These Stuffed Peppers are filled with seasoned ground beef, rice and tomato sauce. They’re a healthy dinner idea, perfect for any night of the week!
If you love stuffed bell peppers try one of these stuffed peppers recipes next: Quinoa Stuffed Peppers, Stuffed Pepper Soup and Unstuffed Bell Pepper Skillet.
Best Stuffed Peppers Recipe
Classic stuffed peppers are a comforting meal that the whole family will love. The hearty and flavorful filling is stuffed into fresh bell peppers, topped with cheese and baked until hot and bubbly. With meat, rice and veggies, stuffed peppers can be a meal on their own or you can serve a salad or garlic bread on the side.
These were delicious and definitely something I’ll be making again!
Maranda
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Rice: I like to use brown rice to sneak some healthy whole grains into the meal, but white rice works well, too. You can replace the brown rice with protein-packed quinoa, or use cauliflower rice for a low-carb option.
- Bell Peppers: Use any color of bell peppers that you like in this stuffed pepper recipe. I like to use a mixture of colors so that everyone at the table can choose their favorite.
- Onion and Garlic: For flavor.
- Ground Beef or Ground Turkey: Use whichever you prefer.
- Diced Tomatoes & Tomato Sauce: Adding tomatoes to the filling brings out the Italian flavors.
- Seasonings: You’ll need Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper for this Italian stuffed peppers recipe.
- Cheese: Use shredded mozzarella or cheddar, or a combination of the two. Half of the cheese is mixed into the filling and the other half is melted on top of the peppers.
How to Make Stuffed Peppers
This easy stuffed peppers recipe requires just a few simple steps.
Cook the rice. See my recipes for How to Cook Brown Rice, How to Cook White Rice, Instant Pot Brown Rice and Instant Pot Rice.
Prep the bell peppers. Use a knife to cut the tops off of the peppers. Use your fingers or a small knife to remove any membranes and shake out the seeds.
Make the stuffed pepper filling. Sauté the onion in olive oil, then add the ground beef and cook until browned. Add the garlic, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and the seasonings to the skillet. Simmer for 5 minutes, just to get the flavors blending together. Stir in the cooked rice and half of the cheese.
Spoon the filling into the bell peppers, then top with more cheese.
Bake. Pour 1/2 cup of water into the baking dish and then add the peppers. Bake, covered with foil for 30 minutes. The water will create steam which will help to soften the peppers. The steam will also keep the peppers and filling from drying out. Then uncover and bake for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is lightly browned.
Do you need to pre-cook peppers for stuffed bell peppers? No, the peppers will cook and soften enough as they bake with the filling in the oven. There is no need to partially cook your bell peppers before stuffing them.
Instant Pot and Crockpot Instructions
- Crockpot: Add 1/2 cup of water to the bottom of the slow cooker. Then add the stuffed peppers, cover and cook on low for about 6 hours or high for 3 hours.
- Instant Pot: Try this Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers recipe.
Make Ahead and Freezer Instructions
If you’re wondering if you can freeze stuffed peppers, the answer is yes! I tested this recipe as a freezer meal and it worked well. The only difference that I noticed is that the filling of the frozen peppers had a bit more liquid in it after baking. This recipe is perfect for meal prep!
- To Freeze: Prepare the stuffed peppers as directed in the recipe card below, but do not bake. Let them cool completely and then place them in a baking dish in the freezer. Freeze for 1-2 hours, then transfer to a zip-top plastic freezer bag (or other airtight container) and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Before cooking, thaw the peppers in the refrigerator for 24 hours and then bake as directed in the recipe.
- To Refrigerate: You can assemble the peppers, cover the dish, and then refrigerate them for up to one day before baking and serving.
How to Store and Reheat
Once baked, stuffed peppers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat them in the microwave (I find that cutting the peppers in half helps the filling to heat through better) or in a covered dish in a 375° F oven, until steaming hot.
Like this recipe? Pin it to Pinterest!
Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- ¾ cups uncooked brown rice, or white rice, 1 ½ cups cooked
- 6 bell peppers, any color
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ¾ cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1 pound ground beef, or ground turkey
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce, ¾ cup
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, or cheddar cheese, 4 ounces, divided
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package directions or your preferred cooking method. Set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400° F.
- Cut the tops off the peppers and remove seeds and membranes.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it starts to soften, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the ground beef (or ground turkey) to the pan and cook, crumbling, until browned and cooked through. Drain off any excess grease. Add the garlic and cook, stirring for 30 seconds.
- Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper to the pan. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring for 5 minutes.
- Remove pan from the heat and stir in the cooked rice and half of the cheese.
- Pour ½ cup of water into a baking dish. Fill bell peppers with the meat and rice mixture and place in the baking dish. Sprinkle on the remaining shredded cheese.
- Cover with a piece of aluminum foil that you have lightly sprayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Bake for 30 minutes, uncover, and bake 5 minutes more, until cheese is lightly browned and filling is hot. Serve.
Notes
- To Freeze:
- Prepare the peppers as directed in the recipe. Do not bake.
- Let peppers cool completely and then place them in a baking dish in the freezer. Freeze for 1-2 hours, then transfer to a zip-top plastic freezer bag and store in freezer for up to 3 months.
- To bake, thaw completely in the refrigerator (this will take about 24 hours). Then, bake as directed above.
- You can assemble the stuffed peppers and refrigerate them for up to one day before baking.
- Once baked, stuffed peppers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat them in the microwave (I find that cutting the peppers in half helps the filling to heat through better) or in a covered dish in a 375° F oven, until steaming hot.
This is one of my favorite recipes! I’ve made these stuffed peppers several times and they are always so yummy. And I agree, it is difficult to get a good photo of them! 🙂
These look excellent. Love the colors in the pics. I just made these recently, yours look alot better than mine!?
Thank you, James! You are too kind. 🙂
These were delicious and definitely something I’ll be making again!
I am so happy to hear that!
Do you have to cook ground beef before you stuff the peppers my mom never did?
I find that the flavor is better when you brown the meat first, but you don’t have to. If you choose to skip the step of cooking the meat first, you should poke a few holes in the bottom of the peppers to let the juices drain out. You might need to increase the cooking time if using uncooked ground beef.
I made these with Minute Brown Rice and Quinoa to save time. They came out delicious!! They freeze so well too so you can have them again in a week or two ?
Yes! I love to freeze these for a quick dinner later on.
Just made these, wow really good, it’s been a long time since I had stuffed peppers. I retired Jan 3 and I Love to walk and cook and I hit the farmers market and got a good deal of peppers and corn. So my wife says what you are gonna do with all these peppers, And I say Stuffed Peppers I quess, and here We Are. Thank You ,My Wife says I make a good Wife hahaha.
Haha, I’m glad this recipe was a hit with you and your wife! Walking, cooking and going to the farmer’s market sounds like a great way to enjoy life!
What degree to you bake the stuffed peppers at?
400 degrees F.
I made this tonight with ground turkey and white rice and then added an 8oz can of tomato sauce and 8oz water in bottom of the pan. Was delicious!
Looks so yummy!! Is there a way to modify this to make it in an instant pot?
Here is my Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers recipe. Enjoy!
WANT TO PRINT OFF STUFFED PEPPERS RECIPE
Hi Kim, In the box with the recipe ingredients and directions, there is a green print button that will take you to a printer-friendly version.
These are the best stuffed pepper my husband and I have ever had! Thanks for the recipe. It’s goibg to be a go-to for us!
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
Anyone tried this using Ground chicken instead of turkey or beef?
If vacuum sealed will these last longer in the freezer?
Possibly, I haven’t tried using a vacuum sealer.
Suzy, I used my seal a meal. I stuffed them, xcept for the cheese on top, used my seal a meal and froze them for months. They were as good as freshly made. Hope this helps. Enjoy!!!
Holy guacamole! I made this dish with spicy rotel instead of regular diced tomatoes, and substituted cheddar cheese; what a wonderful and perfect dish. I can not wait to enjoy these stuffed peppers again! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
These Stuffed Peppers sound & look amazing! This might sound like a silly question, but I’m assuming that you drain the diced tomatoes before adding them in? Also, what would you suggest as a ‘binder’ other than rice – perhaps Barley? I’d use Brown Rice for us, but I’d like to make these for our friends who are going through a rough time, & they don’t eat rice. Thank you Kristine, for all of your lovely recipes. ?
I don’t drain the tomatoes. (I will always note in the recipe if canned tomatoes should be drained.) Barley may work as a binder, but I would also suggest trying quinoa. I use quinoa in my Quinoa Stuffed Peppers and it works perfectly! Enjoy!
Thanks for the easy stuffed peppers recipe. It’s going to be a go-to for us!
What do you recommend substituting for cheese in recipes like this? Thank you in advance, and great job on this website!
I would probably just leave it out without substituting in a recipe like this one. You could also try a dairy free shredded cheese, such as Daiya.
Maybe a parmesean cheese crustini.. or crutons?
Vegan cheese is decent when melted if you wanted that effect…
I’m doing a Hispanic version with tortilla chips and cheese on it 🤞
Maybe an Asian version with sesame topping..
Think it salad toppings you like they usually work. Lol
These stuffed peppers were delicious and I will definitely be making them again!
Instead of Italian seasoning I used Chili Powder and Cumin and Mexican style diced
tomatoes. Love your recipes and am always looking for new ideas! Thanks!
I am doing the same as well as adding chorizo to mine… hopefully comes out as good as yalls!
Great recipe.
It was simple and delicious. Thank you, Kristine.
These were awesome!! 😋
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I did do a couple of things differently, I used diced tomatoes and tomato sauce with Italian seasoning. So I cut back the actual Italian seasoning to 1/2 a tbsp. It turned out great and I’ll definable this again!
I loved this! The only thing I did differently was to use stewed tomatoes instead of diced (juice drained)
Definetly delicious however it needs to cook much longer than stated . The peppers were too crunchy for me .
Shop for peppers that can stand up on their own.
While this is an Italian style flavor it would be super easy to make them Mexican or even Indian style too.
Thanks for reminding me of a taste from my childhood… oh so long ago.
PS any old spaghetti sauce in a jar will work and a can of diced tomatoes. Use the Rotel kind if going Mexican.
used 1 lb ground turkey and Zataran’s dirty rice. Boiled peppers for 5 min before stuffing. Left out tomato sauce. used half Mozzarella and half chedder. Family loved it.
This was wonderful! Are the calories in kilocalories? Does that mean 1 pepper = 318000 calories?
I’m glad you enjoyed these! What are commonly referred to as “calories” are actually kcals. So 381kcal would be what we commonly refer to as 381 calories.
These very super easy and oh so good. I substituted quinoa for the rice and used leftover Italian sausage. I also blanched the peppers and cut them in half before baking. Will make again.
Delicious!! Added spinach for extra veggies but great recipe!
Yummy! I didn’t want to open a can of tomato sauce for just a little bit, so I substituted with a squeeze of ketchup. (I also used rotes tomatoes for a bit more kick.
(I had 4 large peppers, and have enough filling to stuff another 3 or 4 more. No problem: we’ll gladly eat them again)
These stuffed bell peppers are easy and delicious!!!
Delicious! I used lean ground turkey with brown rice, doubled the garlic & used diced tomatoes with green hatch chilies. Added cumin & red pepper flakes. Used shredded Asiago cheese. It came out perfect. Will definitely make again!
Made these today with red peppers. Delicious! Only had mild red enchilada sauce instead of tomato sauce, & my husband really liked them. Thank you!
Like any recipe I used it as a guideline. I blanched my peppers before stuffing with onions, garlic, and turkey Italian sausage. Instead of tomato sauce & diced tomatoes I used chunky spaghetti sauce (works like a champ). Baked them off & then topped with mozzarella and a few more min in the oven. Added a tossed salad & vitamin G (garlic) bread. Winner winner fire house dinner.
Amazing! I added a second pound of ground beef and adjusted some of the ingredients accordingly. It’s a big hit with or without being stuffed in a pepper!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Love thus recipe. I’m trying tonight!
The only thing the original recipe doesn’t have a BAKE @ TEMP… I did see 375°F in the rebook recipe, so I am going with that until peppers soft and cheese melted…
No biggie just letting you know for future recipes.!
Thanks again, can’t wait to try!! ( I am adding chorizo to my ground beef also.. fingers crossed 🤞)
Step 2 of the recipe gives the baking temperature, 400° F. Step 9 of the recipe tells you how long to bake. Be sure you’re looking at the recipe card, which has the full ingredient list with measurements and the instructions. I hope you enjoy the stuffed peppers!
Tried this recipe and it was so easy and delicious. Only variation was to chop up the tops of the peppers (minus the stems of course) and add when sautéing the onions for a little extra veggies.
I love that you chopped up the pepper tops to add to the filling! I’m glad you enjoyed these!
This was a quick and easy recipe. The flavor was really good but i did up the amount of garlic powder and Italian seasoning just a bit. I used Colby Jack cheese in the mixture with mozzarella on top just because i was out of Cheddar cheese. In the future I plan to cook it just a bit longer which I think will help the flavor and texture of the peppers. But this is definitely a keeper and I will be making this recipe again.
Hi Lynn,
Happy you enjoyed these stuffed peppers! Thanks for sharing your modifications.
Made this recipe for the first time. I used ground beef 🥩 and added a small can of tomato 🍅 sauce over the finished dish. Turned out well.
I just prepared these. I put in my crock pot on low. They smell delicious .
This recipe hits every time!!! This is my favorite stuff pepper recipe my pastor keeps asking me when am I going to make some more? So I made some today
I was looking forward to these, but they just weren’t as delicious as I hoped. I don’t know if using green bell peppers fresh from my garden makes a difference, but the peppers were still too crunchy. I might try this again either with yellow and red peppers or by baking them longer. The filling was delicious though! I could that over and over!
Was real good I mixer sausage and habanero peppers perfect,