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!
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Why you'll love this recipe
✔️ 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 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.
Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. For the complete directions just scroll down to the bottom!
- Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare baking dish, 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. Dice onions, set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet or dutch oven 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. Add half the shredded cheese.
- Stuff peppers. 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 35 minutes or until the peppers are tender.
Equipment
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- 9x13 baking dish
- knife and cutting board
- large skillet
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 keep stuffed peppers from falling apart is to use bell peppers that have a good amount of flesh on them. You also want to make sure not to overcook the peppers.
Yes, you can freeze stuffed peppers. After cooking allow to completely cool. Wrap well and freeze individually.
Things to know
- If you want your peppers to sit flat on your baking dish you can cut a small portion of the bottom off.
- You can use any type of shredded cheese you like for this recipe. I usually use a cheddar cheese blend. I have found that when I am shredding the cheese myself it tends to melt better.
- Don't forget to spray your casserole dish will with nonstick cooking spray so that your preppers do not stick to the pan.
- You can assemble these stuffed peppers ahead wrap the casserole dish in foil and store them in the fridge until you are ready to bake them.
Variations
- 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.
Storage
Refrigerate - Store leftover stuffed 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.
Related recipes
- 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!
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.
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If you love this recipe please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating!
Old Fashioned Stuffed Bell Pepper 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
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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 and bake for 35 minutes or until the peppers are tender.
- If desired, place under broiler for two minutes to brown the cheese.
Debbie
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
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
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
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
Most definitely! These are perfect for meal planning!
Alyssa
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
Tons better, without a doubt!
Melanie C
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
There's just so much flavor in the Stuffed Pepper Casserole Recipe. Glad your hubby enjoyed it!
Brittany
Stuffed bell peppers are a great way for us to use up our peppers from the garden!
Bowl Me Over
Most definitely, enjoy this easy recipe Brittany!
Cynthia Rusincovitch
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
Oooh! Quinoa sounds SO GOOD Cynthia, thanks for sharing!!
Kristen
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
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
I'm glad that you made it your own and enjoyed the recipe Tara! Sounds delicious!!
Janice
Do you pre-cook the rice?
Bowl Me Over
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
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
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
This was delicious! Thank you for a quick and easy good old favorite!
Elle
Delicious! It was a huge hit!!!
Genelle
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
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.