This post is sponsored by Minute Rice. The opinions and text are all mine.
This classic recipe for Stuffed Green Bell Peppers is so delicious and produces a tasty comfort meal that is wholesome and flavorful. Ground beef is sautéed with spices, onion, garlic, cooked rice, and tomato sauce before being stuffed into blanched bell peppers. Baked in the oven, this meal takes 30 minutes to bake, and 15 minutes to prepare. It is perfect for an easy back to school or fall meal idea.
You’ll never believe how easy it is to make these delicious Baked Stuffed Peppers for dinner, and your family will love them! It’s a great way to use up some of that extra ground beef you have laying around in the fridge, or freezer. The recipe couldn’t be any simpler – just mix together cooked beef, rice, onion, tomato sauce, and seasonings until fully combined. You can even add in some black olives, beans, or taco spice if you’re feeling wild!
Once mixed up stuff it into blanched bell peppers (or really any vegetables), place them in the baking dish, cover with foil, and pop them into the oven for about 25 minutes. Then, uncover for an additional ten minutes to allow the cheese to bubble. If you do not cover your peppers, you’ll want to add the cheese during the last 10 minutes of baking time to prevent it from drying out.
Ingredients
Before starting this recipe, you’ll want to verify that you have the following ingredients:
- Peppers – We used green bell peppers because they are cheaper than their colorful counterparts. However, you can use any color bell pepper you prefer.
- Ground beef – We love to use 80/20 ground beef because it is the cheapest variety of ground beef with the most flavor. You will need to drain the excess grease from this percentage, but it is worth it.
- Rice – The key ingredient when making stuffed peppers is rice. While you can use any rice, we love using convenient ingredients like Minute® Jasmine Rice from Hannaford. Save $.75/1 box of Minute Rice via a digital coupon.
- Onion – A medium onion diced is added for flavor.
- Tomato Sauce – This adds the classic color and flavor to stuffed peppers.
- Spices – We used Italian spice, onion powder, garlic powder, black ground pepper, and salt to season our peppers. You will need to be generous on the seasoning since these can be bland.
- Cheese – We used a blend of pizza cheese for our peppers. You can use mozzarella, cheddar, or your favorite.
Equipment and Supplies Needed
We used the following equipment and supplies to make this recipe. Items that are optional or can be substituted will be noted.
- Cutting board & knife – To cut the pepper tops off and clean them out.
- Oven – Always make sure your oven rack is returned or placed on the center position when baking stuffed peppers.
- Baking dish – You will want to use one that will fit all your peppers. We baked ours in an 11 x 13 pan, but photographed them in a smaller 11 x 9 –so there is flexibility. It is totally okay if they fit snugly in the pan.
- Large Skillet – To pan fry the meat, and onion in.
- Cooking spoons – Slotted to drain the grease, and wooden to stir the meat and onion.
- Microwave-safe bowl – To prepare the Minute Jasmine Rice.
- Ice cream scooper – Makes the art of stuffing the peppers super easy.
Recipe Tips
This recipe is easy to make if you know the right tips and tricks! Here are my tips for ensuring your Baked stuffed Peppers comes out perfectly.
Blanching Peppers
To remove some of the bitterness from the green bell peppers, and speed up the baking process, you can blanch them.
- Fill your pot with water.
- Bring the water to a boil.
- Add in your prepared peppers (stems removed, seeds, and ribs.)
- Boil, then turn down the heat so that it just bubbles
- After about 30 seconds, remove from boiling water
- Put into an ice bath 7-8 minutes later (this keeps them crispier!)
- Remove and continue the stuffing process.
Flavor Variations
- Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers with black beans, rice, corn and cilantro.
- Italian style with ground beef, rice, tomato sauce, spinach and cheese.
- Vegan by substituting meat for mushrooms and soy crumbles.
How to Freeze and Reheat Stuffed Peppers
If you want to store your Stuffed Peppers, just follow these easy steps.
When freezing meals like stuffed peppers, I prefer to use disposable aluminum pans so there is not risk of glass or ceramic shattering while baking.
- Fill each pepper with your favorite filling.
- Cover the entire pan tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap to seal the pan completely to avoid freezer burn. If freezing individually, wrap each pepper in multiple layers to keep it fresh.
- Then, place the pan in freezer until needed! When it’s time to eat them, remove the pan, or individual peppers from the freezer, and thaw in the refrigerator.
- To reheat stuffed peppers, remove all plastic wrap. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Peppers should feel warmed throughout.
Recipe
Follow the recipe below to make Classic Stuffed Peppers This recipe makes 6 SERVINGS, but you can adjust the recipe card for other serving sizes.
The Best Recipe for Stuffed Peppers
Equipment
- oven (adjusted to the center rack position)
- 11 x 13 baking dish
- cutting board & knife
- large skillet
- Wooden Spoon
- ice cream scoop
Ingredients
- 6 large Green Bell Peppers remove stems, ribs, and seeds
- 1½ cups Jasmine Minute Rice cooked
- 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef
- 1 medium onion diced
- 24 ounces tomato sauce reserve ½ cup cup for the pepper tops.
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare Minute Jasmine Rice according to the package instructions; set aside.
- In a large skillet, over medium heat, add the ground beef, and chopped onion. Break up the meat with the spatula, and cook until no longer pink. Drain any excess grease.
- Pour in the tomato sauce, add the rice, and season mixture with spices; stir to combine. Allow the mixture to simmer for 5 minutes until slightly thicker.
- Add peppers cut side up to a baking dish. Using an ice cream scoop, fill peppers with the meat and rice mixture. Pour the additional tomato sauce over each pepper.
- Add the cheese evenly (optional: to add additional Italian seasoning) to each and cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes covered, and 10 additional minutes uncovered to slightly brown the cheese.
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