Stuffed Bell Peppers

Stuffed peppers make a tasty dinner and there are lots of fillings to choose from. However, classic stuffed bell peppers have a rice and beef topping and a generous topping of melted cheese, like in this recipe. You’ll find everyone in the family loves these, even the kids.

The recipe is also a great starting point if you want to adapt the ingredients and come up with your own variations. You can make this with any color bell pepper as long as you pick ones with flat not rounded bottoms because they need to stand up in the baking dish.

Keep in mind green bell peppers aren’t sweet at all, red are sweet-ish and yellow are sweet. Kids usually prefer the sweeter ones. If you have leftover rice, that’s a great way to cut down on the prep time and leftover rice works great in stuffed peppers.

Why You’ll Love the Recipe:

These juicy bell peppers are generously filled with a seasoned beef and rice filling along with plenty of cheese. They are really easy to make and great if you’re looking for delicious dishes to make on busy weeknights.

How to Serve Them:

Enjoy these hot, perhaps paired with a salad, some more vegetables or potato wedges.

Can You Make Them Ahead?

You can assemble them ahead and cook them later (or the next day). Keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator and transfer into a baking dish to cook.

Storage Instructions:

Leftovers will keep for up to 4 days and can be microwaved to reheat.

Variations and Substitutions:

Sub cooked brown rice, quinoa or couscous for the rice. Use another type of ground meat if you prefer. If you have a large enough pot you can par-boil the peppers in there before stuffing them instead of par-baking them in the oven. Either way achieves the same result.

Ingredients:

• Bell peppers (any colors)
• Minced yellow onion
• Olive oil
• White rice
• Italian seasoning
• Lean ground beef
• Tomato sauce
• Minced garlic cloves
• Shredded mozzarella
• Nonstick spray, as needed
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• Fresh parsley (optional, for garnish)

How to make Stuffed Bell Peppers:

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a large baking dish.

Step 2. Cut the tops off the peppers and remove and discard the seeds and white membrane from inside.

Step 3. Put them cut side down in the baking dish and add 1½ cups of water then bake for 25 minutes.

Step 4. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet and fry the meat until brown, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Step 5. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes and then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Step 6. Stir in the tomato sauce, cooked rice and Italian seasoning, then stir in half a cup of the cheese and more salt and pepper if needed.

Step 7. Take the peppers out of the oven and discard the water, then flip them over and stuff each one with the beef mixture.

Step 8. Top with the rest of the cheese then cover and bake for 20 minutes.

Step 9. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes or until the cheese is melted and the peppers are tender.

Step 10. Serve hot, with parsley sprinkled on top if liked.

Stuffed bell peppers have been around seemingly forever because they’re simple to make and delicious to eat.

This is a family friendly dish which everyone loves, even the kids if you’re generous with the cheese on top!

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