Classic Stuffed Peppers
What is it about the smell of classic stuffed peppers that gets you right in the feels? It’s the best of simple ingredients–fresh beef, onions, tomatoes, and seasonings that come together in their own little portable, edible bowls.
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But here’s my secret:
While these classic stuffed peppers are really tasty, I’ve been ruined on them.
We ate them alot as a kid but with their basic ingredients, no fuss and no frills, they really are the best slate for you to experiment with.
I know you will enjoy them.
How to make these classic stuffed peppers
- Make these stuffed peppers with any rice you like. I prefer brown but I only had white on hand so I went with it. It does need to be cooked before you put it in the peppers.
- Ground turkey would also work well in place of the beef if you want a healthier stuffed pepper recipe. They are already fairly healthy, but you can lighten them further by changing the meat you use.
- Remember that if your peppers won’t stand up in the dish, just cut a little bit off the bottom. Try not to cut into the pepper though. You don’t want to lose your filling. I used three very large peppers in this recipe. If your peppers are smaller you can probably fill 5-6 easily.
- Swap the tomato sauce for pasta sauce and some fancy parmesan cheese for an Italian flare.
- If you’re in to Mexican flavors, use salsa and pepper jack cheese mixed in. So many options! I have a great post on how to use leftover taco meat any extra filling would work great in.
Why do you boil stuffed peppers?
Bell peppers are quite firm and may take longer to cook properly if they don’t get a bit of a jump start.
Cut off the tops and remove the seeds and any large ribs but try not to break the pepper. Place the pepper into boiling water for a minute or so then turn upside down to drain before filling.
The goal isn’t to cook them to the point of being totally soft–just softer than what they were so that they will finish cooking in the oven with the filling.
You could also pre-bake the empty peppers for 5 to 7 minutes before adding the stuffed pepper recipe filling, then finish baking for the full time in the recipe.
Save time and skip cooking rice with this trick
Unless you keep cooked rice on hand, waiting 20 minutes or more for a batch to cook can feel like one extra step in your day you just don’t have time for. Instead, cut right to the chase with Thrive Life freeze dried brown or white rice. Simply refresh the cooked rice by pouring over a bit of warm water and in just a few minutes it’s ready to go in your next recipe.
To make these stuffed peppers ahead:
Cook the filling, stuff the peppers and place them in a baking dish. Wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in the fridge till ready to bake, up to 2 days ahead.
A note on freezing: Don’t freeze the peppers stuffed or they will go soggy on you when they thaw. The filling freezes great though!
To reheat: You may need to cover them loosely with some foil for the first half of their bake time to keep them from drying out, then uncover them for the last half or until they are hot all the way through.
Can I pack the meat in raw?
I’ve had a few readers who have done this over the years and I just can’t support it. Where is all that grease from the beef going to go? And the cook time is going to be much longer while the dense filling cooks through. This isn’t a method I would recommend.
How to make stuffed peppers in one pan
You could also deconstruct this and brown the beef, drain and add the remaining ingredients. Dice the peppers and add them to the skillet then bake it up in in the oven. Easy stuff! And it would make ahead like a dream. Even better for busy nights.
What to serve with stuffed peppers
This stuffed pepper recipe is basically a meal in one but try these sides to round out your meal:
Classic Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 very large green bell peppers or about 5 small ones
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1/2 pound ground beef or turkey
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup cooked brown or white rice
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds. Place the peppers in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and cook 3 minutes, just until the peppers are slightly soft. Drain, rinse with cool water and set aside on paper towels to drain.
- In a skillet, heat the ground beef and onion and cook until no pink remains. Drain.
- Add the salt, pepper, rice, garlic powder and half of the tomato sauce.
- Stir well and spoon into the peppers.
- Top with the other half of the tomato sauce.
- Bake in an ungreased dish at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Serve warm.
I made this recipe and used orzo pasta instead of rice and they were really good.
That’s great Juliana! I do have a recipe here for an orzo stuffed pepper with chicken as well if you want to check that out. –Rachel
I grew up on stuffed green peppers without rice. Didn’t have Mother’s recipe, found this one and edited slightly: 3 handfuls organic bread crumbs to add density, 2 cloves minced garlic in lieu of powder, 1/4 t paprika, pinch cayenne, 1 bay leaf, 6 shakes Worcestershire sauce, 2 T catsup, 1 t oregano, 2 shakes herbes de Provence, dash olive oil in bottom of casserole prior to ovening, Colby-Jack shredded on top once done – for last 2 mins. Serving w/small pasta shells, with tad butter folded in. Basta! PS – leftover meat filling (cooked 3 lbs worth) was mixed with chopped baby kale (raw) and put in same casserole into oven for 25. Yeah, baby!
Well…you didn’t edit it slightly. You used a totally different recipe but I’m glad you liked what you made and somehow associated me with it??? –Rachel
Cover with foil while cooking or not?
Nope Monia I never do. One thing about my recipes: If you don’t see an instruction in them it’s because it’s not supposed to be there. I try to keep all the steps really concise.I hope you enjoy them.–Rachel
My husband is doing Keto so I used cauliflower rice instead. It was great and even the kids ate it!
I steamed my peppers and they were huge from my garden so I had to make a second batch. I also sprinkled a little cheese on top of them. Delicious!
Those big peppers will do that to ya Sharon! So glad you enjoyed them. –Rachel
Lovely recipe. We’ve fixed this several times in a cast iron dutch oven over a fire while camping.
omg. made these today and they were perfect. the only thing I did dissent was cook the rice before adding it to filling stuff. I chicken out, worried the rice wouldn’t cook if I didn’t cook it before hand. new cook here!
The rice was supposed to be cooked beforehand so you did that right Cathie! It certainly would not cook if you dumped it in dry. The instructions say to cook the rice–you probably just glanced over it. Good rule of thumb when you are learning, read the recipe all the way through a couple of times before you start just to make sure you don’t miss any steps. So glad you enjoyed them! –Rachel
Do you have to boil the peppers?
Hey Stephanie…I guess you could skip it but I fear the peppers won’t be soft enough by the time the bake time is up if you don’t boil them. I try really hard to help you create delicious recipes at home and that means sometimes I’ll give steps that–while not hard–will take a few extra minutes because I know the final version will be worth it. It’s up to you if you want to do it differently. –Rachel
I usually blanche them lightly. They turn out fine.
Made this tonight for dinner. I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out great! Portions were perfect and so was the taste. I’ll definitely be making this again.
I never cook my stuffing ingredients first before I put it in the peppers. I have been making stuffed peppers for over 50 years. It turns out just as good.
Thanks for your thoughts Kathleen. To each his own I suppose. –Rachel
I never cooked the stuffing in past years, but now they do, or some do. Seems like less work to just stuff them and cook, a few times thought my rice was still kinda crunchy.
It wasn’t bad. Wasn’t anything special. Filled only 2 large peppers.
Must have been some doggone big peppers there Heather. The amount of filling will certainly have to adjust based on their size. –Rachel