ground beef with ground turkey as an alternative.
• You may experiment with using pepper jack cheese or sharp cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella cheese.
• Be cautious about overbaking the peppers as it may result in them becoming mushy. Additionally, ensure that there is not an excess of liquid entering the peppers. Before using your ground beef, make sure to drain off any excess fat if it contains a significant amount.
• Make sure to wash and dry the bell peppers completely before filling them.
• Incorporate other vegetables from your refrigerator to expand the filling. Experiment with mushrooms, corn, or peas. Furthermore, legumes such as beans or chickpeas make excellent additions to the filling.

The step-by-step instructions Stuffed Peppers pictures can be found in the recipe card below.

 

Questions and answers about the Stuffed Peppers recipe

Recipe variations

Replace the ground beef with alternative options such as ground turkey, ground chicken, ground pork, or ground sausage.

Select red, yellow, or orange peppers if you desire a sweeter taste; alternatively, go for green bell peppers for a zesty, less sweet flavor.

Any type of rice is suitable for this recipe. While my personal preference is cooked long grain white rice, cooked wild rice or cooked brown rice would also be delicious. If you want to save time, microwaveable rice packets such as Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice can be a good option. Additionally, if you want to incorporate more vegetables, you could try using cauliflower rice instead.

Cooked quinoa or cooked couscous can be used as alternatives to rice.

To infuse the peppers with a southwestern flavor, incorporate cumin, chili powder, and black beans into the filling mixture, replacing the Italian herbs. Opt for Pepper Jack or Monterey Jack cheese in addition to cheddar cheese, rather than mozzarella, and top with fresh cilantro as a garnish.

To prepare a vegetarian meal, simply omit the ground beef and incorporate a can of drained and rinsed black beans, white beans, kidney beans, or chickpeas into the rice mixture.

Have a look at our other stuffed recipes, how about old fashioned stuffed cabbage rolls or stuffed meatloaf roll

What Do You Serve With stuffed peppers recipe?

Looking for suggestions on what to serve alongside your stuffed peppers recipe? Your search ends here! These mouth-watering options pair perfectly with stuffed peppers:

Classic Restaurant Caesar Salad

Crusty Dutch Oven Bread

Buttery Garlic Green Beans

Basic Mashed Potatoes

Roasted Garlic Lemon Broccoli

Garlic Spinach

Homemade Crispy Seasoned French Fries

Can You Freeze stuffed bell peppers?

Certainly! Stuffed bell peppers can indeed be frozen and it’s recommended to do so if you don’t intend to consume them within five days. Freezing stufed peppers is an excellent meal prep technique because they retain their flavor and texture when reheated. Baked stuffed peppers can be frozen by wrapping each pepper individually in storage wrap after it has completely cooled, and then covering it with a layer of aluminum foil. You can store them in the freezer for up to three months.

To unfreeze stuffed bell peppers recipe, place them in the refrigerator overnight.

Subsequently, place them in the oven and heat thoroughly at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes until they are fully warmed.

How Do You Store Stuffed Peppers?

For the purpose of slowing down the growth of bacteria, it’s crucial to let the stuffed peppers cool down entirely prior to preserving them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Do you have to cook peppers before stuffing them?

Although it is possible, we would rather avoid it. Filling the peppers is simpler when they are uncooked, and this technique helps to preserve their texture after baking. Our ideal outcome is for the peppers to be soft, yet not overly soft or watery.

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