Stuffed Peppers are bell peppers packed with seasoned ground beef, rice, tomatoes, and cheddar, then baked under foil until the peppers go soft and the cheese on top bubbles. It’s the dinner that looks like you planned your week.
Stuffed Peppers, the Classic Beef and Rice Version
For those of you who scrolled straight to the recipe card, hello, I see you, I respect you, and I haven’t hidden anything up here except one tip about the pepper bottoms that will save your oven.
Everyone else: these are the stuffed peppers you’re picturing. Ground beef, rice, tomato sauce, a serious amount of cheddar, baked in the pepper until the whole thing softens into something you eat with a fork and a spoon at the same time.
I make them when I want dinner to look more organized than my week has been. Six peppers standing in a row in a baking dish is a very convincing image. Nobody needs to know the filling took 15 minutes and the rice was left over from Tuesday.
The tip, since I promised: trim a thin slice off the bottom of any pepper that won’t stand up. A tipped pepper dumps its filling into the sauce and then you’re serving casserole and calling it something else. I’ve done it. It was fine. It wasn’t this.
The Secret Is Baking Them Covered
Foil on for 35 minutes, then off for the last 10.
That’s the whole thing. Covered, the peppers steam in their own moisture and actually go tender. Uncovered the whole time, they stay squeaky and firm and you end up sawing at them while the filling gets dry on top.
Then you pull the foil, add the second cup of cheddar, and give it 8 to 10 minutes uncovered so the cheese browns and bubbles instead of just sitting there looking damp.
Two stages. One dish. The foil does the cooking and the open oven does the showing off.
One more thing while I have you. Half the tomato sauce goes in the filling and half goes in the bottom of the dish, under and around the peppers. That bottom layer keeps them from scorching and turns into the sauce you spoon over at the table.
Ingredients in Stuffed Peppers
- Bell peppers (6 large): Any color. Red and yellow are sweeter, green is more bitter and holds up a bit firmer. Pick ones with flat bottoms if you can, and trim the ones that can’t stand on their own.
- Olive oil (1 tablespoon): For browning the beef. One tablespoon is plenty since the beef brings its own fat.
- Ground beef (1½ pounds): Lean or regular, your call. Regular has more flavor and you’re draining it anyway.
- Onion (1 large, diced): Goes in with the beef so it softens in the fat while the meat browns. Two jobs, one pan.
- Garlic (3 cloves, minced): In after the fat is drained, 1 minute only. Garlic in a hot pan turns bitter faster than you’d think.
- Salt and black pepper (1 teaspoon and ½ teaspoon): Season the filling properly. The peppers themselves bring nothing to the table seasoning wise.
- Italian seasoning (1 teaspoon): Whatever blend is already in your cupboard is fine.
- Paprika (1 teaspoon): Sweet paprika, not smoked. Color and a little warmth.
- Cooked rice (2 cups): Leftover rice is perfect here, which is the main reason I ever have leftover rice on purpose. White or brown both work.
- Tomato sauce (1 can, 15 ounces, divided): Half in the filling, half in the bottom of the dish. Don’t put it all in one place.
- Diced tomatoes (1 can, 14.5 ounces, drained): Drain them properly or the filling goes soupy and won’t hold its shape when you spoon it in.
- Worcestershire sauce (1 tablespoon): The thing you can’t identify when someone else makes stuffed peppers. It’s this.
- Cheddar cheese (2 cups, shredded, divided): One cup folded into the filling, one cup on top at the end. Grate it from a block. Pre shredded cheese is coated with stuff that keeps it from clumping in the bag, and that same stuff keeps it from melting properly. Yes, I bring this up every time.
- Fresh parsley (2 tablespoons, chopped): At the end. The only green thing on the plate that isn’t a pepper.
How to Make Stuffed Peppers
Prep the peppers: Heat the oven to 375°F. Cut the tops off the peppers and pull out the seeds and the white membranes. Stand them up in a baking dish. If one tips, trim a thin slice off the bottom so it sits flat. Don’t cut through, just level it.
Brown the beef and onion: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high. Add the ground beef and diced onion and cook, breaking up the meat, until it’s browned. Drain off the fat, then stir in the garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and paprika for 1 minute.
Build the filling: Stir in the cooked rice, half the can of tomato sauce, the drained diced tomatoes, and the Worcestershire. Let it simmer 2 minutes, then take it off the heat and fold in 1 cup of the cheddar.
Fill the peppers: Spread the rest of the tomato sauce across the bottom of the baking dish, around the peppers. Spoon the filling into each one, mounding it a little on top. Pack it in, don’t be shy.
Bake covered: Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake 35 minutes. The foil traps the steam, which is what actually cooks the peppers through.
Finish uncovered: Pull the foil off, top each pepper with the remaining cup of cheddar, and bake another 8 to 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
Serve: Scatter the parsley over the top and bring the whole dish to the table. Spoon some of the sauce from the bottom over each pepper.
Tips
- Trim the bottoms of any pepper that wobbles. One tipped pepper takes two others down with it.
- Drain the diced tomatoes. Wet filling slumps and won’t hold its shape.
- Cover tightly for the first 35 minutes. Loose foil lets the steam out and the peppers stay firm.
- Use leftover rice if you have it. Day old rice is drier and absorbs the sauce better than fresh.
- Grate your own cheddar. I’ll keep saying it.
Substitutions and Variations
- Ground turkey or ground Italian sausage both work in place of beef. Sausage brings more seasoning with it, so taste before you add the full teaspoon of salt.
- Any color pepper. Red and yellow are sweeter, green is sharper.
- Brown rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice all work in place of white rice.
- I haven’t tested these, so treat them as suggestions rather than part of the recipe, but a drained can of black beans folded into the filling would stretch it further, and mozzarella in place of cheddar would push it in an Italian direction.
Leftovers and Storage
Airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. They reheat better than most baked dinners because the pepper holds everything together.
Reheat in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes, or covered in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes.
These freeze well, which is rare and worth knowing. Freeze them baked and cooled, wrapped individually, for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat covered.
You can also assemble them a day ahead, cover the dish, and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake. Add 5 minutes to the covered bake time since they’re going in cold.
What to Serve With Stuffed Peppers
Crusty bread for the sauce at the bottom of the dish. That sauce is the best part and leaving it behind is a waste.
A green salad with a sharp vinaigrette, because this is rich and it needs something bright next to it.
Garlic bread if you’re feeding teenagers or anyone who’s been outside all day.
Try These Recipes Next
- Stuffed Pepper Skillet
- Cheesy Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
- Chicken Fajita Rice Casserole
- Cheese Jalapeno Pretzel Bites
- 15 Comfort Food Recipes That Freeze Well
Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 6 large bell peppers
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1½ pounds ground beef
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 can tomato sauce, 15 ounces, divided
- 1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 ounces, drained
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Cut the tops off the 6 bell peppers and remove the seeds and membranes. Stand them upright in a baking dish, trimming a thin slice off the bottoms if needed so they sit flat without tipping.
- Heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the 1½ pounds ground beef and diced onion and cook, breaking up the meat, until browned. Drain the excess fat, then stir in the 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and 1 teaspoon paprika for 1 minute.
- Stir in the 2 cups cooked rice, half the can of tomato sauce, the drained diced tomatoes, and the 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and fold in 1 cup of the cheddar.
- Spread the remaining tomato sauce in the bottom of the baking dish around the peppers. Spoon the filling into each pepper, mounding it slightly.
- Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Covering traps steam so the peppers soften and cook through.
- Remove the foil, top each pepper with the remaining 1 cup cheddar, and bake uncovered for another 8 to 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons parsley and serve.
Recipe Notes
- Level the bottoms. Trim a thin slice off any pepper that won’t stand up on its own. Don’t cut through.
- Drain the diced tomatoes well. Excess liquid makes the filling slump instead of holding its shape.
- Bake covered first. Foil on for 35 minutes traps the steam that cooks the peppers tender. Uncovered the whole time leaves them firm.
- Divide the tomato sauce. Half goes in the filling, half goes in the bottom of the dish around the peppers so they don’t scorch.
- Divide the cheddar. One cup folded into the filling, one cup on top for the last 8 to 10 minutes.
- Grate your own cheese. Pre shredded cheddar is coated with an anti caking agent that keeps it from melting smoothly.
- Make ahead. Assemble and refrigerate up to a day ahead, then add about 5 minutes to the covered bake time.
- Storage. Airtight in the fridge up to 4 days. Freeze baked and cooled, wrapped individually, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight and reheat covered.
Nutrition Information
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Baking them covered for 35 minutes does it. Some recipes tell you to boil them first and I don’t see the point of dirtying a pot.
Yes. Assemble, cover, refrigerate up to a day. Add about 5 minutes to the covered bake since they’re starting cold.
The diced tomatoes probably weren’t drained well enough. Give them a real press in the strainer next time.
Not in this version. The filling doesn’t have enough liquid to cook raw rice through, and you’d end up with crunchy bits. Use cooked rice.
Red and yellow are sweeter and softer. Green is sharper and holds its shape a bit more. I use whatever looks good and isn’t 4 dollars each.
Yes, and they come out well. Bake, cool, wrap individually, freeze up to 3 months.
Leave a Reply