Stuffed bell peppers are a classic main dish, and they are so hearty, tasty and super simple to make.
They will become a family favorite dinner. Serve with a few classic side dishes, like air fryer baked potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, or Instant Pot “baked” sweet potatoes.
Ingredients
For tastiest results, always use the best quality ingredients you have access to.
To make this stuffed bell peppers recipe, you will need the following:
- bell peppers, any color
- olive oil (or oil of choice)
- onion
- garlic
- tomato paste
- ground beef
- cooked brown rice or quinoa
- canned diced tomatoes
- parsley
- oregano
- salt and pepper
- Monterey jack or sharp cheddar cheese
- fresh parsley (optional for serving)
Feel free to customize with your oil of choice, your favorite type of rice and favorite cheese.
How to make stuffed bell peppers
Here is how to make the best, classic stuffed bell peppers.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat a large skillet pan to medium heat. Add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot add in the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add in the minced garlic and stir and cook for 1 minute.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add the ground beef to the pan and cook while breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5-6 minutes.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat mixture from the pan and drain the fat from the meat.
Transfer the beef mixture back to the pan you cooked it in, add in the cooked rice and diced tomatoes.
Season everything with parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir and let it all simmer for 4-5 minutes, until the liquid is slightly reduced.
Spray a 9”x13” baking dish with cooking spray and place peppers cut side-up into the bottom of the baking dish.
Add a drizzle of olive oil over each bell pepper and evenly divide the beef mixture between the peppers, filling them almost to the top.
Sprinkle some cheese on top of each of the stuffed peppers.
Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30-35 minutes until the peppers are nice and tender. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes to melt the cheese until it is slightly golden and nice and melty.
Remove and top with fresh chopped parsley.
Y’all enjoy, and be sure and let me know if you try them.
Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe
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Stuffed Bell Peppers
Stuffed bell peppers are a classic main dish, and they are so heart, tasty and super simple to make.
Ingredients
- 6 bell peppers red, yellow or green bell peppers, tops sliced off with seeds and ribs removed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (or oil of choice)
- 1/2 cup minced onion
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup cooked brown rice or quinoa
- 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes, drained (1 can)
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup monterey jack or sharp sliced cheddar cheese
- Chopped fresh parsley – optional for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat a large skillet pan to medium heat. Add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot add in the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add in the minced garlic and stir and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add the ground beef to the pan and cook while breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5-6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat mixture from the pan and drain the fat from the meat.
- Transfer the beef mixture back to the pan you cooked it in, add in the cooked rice and diced tomatoes. Season everything with parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir and let it all simmer for 4-5 minutes, until the liquid is slightly reduced.
- Spray a 9”x13” baking dish with cooking spray and place peppers cut side-up into the bottom of the baking dish. Add a drizzle of olive oil over each bell pepper and evenly divide the beef mixture between the peppers, filling them almost to the top. Sprinkle some cheese on top of each of the stuffed peppers, cover the dish with foil and bake for 30-35 minutes until the peppers are nice and tender. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes to melt the cheese until it is slightly golden and nice and melty.
- Remove and top with fresh chopped parsley.
Recipe Notes
Nutritional information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator.
Jason G says
I used the recipe and we used yellow rice and also cut up the tops of the pepper for added flavor and reduced waste. Came out great!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
So glad to hear this Jason!🙌🏻
Abby says
Absolutely delicious! Used vegan beefy crumbles in place of the ground beef.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Abby! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed it.❤️
Jane says
Would ground turkey work instead of ground beef?
Nicole Johnson says
Yup! Should be delicious!
Donna says
Followed the recipe and added some black beans to the chop meat mixture and served the peppers on a platter with black beans and rice it was excellent
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Happy to hear you enjoyed it Donna!
Greg G says
These peppers were delicious. Doubled the quantities and follow the recipe pretty close to written except I chopped and add the pepper tops (minus the stem) back in with the onion to ramp up the pepper flavour and eliminate any waste. Finally I split the meat mixture about 60/40 and made a batch with rice and a batch with quinoa. Had four for dinner and another eight to freeze for another day (or two). Great classic recipe!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am so glad you are enjoying the recipe, Greg!🙌🏻
Carol K. says
I followed the recipe except I exchanged the paste to tomato sauce, very tasty but my peppers were still hard. I tried putting them in the microwave for 1 minutes but then they were tuff. Any suggestions.
DENISE DAVIS says
I pre boiled the peppers prior to stuffing. This cut the baking time in half.
Ronda I Lackey says
Easy yummy recipe. The only thing I changed was I substituted tomato sauce for the paste because that’s what I had on hand. The recipe is very flavorful!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Ronda! I am so glad you enjoyed it.🙌🏻
S Williams says
These were delicious! Bell peppers have to be cooked pretty soft for me to like them, so I baked them (with a little spray of olive oil) while I cooked the meat. And I think my peppers must be a little bigger, so next time I might double the meat & use 8 peppers instead of 6. Also, I had a little pizza sauce in the fridge, so I put a little spoonful on top of each (before the cheese) – a little added yumminess. Thank you for sharing!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am so glad you enjoyed them!❤️