Stuffed Peppers Recipe

This Stuffed Peppers Recipe is a family favorite dinner! Sweet peppers stuffed with beef, rice and a tangy tomato sauce, topped with a blanket of mozzarella cheese.

stuffed pepper with mozzarella cheese on top

Easy Stuffed Peppers Recipe

When I was growing up, my mom made stuffed peppers very similar to this recipe and we loved it so much. The filling, that is.

We used to leave the peppers behind, which inspired us to make our popular Unstuffed Peppers recipe! Now we dive right into these sweet, tender peppers – filling and all!

This stuffed peppers recipe will leave empty plates all around, and I mean peppers and all. If you think your kids might want to leave the pepper behind and just eat the filling, cut it all up and serve it to them that way.

The ground beef and rice filling is so flipping delicious and comforting, they’ll never know those peppers are in there.

We actually cut up the tops of the peppers and put them into the beef and rice filling, so even if they do leave the pepper behind they’re still going to get some!

Stuffed peppers recipe in a black baking dish

Can I Swap Out Ground Turkey Instead Of Ground Beef?

Absolutely! You can swap out ground turkey or ground chicken, even ground pork or sausage if you like. You can also use brown rice instead of white rice if you prefer, we make this recipe often with leftover in our fridge because it’s so versatile.

Want to add extra veggies? No problem! Like I said, if you have leftover vegetables that you think would go well with this stuffed peppers recipe just add them in. Spinach, broccoli, cabbage or corn would all work perfectly!

bell peppers stuffed with ground beef and rice and topped with mozzarella cheese

Can You Make Stuffed Peppers Ahead Of Time?

Definitely! These stuffed bell peppers are just as delicious heated up after being fully cooked, or just prepare them and keep them in your refrigerator until ready to bake!

Take the peppers out of the refrigerator about 30 minute before cooking to take the chill off.

To reheat just microwave a couple of minutes until warmed through. Cutting the pepper in half before reheating helps to warm it through quicker.

stuffed peppers recipe baked with cheese on top

Can You Freeze This Stuffed Peppers?

Again, yes! Cover the whole baking dish with plastic wrap and then foil and freeze. Thaw out in the refrigerator overnight and bake per the recipe instructions. You can also freeze these bell peppers individually for a quick meal for one.

Freezing this recipe will work with both cooked peppers or uncooked peppers. For reheating frozen, cooked peppers let them thaw in the refrigerator and either microwave or in the oven until warmed through.

baked pepper with a ground beef, rice and tomato sauce filling

Why do we think this is the BEST Stuffed Peppers recipe? For one, the flavor in the beef and rice stuffing is spot on. Perfectly seasoned and completely addicting.

The other thing we love is that we add extra filling to the baking dish that bakes along with the peppers in the oven.

That way everyone gets a LOT of the stuffing, because we know it’s the best part.

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stuffed pepper with mozzarella cheese on top

Stuffed Peppers

  • Author: Dan
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 6 Servings 1x

These comforting Stuffed Peppers are a family favorite! Perfectly seasoned ground beef and rice filling mixed with diced tomatoes and sauce, topped with melted mozzarella cheese!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 6 bell peppers with the tops cut off (*see note)
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 1/4 pounds lean ground beef
  • 2 cups cooked white rice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • Fresh black pepper to taste
  • 14 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
  • (2) 8 ounce cans tomato sauce
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • Chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Add oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and leftover diced peppers to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes. Add the ground beef to the skillet with the onions and peppers and cook, breaking up while browning. Add the garlic, stir and cook 1 minute longer. Drain any drippings from the skillet.
  3. Add the salt, pepper, cumin, oregano and Worcestershire to the skillet and stir to combine. Pour in the diced tomatoes, 1 can of the tomato sauce and cooked rice. Stir together and remove from the heat.
  4. Pour the remaining can of tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking pan., spreading it to cover the bottom.
  5. Place the peppers into the pan and stuff with the beef and rice filling. Add any extra filling around the bottom of the pan.
  6. Drizzle the peppers with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes.
  7. Remove the peppers from the oven and top with the mozzarella cheese. Place the pan back in the oven, uncovered for 8-10 minutes.
  8. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.

Recipe Notes

When cutting the peppers, I cut just the very tops off to save most of the pepper in tact. You can also cut the remaining pepper from the tops, dice them and add them to the filling.

To Cook From Frozen: Place peppers on a baking sheet in 400 degree oven for 35 minutes until warmed through.

  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Stove Top / Oven
  • Cuisine: American

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