Stuffed Bell Peppers
These Stuffed Bell Peppers are an easy and healthy dinner recipe that you can make with a variety of filling options, including ground beef, turkey, rice, cheese, tomatoes, and more!
Be sure to try my Egg Roll in a Bowl recipe next!
Stuffed Bell Peppers
Stuffed Peppers are a must all year round, and there’s no better way to make use of fresh garden peppers than with this recipe. It’s hearty, delicious, easy to customize, and makes a great make-ahead meal.
Trust me when I say, this filling is like no other filling you’ve ever tried. The traditional components include ground beef and sausage along with garlic, onions, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, rice, and cheddar cheese.
The ingredients that make this better than any other are the chicken broth (depth of flavor), Worcestershire and hot sauce (flavor enhancers, the hot sauce doesn’t make it spicy), and the brown sugar (a hint of sweetness to offset the acidity from the tomatoes).
This is definitely one recipe your family will want again and again. Be sure to check out my pro tips below!
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Slice the top off of the peppers and remove the seeds/membranes. Place them top-side-down in a casserole dish with water. Cover and steam them for 20 minutes. Remove water and place the peppers back in the casserole dish. While the peppers steam, prepare the filling.
Prepare the meat/sauce/rice mixture and fill the middle of each bell pepper. Cover and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove cover and top with cheese. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the peppers are tender. Remove and serve!
Do You Have to Cook Peppers Before Stuffing Them?
- Some recipes call for boiling, blanching, or steaming bell peppers before stuffing them, while others leave the peppers raw. No matter what, the peppers require at least 50 minutes of cooking time to have the ideal finished texture.
- For this reason, I like to let the peppers steam in the casserole dish for 20 minutes in the oven while the filling is being prepared. This cuts down on overall preparation time as we’re overlapping tasks, but also allows the pepper to release some water as well, (raw bell peppers are 92% water).
Make Ahead Method
- Steam the peppers and prepare the filling as outlined. Stuff each pepper.
- Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Let frozen peppers thaw completely before baking.
- When ready to bake, cover and bake at 350° for 45 minutes if baking from a cold state. Remove the cover and top with cheese. Bake for 10 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the pepper is tender.
Pro Tips
- You can use any combination of meat that you want to equal 1 ¼ lbs. Ground beef, sausage, turkey and pork are great.
- The hot sauce is a flavor enhancer and doesn’t make this spicy. I used Frank’s Hot Sauce.
- If you do want to kick up the heat, add a little extra hot sauce, a pinch of cayenne, and diced tomatoes with green chilies instead of regular diced tomatoes. Hot Habanero cheese can also be used instead of regular cheddar.
- Choose peppers that are close to the same size so that they cook at the same rate.
- The bottom of the peppers should be relatively flat so that they can stay upright. If needed, take a very thin slice of the bottom of each pepper (without creating a hole), to make it stand more upright. If you accidentally cut too much, take the piece that you’ve cut off and insert it in the same spot on the inside of the pepper to ensure that filling stays inside.
- The tops of the peppers can be diced and added to the meat mixture when the garlic is added, or they can be saved for another recipe!
- Other colors can be used other than green peppers if desired.
- It may seem counterintuitive to use chicken broth for the beef filling in this recipe, but it adds a delicious depth of flavor that contrasts well with the beef.
- I use Cracker Barrel Sharp Yellow Cheese for this recipe. Mozzarella or Monterey Jack are great choices as well.
- Cauliflower rice can be used instead of regular rice to make this keto friendly.
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Leftovers can be reheated in a microwave or in a covered casserole dish at 350° for 15-20 minutes.
Tools For This Recipe
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- 9 x 13-inch Casserole Dish
- Chef’s Knife
- Cheese Grater– Cheese shredded fresh from a block will melt and taste better than packaged shredded cheese.
- Better Than Bouillon– This is what I always use for broth in my recipes. It takes very little space and makes it easy to measure out customized amounts of broth.
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Tried This Recipe?
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Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 6 bell peppers, of roughly equal size
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ lb. ground beef
- ½ lb. ground Italian sausage, spicy or mild
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt/Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 ½ cups marinara sauce, I love Rao’s
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1.5 cups cooked rice
- 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add 1 ½ cups water to a 9x13-inch casserole dish. Cut the tops of each pepper and remove the seeds/membranes.
- Place the whole peppers top-side-down in the casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove water from the casserole dish once finished and set the peppers aside.
- While the peppers steam, prepare the filling.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and sausage and season it with salt and pepper. Cook and crumble it for 3 minutes. Add the onions and cook for 5 more minutes, or until the meat is brown and cooked through. Drain grease. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic and Italian seasoning.
- Add the tomato paste and brown sugar and stir to combine. Add the diced tomatoes, marinara sauce, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let it bubble gently and reduce/concentrate for 15 minutes or until little excess liquid remains. Stir in the cooked rice and heat through for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Fill each pepper with an even amount of filling and place in the casserole dish. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Remove cover and top with cheese. (If there is any excess space around the edges of the pepper, I like to push cheese down into those spaces.) Bake for 10 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the peppers are tender. Serve!
Notes
- You can use any combination of meat that you want to equal 1 ¼ lbs. Ground beef, sausage, turkey and pork are great.
- The hot sauce is a flavor enhancer and doesn't make this spicy. I used Frank's Hot Sauce.
- If you do want to kick up the heat, add a little extra hot sauce, a pinch of cayenne, and diced tomatoes with green chilies instead of regular diced tomatoes. Hot Habanero cheese can also be used instead of regular cheddar.
- The tops of the peppers can be diced and added to the meat mixture when the garlic is added, or they can be saved for another recipe!
- Cauliflower rice can be used instead of regular rice to make this keto friendly.
Make-Ahead Method
- Steam the peppers and prepare the filling as outlined. Stuff each pepper.
- Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Let frozen peppers thaw completely before baking.
- When ready to bake, cover and bake at 350° for 45 minutes if baking from a cold state. Remove the cover and top with cheese. Bake for 10 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the pepper is tender.
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Leftovers can be reheated in a microwave or in a covered casserole dish at 350° for 15-20 minutes.
Nutritional information is an estimate and is per pepper. This recipe makes 6 stuffed peppers.
I used fresh picked bells from my garden. Didn’t change a thing in the recipe. My fiance said that the finished dish had a flavor of its own. He said they were amazing! This is a KEEPER recipe. Thank you for sharing this recipe…
Nice work Julie!!! Can’t beat garden fresh peppers. So good! Thanks so much for the great review!💖
Tried this recipe to use up peppers in my garden. I was very happy with the outcome! Even my husband enjoyed them. I adapted some. I used quinoa instead of rice, cooked in vegetable broth. Also added corn I had leftover. Used a jar of my home canned tomatoes, drained. Added tomato paste & Worcestershire sauce. So I simplified a bit. Will definitely make again!
Nice work Deb! I love how versatile these are. Quinoa is a great sub for the rice. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!💖
Can you use fresh tomatoes?
Sure! You may just want to dice them and dry them a bit on paper towels so that the filling doesn’t get watery.
These were delicious 😋
I am so happy to hear that Kim! Excellent, thank you so much for the review!! 🙂
These were delicious. Best recipe I ever used for stuffed peppers.
Wonderful! I’m so happy to hear that Jean, thank you so much!
I usually use equal amounts of ground beef and sausage or turkey. Use really lean beef, 80% or higher. Turkey is usually 90% lean so it helps to keep the fat down. You don’t want the peppers to have a bunch of fat floating in them when you cut into them.
I usually use a medium red onion, not yellow, but honestly, whatever you have will work.
If you want to make this a bit spicier, you can use the hot Italian sausage, substitute the Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilis in place of the regular diced tomatoes, and use a peppered cheese as well as adding a real hot sauce to the mixture. 1-2 tablespoons is a good place to start. Also, if you are going to just use regular diced tomatoes from the can, try to get fire-roasted if possible. Not crucial, but tastier.
This is geared for more of an Italian flavor for the recipe as-is. When I want to do more of a Mexican style, I add the spicier ingredients above. I’ll add a drained and rinsed can (15oz) of black beans and then I use the same can to measure and add frozen corn into the mixture before stuffing it as well. I omit the marinara sauce and add a good, jarred salsa about 1.5 cups (Herdez) and you can use your discretion on the heat level there too.
When making them Italian style, I will use an Italian shredded cheese mixture, not cheddar. When making them Mexican style, I’ll use Cotija, Queso Fresco or a Mexican shredded blend.
I do not pre-steam the peppers. I stuff them and cook them straight up. I go 45-50 minutes at 350, pull them, add cheese mix on top and go another 10 minutes to let them melt.
But this recipe is a great one by itself and a terrific starting point for your own culinary adventures.
Loved it! My husband raved about it. Real depth of flavors. Next time I think I might try smoked provolone on top.
I’m soo happy that you and your husband loved it Karen! Thank you so much for the review, I appreciate it sooo much!! -Stephanie
Used Italian sausage and ground chicken with onions, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, taco seasoning, hot sauce and steak sauce for a little sweetness. Topped with taco cheese. Family loved them!
Yummm! Nice work Nicole! I love this one during the summer months. It’s a full meal but a little lighter. Thanks so much for the great review🩷
I made this almost exactly per the recipe. I made my own marinara sauce but otherwise per recipe and it was delicious!! I will definitely make it again!! I’m going to freeze 2 of them for a later date. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!
Wonderful! I’m so happy that you love the recipe Cindy!! Thank you so much for the review! -Stephanie 🙂
This was the absoute best!
I’m sooo happy that you loved it Kristen! 🩷 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, you’re the best!! -Stephanie 🙂
Thank you for this recipe. I’ve made stuffed peppers many times, but I particularly liked your suggestion to cook the peppers prior to stuffing them. This was a time saver for me since I could prepare the meat mixture while the peppers were cooking in the oven. My husband commented that this was his favorite bell pepper recipe. I thought it was just a tad bit too sweet and may omit the brown sugar next time. I had enough of the meat mixture left over to save and freeze for another meal since my peppers were medium sized. My son and I tasted some on a tortilla chip and he thought it would make some great Italian flavored nachos. I have added this recipe to my file and plan to use as my new go to stuffed pepper recipe.
I am so happy that you and your family loved the recipe Sabrina, I think it’s fun that you’re getting creative with how you plan on using some leftover filling! Thank you so much for the review!! -Stephanie ❤️