This Old Fashioned Stuffed Bell Peppers recipe is the perfect comfort food for a winter night! It's packed with flavorful ground beef, rice, and tomatoes, then topped with melted cheese. Serve it with a side of green beans or a salad for a complete meal.
Next time try the Stuffed Pepper Casserole is a great way without all the fuss!
Jump to:
- What makes this recipe irresistible
- Ingredients you’ll need
- Creative variations to try
- Step-by-step instructions
- Essential tools for this recipe
- Frequently asked questions (FAQ’s)
- Deb’s tips for the perfect dish
- How to store leftovers
- More recipes you’ll love
- Perfect pairings: what to serve with
- Easy Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe
What makes this recipe irresistible
✔️ This classic recipe is a hearty and flavorful meal.
✔️ The ground beef, rice, and tomatoes create a well-rounded dish.
✔️ The cheese on top provides a delicious and bubbly topping.
Ingredients you’ll need
You'll only need a handful of simple ingredients. For the exact measurements for the Old Fashioned Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe, please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- red bell peppers, green bell peppers, red bell peppers, yellow or orange bell peppers, you can use any color!
- extra virgin olive oil
- lean ground beef and Italian sausage
- diced onion
- Montreal steak seasoning - you can use several different spices like salt, black pepper, garlic powder, etc, but the shortcut of the spice mix saves time!
- Worcestershire sauce
- fire roasted tomatoes - tomato sauce, tomato soup or tomato juice would be be delicious as well.
- red pepper flakes or chili powder for just a touch of spice.
- cooked rice - this recipe uses white rice, you can substitute with cooked brown rice if you'd prefer.
- shredded cheese - this recipe recommends shredded cheddar cheese, but if you'd prefer mozzarella cheese or pepper jack would be amazing as well.
Creative variations to try
- If you are looking for a vegetarian option you can omit the beef and sausage from this recipe. Load it up with plenty of veggies like mushrooms and zucchini, chopped kale or spinach.
- Cauliflower rice would be terrific if you're looking for a low carb option.
- For a bit of a twist, try using ground turkey or chicken in place of the beef.
- If you're looking to stretch a buck, you can easily do that by buying extra peppers and doubling or tripling the amount of rice you use. Add some additional seasoning as well.
Step-by-step instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. For the complete directions just scroll down to the bottom!
- Pre heat the oven, prepare baking dish, set aside.
- Cut the tops off the peppers. Scoop out seeds and the membrane. Place the peppers cut-side up in the baking dish.
- Dice the tops of the peppers and onions and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef, and Italian sausage. Brown, breaking up the lumps, until the meat is cooked through. Drain excess fat.
- Add the diced onions and bell peppers to the cooked beef. Season with Montreal steak seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and red pepper flakes. Sauté until the vegetables are soft.
- Reduce the heat. Add the drained tomatoes and rice, stir to combine. Simmer for another five minutes then add half the shredded cheese.
- Spoon the ground beef filling into the whole peppers. Place bell peppers in the prepared baking dish. Top with shredded cheese, cover with aluminum foil and bake for until the peppers are tender.
Essential tools for this recipe
The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Don't forget to check out my Amazon storefront for some of my favorite products! 🛍️
Frequently asked questions (FAQ’s)
No, you don't have to cook the peppers before you stuff them for this recipe. However, if you prefer a softer pepper you can boil them first.
The best way to prevent the meat-stuffed peppers from falling apart is to use bell peppers with a good amount of flesh. You alsovercooking want to avoid o the peppers.
Yes, you can freeze them. After cooking allow to completely cool. Wrap well and freeze individually.
Deb’s tips for the perfect dish
If you want your peppers to sit flat on your baking dish you can cut a small portion off the bottom of the peppers.
- Use any color of pepper, orange and red bell peppers are a little sweeter than a green bell pepper.
- You can assemble them ahead wrap the casserole dish in foil and store them in the fridge until you are ready to bake them.
How to store leftovers
Refrigerate - Store leftover peppers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.
Freezer- Wrap the unbaked casserole dish tightly with foil or plastic wrap. Label and date the freezer bag. Store in the freezer for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Bake as directed.
Reheat - Leftover stuffed peppers can be reheated in the microwave or oven. To reheat in the oven, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the unwrapped casserole dish in the oven and heat until warmed through, about 15-20 minutes.
More recipes you’ll love
- If you love stuffed peppers but don't want to put the effort into them? This Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup is a great way to get all the flavor with half the work!
- Sausage Peppers and Onions Pasta is simple to make and full of flavor. This is a great weeknight meal that the whole family will love.
- If you love the flavor of peppers but want something different then I recommend that you give this Sausage Peppers and Onions in the Oven recipe.
- Stuffed Cabbage Casserole - skip the fussy prep and enjoy this easy casserole!
Perfect pairings: what to serve with
- These Steamed Brussel Sprouts are a fresh and flavorful side dish that pairs so well with this hearty comfort food meal.
- This Outback Wedge Salad is a simple no-cook side dish to serve with these Stuffed Bell Peppers.
- You can never go wrong with a bread side dish like these Rolls from Frozen Dough. They don't take a lot of time to make and they taste amazing.
If you love this recipe please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating!
Easy Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 bell peppers - use any combination you'd prefer, green peppers, red peppers, etc. Slice off top of pepper, remove seeds and membrane.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ pound Italian sausage
- 1 onion finely diced
- 2 teaspoons Montreal steak seasoning
- 14 ounces fire roasted tomatoes drained
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 cup cooked white rice
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray, set aside.
- Cut the tops off the peppers. Scoop out the seeds and as much of the membrane as possible. Place the peppers cut-side up in a baking dish.
- Finely chop the tops of the peppers after removing the stems, set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef, and Italian sausage. Brown ground beef, breaking up the lumps, until the meat is cooked through. Drain excess fat.
- Add the diced onions and bell peppers to the cooked beef. Season with Montreal steak seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and red pepper flakes. Sauté until the vegetables are soft, about five minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the drained fire roasted tomatoes and rice, stir to combine. Simmer for another five minutes to combine the flavors. Stir in half the cheese.
- Spoon the meat and rice mixture into the prepared bell peppers. Top with the remaining shredded cheese, cover with aluminum foil. Place peppers in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until the peppers are tender.
- If desired, place under broiler for two minutes to brown the cheese.
Dee says
This all started because of Chinese! Yes, we'd ordered take out and it came with a large amount of white rice. My husband asked what we could do with all the leftover rice? Delicious. Used ground chicken in place of the beef and did not add the pepper flakes as neither of us like spice. The one problem was the peppers were still quite crunchy not cooked and soft. Solved this by precooking them in an air fryer for a few minutes and then stuffing and baking. Will be making them again but is there way to make them soft without this extra step?
Debra Clark says
Hahaha! Leftovers...the beginning to many great meals! 😂 Your substitutions sound terrific Dee, so yummy! If you prefer the peppers to be extra soft, then I would prepare the stuffed peppers. Put them in the casserole dish. Add a cup of chicken stock to the bottom of the casserole dish. Cover and seal it tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 40 minutes. Steam the peppers will soften them nicely. Enjoy!
Dee says
The best stuffed pepper recipes ever my go to from here on out Thank you
Debra Clark says
High praise Dee, thank you so much!! I love this one too, it has the BEST flavor!
Debbie says
An excellent recipe! Easy to follow directions and measurements too. My husband says I can make these again! Thank you for sharing.
Bowl Me Over says
Hey Debbie, I'm so glad the Stuffed Pepper Recipe was a hit and enjoyed by all! Thanks for supporting the blog, I'm so appreciative!!
Cindy says
For some reason I always prefer the red bell peppers over the green even though they're considered interchangeable... but man are they delicious for this recipe! Thank you!
Julie says
I love prepping these stuffed bell peppers on the weekend so I can pull them out of the refrigerator and bake them on busy nights! They are so good!
Bowl Me Over says
Most definitely! These are perfect for meal planning!
Alyssa says
I can't wait to try this stuffed peppers recipe. I've only had store bought ones before. I think homemade ones will definitely be better!
Bowl Me Over says
Tons better, without a doubt!
Melanie C says
I used my leftover rice I had from a meal yesterday. I followed your recipe to a T and it came out superb. Stuffed bell peppers are my hubbies favorite, he's had them in many different circumstances - and said hands-down your recipe has been the best!
Bowl Me Over says
There's just so much flavor in the Stuffed Pepper Casserole Recipe. Glad your hubby enjoyed it!
Brittany says
Stuffed bell peppers are a great way for us to use up our peppers from the garden!
Bowl Me Over says
Most definitely, enjoy this easy recipe Brittany!
Cynthia Rusincovitch says
Stuffed peppers are literally my favorite. These were delicious and came together pretty quick! Sometimes we make them with quinoa instead of rice and that's good too.
Bowl Me Over says
Oooh! Quinoa sounds SO GOOD Cynthia, thanks for sharing!!
Kristen says
I know we still have a month of summer left, but I am craving all things fall, so I made this stuffed bell peppers recipe (because comfort food classic) and it did NOT disappoint! Tender rice, and the peppers still stayed tender and tasty, too!
Tara says
Very tasty. I did adjust a few things. I used less meat since I only had 4 peppers. I can’t eat onions so I used onion powder. I also used deer mixed with brisket meat. I cut the pepper long ways as well. Love my version but thank you for sharing and the inspiration!
Bowl Me Over says
I'm glad that you made it your own and enjoyed the recipe Tara! Sounds delicious!!
Janice says
Do you pre-cook the rice?
Bowl Me Over says
Yes, the rice is cooked prior to stuffing the peppers. I used a packet of instant rice cooked in the microwave. You can also use leftover rice in the Stuffed Pepper Recipe. Enjoy!
Camden Rusincovitch says
I can eat bell peppers like candy, so my boyfriend and I always keep them in the fridge! For these stuffed bell peppers, do you have some ideas for extra condiments we could top them with?
Bowl Me Over says
I always love cheesy stuffed peppers, so extra cheesy is always great! As far as condiments go, ketchup or salsa is delicious! I've also made a mixture of equal parts ketchup, mustard and brown sugar baked on top of the peppers. That is amazing as well. Enjoy!
Amanda says
This was delicious! Thank you for a quick and easy good old favorite!
Elle says
Delicious! It was a huge hit!!!
Genelle says
This is the stupidest website I have ever seen
No measurement card attached. I had to guess. Ads popping up to ight on the measureless ingredients. Thank God I was close with the measurements. Pretty tasty!
Bowl Me Over says
Since you brought up stupid Genelle, let's talk about it. The measurement card is clearly attached. In fact if you were SMART you'd hit the jump to recipe button at the very top. Best of luck in the future.