The Best Mexican Stuffed Peppers

by Heidi Updated: Sep 22, 2023

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With ground beef, cheese, and rice, think of this Mexican stuffed peppers recipe as your favorite taco in a healthy bell pepper shell, and you’ll be half way to the border asking for more.

Stuffed bell peppers could be the quintessential healthy-meal-delivered-in-a-vegetable-vessel if there ever was one. And yes, I did have to look up how to spell quintessential.

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But this is no ordinary stuffed pepper recipe. It carries a bit of that Mexican swagger more often found at your fave taco joint where you head in with the best of intentions to eat a little lighter (hold the guac please), but head out grabbing your gut that’s now about to explode thanks to the Mexican platter combo you swore you’d save half for later—and didn’t.

I have a several stuffed peppers recipes here on the blog, like Southwestern stuffed bell peppers, creamy chicken and mushroom stuffed peppers and my version of the classic ground beef stuffed bell peppers. They’re obvi one of our favorite easy dinners.

This riff on the classic stuffed pepper recipe is Mexican-spiced for a lighter way to partake of your favorite Mexican food intake. And even better, it’s all cooked in one pan.

Ingredients in Mexican Stuffed Peppers

These stuffed peppers take advantage of all the favorite ingredients eaters the world over love about Mexican food, including:

Red, yellow, orange or green bell peppers
Lean ground beef
White rice that’s cooked right in the sauce (or use leftover rice if you prefer)
Jarred restaurant style salsa
Onion
Classic Mexican spices of cumin and chile powder
Cheese (because Mexican food always tastes better with melty cheese)

Pre-Cook Bell Peppers for Stuffed Peppers

Step one is prepping the bell peppers. Stem and seed the peppers, cutting them around the top instead of slicing them in half. I love the peppers almost more than the stuffing, so I am always in favor of more pepper, more better.

One of the most asked questions about making stuffed peppers is how long do you cook the peppers?

I have a secret that cuts the time in half.

The microwave.

I pre-cook my peppers by adding them to a microwave safe baking dish, and sprinkling the interior of the peppers with a bit of kosher salt, then adding ¼ cup water to the bottom of the dish.

Cover the peppers and give them a 5 minute blast in the microwave to pre-cook and soften them. I let them sit covered for 10 minutes or so to continue steaming while the filling is cooking.

Which leads us to…

Mexican Stuffed Peppers Ground Beef and Rice Filling

One of my goals in creating these stuffed peppers was to make it a one-pan dish you can make without a lot of prep or thought before hand. Most stuffed pepper recipes call for pre-cooked rice. In this recipe, the rice is cooked right along with the sauce.

First the ground beef is browned with the onion. Then, add a good quality, restaurant style salsa plus the classic Mexican spices cumin and chile powder. The salsa is a one-step ingredient that adds the garlic, tomatoes, and spices all in one fell swoop.

Water and dry rice are then added to the meat combination where it all cooks down and the rice absorbs the flavors and water to become tender. Stir in more water as needed until the rice is tooth tender.

How to Make Stuffed Peppers

Stuff the pre-cooked peppers with the warm filling. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until fork-tender, then top with shredded cheese and cook for a few minutes more, until the cheese melts and begins to bubble.

If you happen to have extra stuffing, spoon it around the bottom of the peppers to cook alongside.

These peppers can be prepped ahead of time and refrigerated up to the point of baking in the oven. If baking straight from the fridge, add a few more minutes to bring to temperature and cook all the way through.

Crock Pot or Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers

This stuffed peppers recipe is one of the easiest to transition to the slow cooker or Crock Pot.

To cook in the slow cooker, prepare the recipe as instructed through step 3. Spray the inside of your Crock Pot with cooking spray before adding the stuffed peppers, adding any extra filling to the bottom of the crock’s insert. Wait to add the cheese until the last half hour of cooking time.

Cook for 3 hours on high or 5 hours on low, or until the peppers are soft and tender.

How to Freeze Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers are super simple to freeze and reheat for busy days. Follow the instructions up to step 5. Cover tightly with foil and freeze for up to 2 months.

To cook stuffed peppers from frozen, do not thaw, but bake direct from frozen and covered with foil at 400°F for 1 ½ hours.

Sides That Go With Stuffed Peppers

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Bookmark this recipe and leave a comment below, or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.

5 from 55 votes

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

With ground beef, melty cheese, rice, and jarred salsa cooked in one pot, this Mexican stuffed peppers recipe is like a healthy taco in a bell pepper shell.

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Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword stuffed peppers

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1

Servings

Calories 399kcal

Ingredients

6 bell peppers , stems and tops removed, then seeded and
1 pound 90% lean ground beef
1 medium onion , chopped, about 1 ½ cups
24 ounce jar restaurant style salsa
1 teaspoon chile powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 cup long grain white rice
2 cups water
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup shredded cheese , Mexican blend or cheddar
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
¼ cup sour cream , optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Brown the ground beef in a large fry pan over medium high heat for 5 minutes or until cooked almost through. Add the onion cook until softened, about 5 more minutes. Stir in the jarred salsa, chile powder, and cumin. Add the white rice and water, season with kosher salt and bring to a boil, then reduce to medium low. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender, adding more water if necessary. When the rice is tender, fold in ¾ of the chopped cilantro, reserving some for garnish.
While the meat and rice are cooking, cut off the tops of the peppers, spoon out the ribs and seeds, then rinse. Lightly sprinkle the inside of the peppers with kosher salt and place in a microwave safe dish with ¼ cup water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 5 minutes or until they soften but still hold their shape.
Transfer the peppers to a 3 quart baking dish. Fill the peppers with the hot meat and rice mixture.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until peppers are tender. Sprinkle with cheese and heat for an additional minute or two until the cheese has melted. Garnish with the chopped cilantro and sour cream if you’d like, and serve.

Notes

Choose a variety of colors of bell pepper, or just one if you prefer.

Use any type of salsa, and heat index, you like best.

Nutrition

More Stuffed Bell Pepper Recipes

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Comments

5 from 55 votes (41 ratings without comment)

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