The BEST Stuffed Bell Peppers With Ground Beef

This classic stuffed peppers recipe features a rainbow of sweet red, yellow, and orange bell peppers filled with a rice and ground beef mixture. This is an easy dinner idea any night of the week and can even be made in advance.

Ever since I was a starry eyed pre-teen, I’ve been a fan of drawing rainbows. Now I eat them.

But as a kid, I wrinkled my nose at the sight those orbed vegetables, and when they showed up on my dinner plate, I plotted how to ditch every single bite in a napkin that was slipped slyly to the dog anxiously waiting under the table. I was a kid, and eating a whole bell pepper even if it was stuffed with ground beef was not my idea of dinner. Now, it’s my favorite part!

As an adult, eating the food you hated as a kid suddenly becomes not. that. bad. and sometimes really, really good. So much so that I make this stuffed peppers recipe with ground beef on repeat pretty much all year long.

What’s in This Recipe?

The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.

• Bell peppers — Today’s selection of peppers comes from a mix of grocery store varieties (red, yellow and orange) and ultra local farmer’s market (more yellows and purple) for a rainbow of sweetness begging to be stuffed. If you prefer green peppers, for sure go for it and use them instead.
• Lean ground beef — I choose 90% lean hamburger meat to prevent the filling from tasting greasy.
• Mushrooms — Use what you’ve got, be it white button, cremini, or portobello.
• Cooked white rice — Medium, long grain white rice or jasmine rice is the rice I use most often in stuffed peppers. But brown rice, Spanish rice, or other grains like farro or quinoa in these peppers are terrific options too.
• Diced tomatoes + tomato paste — Canned tomatoes are easy on the wallet and provide lots of moisture and flavor to the filling. Tomato paste lends the filling a been-simmering-for-hours flavor minus the time commitment.
• Corn, celery, onion and garlic — Mix and match the veggies and aromatics to create different flavor and texture profiles.
• Cheese — I added some grated fontina, but you could use Monterey jack or mozzarella or whatever’s on hand.
• Spices — I raided my spice cabinet and wound up using tried and true Italian staples like dried basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes to flavor the filling.

How to Make Stuffed Bell Peppers with Ground Beef

1. Brown the ground beef. Adding juicy, browned meat adds loads of flavor to this dish, so be sure not to skip this step. Brown the meat before adding the vegetables, where they will soften and gain flavor, and add the seasoning afterward to simmer and meld the flavors.
2. Simmer the filling. Stir in the canned tomato products and spices, then simmer for 15 to 20 minutes to give the flavors time to meld. Stir in the rice last, cooking just long enough to warm it up (but not so long that it turns mushy).

Heidi’s Tip: This is a great recipe to use up leftover cooked rice. Or, while the meat is cooking, prepare the white rice or other grain you’re adding to the pepper mixture, and stir it into the meat and vegetables just before filling the peppers.

3. Blanch the peppers (my secret time saver!). I always 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.

Heidi’s Tip: Cut the tops off of the peppers to stuff the whole thing with beefy goodness. Or, if you prefer smaller portions, cut the peppers in half and serve open faced.

4. Stuff, then bake. Pack those peppers with the hot filling, sprinkle liberally with cheese, then bake until the cheese is golden and the bell peppers are soft.

FAQs

What to Serve With Stuffed Peppers

• Arugula Salad With Shaved Parmesan
• Kale Salad with Cranberries, Apple and Cheddar Cheese
• Smashed Cucumber Salad
• Homemade Caesar Salad
• Browned Butter Green Beans Almondine
• Italian House Salad
• Buttery Garlic Bread

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

4.74 from 416 votes

Ground Beef Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe

I use red, orange and yellow bell peppers to cover all the colors of the rainbow, then stuff them with lean ground beef, mushrooms, and top with a little cheese.

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Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword stuffed bell peppers with ground beef, stuffed peppers

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 6

Calories 308kcal

Ingredients 

½x1x2x3x

• 1 pound lean ground beef , (90% lean)
• 4 mushrooms , chopped
• 3 ears of fresh corn kernals , or 1 ½ cups frozen corn
• 2 ribs of celery , chopped thinly
• 1 medium onion , chopped
• 2 cloves garlic , minced
• 2 14.5 ounce cans petite diced tomatoes with juice
• 2 tablespoons concentrated tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons basil
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 ½ cups cooked long grain rice
• ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
• 6 bell peppers
• 1 cup shredded fontina cheese or monterey jack cheese

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 mushrooms, corn kernals, chopped celery, onion and garlic and cook until vegetables are softened. Stir in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes. Season with kosher salt and ground pepper to taste and cook for 15-20 minutes. Stir in cooked rice and chopped parsley and cook for another 5 minutes or until the rice is warmed through.
• Meanwhile, cut off the tops of the peppers and 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 start to soften.
• Transfer to a 3 quart baking dish and fill the peppers with the hot meat and rice mixture. Sprinkle the tops with cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until peppers are tender and cheese is browned. Serve hot.

Notes

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 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.

Nutrition

Calories: 308kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 308mg | Potassium: 918mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 4429IU | Vitamin C: 166mg | Calcium: 211mg | Iron: 4mg

More Stuffed Bell Pepper Recipes

• The BEST Mexican Stufffed Peppers
• Southwestern Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe
• Zucchini, Quinoa, and Turkey Sausage Stuffed Peppers
• Baked Eggs in Stuffed Peppers
• Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Stuffed Peppers
• Stuffed Pasilla Peppers
• Stuffed Pepper Soup

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