This Easy Italian Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe is a classic meal, perfect for a delicious dinner that's impressive yet easy!
Do you love stuffing your recipes with great ingredients? Maybe give Taco Stuffed Shells a try, or Crab Stuffed Mushrooms for a really great appetizer.
Jump to:
Who doesn't love rice and beef? Tie them together with tomato sauce and add all the fresh herbs for an incredibly delicious meal that feels like mom's home cooking.
Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Easy weeknight meal! While these do take about an hour of your time, once they are in the oven you have a nice block of time to do dishes or laundry.
- Super easy to make! Make the filling in the skillet and then pop it in the oven. Nothing could be easier.
- Delicious leftovers. These reheat beautifully, making it a great meal for meal prep or work lunch.
Stuffed Pepper Ingredients
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Ground Beef - I use an 85/15 lean ground beef. I find this to be the perfect level of fat. You can remove some fat after cooking if you like, but it generally isn't too greasy.
Rice - Using precooked rice means you can use the leftovers from another meal, cook fresh, or even reach for microwave packets.
Diced Tomatoes - A can of diced tomatoes, undrained, adds just the right amount of liquid when combined with a bit of chicken broth.
Cheese - No comforting, casserole-type dish would be complete without some melted cheese on top!
Pro Tips
- Break up the beef with a wooden spoon while cooking, to make sure there aren't any large pieces. This makes for a smooth filling with meat in every bite.
- Cook rice ahead. Since we are stirring in cooked rice to the filling ingredients, it makes sense to have rice all ready to go instead of adding that to your stovetop today.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat the oven, and wash and prepare the peppers. Slice off the tops and stand them all in a baking dish.
- Cook the ground beef with garlic, onions, and seasoning. Make sure it is cooked through completely. Add remaining ingredients, minus the cheese.
- Stuff the peppers with the filling mixture, making sure they are completely full. Cover with foil and bake.
- When the peppers are nearly done, remove the foil and top with cheese for the remaining time.
- Once peppers are soft and cheese is melted, serve!
What to Serve with Stuffed Peppers
These stuffed peppers are a nice one-pot meal! You can go ahead and add extra veggies or a salad on the side if desired. I especially love enjoying this meal with:
Storing Leftovers
I find it easiest to chop up the leftover peppers so it is a true casserole of "unstuffed" peppers. Everything will reheat more evenly this way, plus it makes it easy to put in a container to take on the go.
Recipe FAQs
You can make the stuffing ahead and stuff the peppers and pop the entire pan in the fridge for the next day. I love to do this to make a busy night even easier. Keep in mind that you'll want to pull the dish from the fridge while the oven preheats, and then you may need to add 5-10 minutes to the cook time while covered to make sure the filling heats through.
Classic bell peppers fit the bill. Select a variety of colors, such as red, yellow, orange, or striped varieties. I prefer not to use green as they are technically unripe and therefore not as sweet as other colors. Select peppers that are similar in size. If they won't stand up in the dish, you can always cut off some of the bottom to make them level.
6 peppers will fit in a 9x13 dish. You can use any size dish that your peppers fit in. A snug fit will ensure they don't tip over during filling and cooking, so don't be afraid to squish them just a bit. Remember that they soften as they cook so you need a tight fit.
More Ground Beef Recipes
Want more delicious and beautiful recipes? Subscribe to my newsletter, where you'll hear about new recipes FIRST and get tantalizing and exclusive perks!
Let's stay connected on social media and continue to cook together! Also, if you decide to make this recipe, please leave a star rating on the recipe card and leave a comment below! Tag @BritneyBreaksBread on Instagram and hashtag #britneybreaksbread so I can see your creations! I hope that you love this recipe as much as we do!
Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 6 bell peppers
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 1 lb ground beef 85/15 lean
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 ½ tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 14.5 oz diced tomatoes
- ½ cup beef or chicken broth
- 1 ½ cups cooked rice
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan shredded
- ½ cup Mozzarella shredded
- Fresh Basil
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees f. Cut the tops off of the bell peppers and remove the core and the seeds. Rub each pepper with about a ½ tsp of olive oil and place in a 9x13 baking pan.
- Add olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook for 5 minutes, then add ground beef. Cook until beef is no longer pink and cooked all the way through. Stir in garlic and continue to cook for another minute, then add Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Add tomato paste and cook for another 2 minutes, until the tomato paste is fully incorporated into the meat, then add diced tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the cooked rice.
- In a small bowl, combine parmesan and mozzarella.
- Spoon the beef mixture into the bell peppers, filling to the very top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Take the aluminum foil off and drizzle the cheese on top of each pepper. Continue to cook for another 15 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh basil.
Notes
- Select a variety of pepper colors for perfect presentation.
I made this recipe with one substitute. I used jared spaghetti sauce only because I didn’t have tomato paste on hand. It was simple to make, very healthy and tasty! I used your suggestion with the sides and served it with garlic bread and a side salad. My family requested a repeat for tomorrow!!!!
Made this last night for my family. My only regret is that I didn’t make more. My husband devoured it. I didn’t have tomato paste so I used Jared spaghetti sauce. Needless to say I’m doing a repeat tonight. It was inexpensive to make yet it had everything to make a balanced meal.
I'm so glad to hear this! Thank you!