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Cheesy and savory, easy Stuffed Bell Peppers are made with flavorful ground beef and fluffy brown rice for a wholesome recipe! These stuffed bell peppers are versatile because they can be made with lean ground beef, sausage, turkey, chicken, or vegetarian ingredients.
Recipe Overview
I like serving these when I have guests over because they always look so fancy. This healthy stuffed pepper recipe is made with tender and well-seasoned ground beef and mixed with fluffy rice to create a hearty, satisfying meal filled with protein! You will enjoy them because they are made with homemade tomato sauce (of course you can use canned), cheddar cheese, garlic, onions, paprika, and juicy tomatoes. Just so flavorful.
You can easily make this dish keto by substituting brown rice for cauliflower rice, or just make these peppers without rice. It’s that easy! Family-friendly and the perfect blend of fresh veggies and filling ground beef, these stuffed peppers are ideal for dinner at home when you need something prepared in about 30 minutes.
You may also like my easy homemade beef stew or my easy chicken chili recipe.
Before you get started
- Decide which protein you want to go with. Ground beef, ground turkey, or keep it vegetarian.
- You can stick with one color of bell pepper.
- If you like the peppers to be on the well-done and soft side, I highly recommend you bake the pepper first for 10-15 minutes before stuffing them. This is very important for some, because mine will be more on the sturdy side instead of the soft side.
Why I love this dish
- Wholesome: Filled with fiber, this stuffed pepper recipe is a great combination of ingredients that are delicious and nutritious at the same time. Gluten-free and made without artificial ingredients, these Southern-style stuffed peppers are hearty and wholesome.
- Delicious and Filling: Delicious homemade tomato sauce is absorbed into the ground beef and soft rice to create delicious aromatic flavors that taste delicious with garlic and onions.
- Family-Friendly: Most kids love cheesy ground beef with rice! You can serve these beef and rice stuffed bell peppers deconstructed, too, if you need to make them a little more kid-friendly.
- Easy and Versatile: You can serve them in all sorts of ways. Switch out different types of proteins for the fillings, or leave the meat out altogether.
Common Questions
Not at all! This is going to be your personal preference if you like them soft or not. If you avoid cooking the peppers beforehand, then they get a lot more crisp and crunchy! Some people do like it to be more soft and cooked through, so you can pre-bake them for about 10-15 minutes, allow them to cool enough to handle, and stuff them with your beef and rice stuffing.
I highly recommended cooking the meat before stuffing it into peppers because cooking it beforehand with the spices and seasoning gives it a ton of flavor and ensures it will be fully cooked prior to eating. This is how I prefer to prepare mine even though you technically don’t have to cook the meat and it will cook when you bake it.
It takes around 20-25 minutes for the bell peppers to fully soften in the oven. You can always let it cook for a few more minutes until the peppers are soft enough to your liking.
Be sure to avoid overcooking the bell peppers and add the shredded cheese towards the end of the cooking time.
You do not have to boil the peppers beforehand, but boiling them for a few minutes ensures they are the perfect cross of firm but soft once they have been fully baked since many people like their peppers to be more on the soft side.
If you have any leftovers, you can place them in a container and store them in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can freeze for up to 3 months.
Ingredients needed
- Bell peppers: You will need 7 to 8 bell peppers. You can use any colored bell pepper, such as green, yellow, red, or orange. Be sure to remove the tops, cores, and seeds from the bell peppers before starting the recipe.
- Cheese: I used shredded cheddar cheese, but feel free to use any other shredded cheese of your choice.
- Parsley: Fresh parsley is used for garnishing the peppers right before serving. So this could be optional if you do not have any, and one less thing to buy. It doesn’t break the recipe.
For the ground beef filling
- Olive oil: I used olive oil, but you can use other types of cooking oils like avocado oil, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, etc.
- Onion: One medium yellow or white onion.
- Garlic: Freshly minced garlic is pungent and a great way to add a ton of flavor.
- Ground beef: I like to use lean ground beef when cooking with beef because it does not have as much grease. Other ground proteins will work, too, like ground chicken or turkey.
- Cooked rice: I use cooked brown rice, but feel free to use any kind of cooked rice.
- Diced tomatoes: I used canned diced tomatoes, but you can make your own.
- Tomato paste: Use your favorite kind.
- Seasonings: Oregano, Smoked paprika, and Salt and pepper.
Tips from my kitchen
- Instead of ground beef, use ground chicken, ground turkey, lean ground beef, bison, or ground pork like sausage.
- Make vegetarian stuffed bell peppers by omitting the meat and adding extra veggies or using soy or veggie-based meatless crumble.
- Use other types of cheese other than cheddar, like mozzarella, Colby jack, Monterey jack, pepper jack, etc.
- Instead of rice, you can use fluffy quinoa or cauliflower rice.
- Store the leftovers in the refrigerator for up to four days. Reheat the leftovers either in the oven or microwave.
- Freeze the peppers by placing them in an airtight container and placing them in the freezer for up to two months. Thaw the peppers in the refrigerator before reheating them in the oven.
- You can use freshly diced tomatoes instead of canned tomatoes. Use premade tomato sauce to save time.
How to make stuffed bell peppers
Below is a video on how I made these stuffed peppers for a quick visual.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare the peppers and ground beef filling.
Prepare bell peppers: First, cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds. Place open face up on a baking dish.
Saute the onions: In the skillet heat 2 Tablespoons Extra-virgin Olive Oil in a large pan over medium heat. Sauté 1 Medium Onion (diced) until softens, then stir in 2-3 Garlic Cloves (minced) and cook for about 1 minute more. Just until it softens, you do not want them browned.
Cook the beef: Add 1 pound of Lean Ground Beef and cook until no longer pink, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon for 5-6 minutes. Don’t worry about the beef being fully cooked at this point. It is going to continue to cook.
Add the other ingredients: This is where you just add in all the other ingredients. Stir in 1½ Cup Cooked Brown Rice, 14.5 ounces Diced Tomatoes, 1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste, 1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano, and 1 Tablespoon Smoked Paprika Cook until the sauce is slightly reduced, about 4-5 minutes. Taste and season with Kosher salt and pepper as needed.
Stuff the peppers: Stuff each pepper with beef mixture. Divide up the stuffing as evenly as possible among all your peppers. You do not need to add the cheese just yet. Bake until the peppers are mostly tender. About 10-12 minutes.
Add the cheese: Remove the baked peppers from oven and sprinkle with 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Jack Cheese evenly over each pepper and bake for 5-7 minutes more. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley before serving. Enjoy!
Easy Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Extra-virgin Olive Oil, or avocado oil
- 1 Medium Onion, diced
- 2-3 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 pound Lean Ground Beef
- 1½ Cup Cooked Brown Rice
- 14.5 ounces Diced Tomatoes, one can
- 1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1 Tablespoon Smoked Paprika, see notes
- Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
- 7 Large Bell Peppers, top and core removed
- 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Jack Cheese
- freshly chopped parsley , for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 F and place the 7 Large Bell Peppers cut side up into a baking dish or a rimmed tray.
- Heat 2 Tablespoons Extra-virgin Olive Oil in a large pan over medium heat. Sauté 1 Medium Onion (diced) until softens, then stir in 2-3 Garlic Cloves (minced) and cook for about 1 minute more.
- Add 1 pound Lean Ground Beef and cook until no longer pink, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon for 5-6 minutes. Stir in 1½ Cup Cooked Brown Rice, 14.5 ounces Diced Tomatoes, 1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste, 1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano, and 1 Tablespoon Smoked Paprika
- Cook until sauce is slightly reduced, about 4-5 minutes. Taste and season with Kosher salt and pepper as needed.
- Stuff each pepper with beef mixture and bake until the peppers are mostly tender. About 10-12 minutes.
- Sprinkle with 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Jack Cheese evenly over each pepper and bake for 5-7 minutes more. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use quinoa instead of rice. For a low-carb option, use cauliflower rice.
- The amount of paprika might be a bit intense for some; use two teaspoons instead
- You may use ground turkey instead of ground beef
- Any other bland or cooking oil in place of olive oil
- Use any other light or fat-free shredded cheese.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What to serve with stuffed peppers
Stuffed peppers can be enjoyed on their own as a full meal, but can also be served with a variety of side dishes. Here are some sides I like to serve them with.
- Garlic Oven Roasted Mushrooms
- Tomato Bruschetta Bread
- Roasted Broccolini
- Crispy Smashed Potatoes
- Cucumber Avocado Feta Salad
- Spinach Apple Pecan Salad
- Oven Roasted Veggies
Recipes you may also like
- Honey Sesame Chicken
- Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers
- Garlic Shrimp Spaghetti
- Maple Glazed Baked Whole Chicken
- Low Carb Zucchini Lasagna Boats
- Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Breast
- Taco Stuffed Zucchini Cups
- Chicken Shawarma Bowls
- Shrimp Fajita Bowls
- Ground Turkey Cauliflower Rice Recipe
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So so delicious
I used garlic and oregano canned diced tomatoes, so I omitted the oregano. I had orzo pasta on hand and substituted this for the rice. I added a splash of white wine (didn’t have red) to the meat mixture and let it simmer, and used Crazy Jane seasoning instead of regular salt/pepper. Forgot the parsley garnish–but it was EXCELLENT and we gobbled it up! Will definitely be making this again!
Glad you loved it.
What is the nutrition serving based on? One pepper?
Yes. One stuffed pepper.
It was soooooooooo good!
Thank you! Glad you loved it.
This is so good
Everything was great except this time frame is not nearly enough for the peppers to cook. Mine were still hard. I think it needed longer time and to be covered with foil.
I make this for my family of 5 all the time. We all love it. It’s a go-to meal that’s in heavy rotation. So yummy and healthy!
So glad. Thank you. So glad you guys love it.
My husband can’t have tomatoes. Is there a good substitute for this recipes?
Just fresh or diced tomatoes? or nothing tomato-based?
Beef and brown rice is a wholesome, balanced meal that satisfies with tender meat and nutty, nutritious rice.
A family favorite!
Easy Stuffed Bell Peppers with Ground Beef and Brown Rice is a satisfying and wholesome meal. Deliciously stuffed peppers make dinner both flavorful and nutritious. A family favorite.