Stuffed peppers with ground beef and rice and tomato sauce

Classic stuffed peppers with rice, ground beef, two different types of cheese, and Italian herbs are baked in tomato sauce until tender and flavorful. This easy dinner recipe appeals to both kids and adults, is a cozy and satisfying meal, and even looks elegant enough for entertaining! Pair the stuffed peppers with a side salad, crusty bread, or fluffy buttermilk biscuits.

You can't beat good old-fashioned stuffed peppers with rice for a simple and hearty family-friendly dinner. It's a great way to use up plenty of fresh bell peppers, and the flexible recipe can be adapted to accommodate a variety of taste and dietary preferences. Add sausage for even more flavor, swap out the rice for cauliflower rice, or use different types of cheese. There are so many ways to make this stuffed peppers recipe your own!

The Best Stuffed Peppers

I've tried many versions of stuffed peppers over the years, but I always come back to the original that I grew up with: a simple recipe for Italian stuffed peppers with rice and mozzarella. We add ground beef for filling protein, but you can swap it out for ground turkey or ground Italian sausage instead, or even make them vegetarian by using black beans, pinto beans, chickpeas, or white beans.

I've shown sweet red bell peppers here, but you can also use yellow bell peppers, orange bell peppers, or green bell peppers for this recipe. It's just a matter of personal taste preference. The red, yellow, and orange peppers are generally much sweeter than the green peppers (and I think they look really pretty in the dish). Green bell peppers tend to have a zesty taste, which pairs well with the savory meat, cheese, rice, and tomato sauce.

Do you have to boil peppers before stuffing them?

Yes, I recommend par-boiling or pre-baking the peppers before adding the ground beef and rice stuffing. If you prefer a more crisp-tender pepper, you can skip this step since the peppers will definitely soften in the oven. That said, it's very easy to give the bell peppers a little head start in the microwave. Just place them in a dish with water, cover loosely with a sheet of parchment paper, and cook on high for about 3 minutes.

Do you have to cook the meat before stuffing the peppers?

In this recipe, you'll pre-cook the rice and the meat before stuffing the peppers. Some recipes call for a hybrid: pre-cooked rice, which is combined with raw meat for the stuffing. When using raw meat, the rice can soak up some of the drippings from the meat. This adds great flavor, but it can also yield a slightly less healthy, greasier dish. Either way works, but here we're pre-cooking the ground beef to make sure that it's totally cooked through and lean.

Ingredients

This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you'll need for a batch of stuffed peppers with rice and ground beef. As always, specific measurements and complete step-by-step cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.

• Bell peppers: I used red bell peppers here, but you can use any color -- red, yellow, orange, or green (or a combination).
• Olive oil: for cooking the meat and onion.
• Ground beef: or substitute with ground turkey, ground chicken, or bulk Italian sausage.
• Onion: for slightly sweet, savory flavor.
• Cooked rice: I use long-grain white rice, but any variety of rice is fine (brown rice, wild rice, or even cauliflower rice). You can also substitute with cooked quinoa or cooked couscous.
• Tomato sauce: brings the filling together.
• Worcestershire sauce: adds salty, umami flavor.
• Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, and ground black pepper: add flavor to the filling.
• Sugar: just a touch to balance the acidity in the tomatoes and to create a more complex flavor.
• Sharp cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack cheese or mozzarella cheese: you get the flavor of the cheddar and the ooey, gooey, melty quality of the Monterey Jack or mozzarella. Feel free to substitute with any other type of cheese (Colby or Pepper Jack are also good options).

How to Make Stuffed Peppers with Rice

While these classic stuffed peppers may look fancy or complicated, they're actually really easy to prepare! You'll need to pre-cook the peppers (as I mentioned above) while you prepare the ground beef filling, then just stuff the peppers and bake them in the oven.

1. Microwave the peppers until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes.
2. Cook the ground beef and rice filling.
3. Season the peppers with salt and pepper, then stuff the filling into the peppers.
4. Drizzle with olive oil.
5. Cover and bake in a 350°F oven for 35 minutes.
6. Remove the cover, top with cheese, and return to the oven for about 10 more minutes.
7. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or basil. Serve warm!

What to Serve with Stuffed Bell Peppers

Since this recipe includes veggies, rice, and meat, it's an entire stand-alone dinner! If you'd like to round out the meal with additional sides, here are a few good options to serve with the stuffed peppers:

• Skillet Cornbread, Corn Sticks, Mexican Cornbread, Honey Cornbread, Jiffy Cornbread with Creamed Corn, or Corn Muffins
• Southern-Style Green Beans or Arkansas Green Beans with Bacon
• Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette, Spring Greens with Dijon Vinaigrette, Caesar Salad or House Salad with Candied Pecans
• Baguette, Homemade Focaccia, Garlic Bread, or a loaf of crusty Dutch Oven Bread
• 3-Ingredient Biscuits, Buttermilk Biscuits, Drop Biscuits, Cheese Biscuits or Flaky Biscuits
• Pumpkin Bread or Pumpkin Muffins
• Creamy Coleslaw or Vinegar Coleslaw
• Southern Collard Greens
• Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
• Fried Apples
• Southern Succotash, Fried Corn or Corn Salad
• Tomato Cucumber Onion Salad
• Green Bean Salad
• Sauteed Spinach with Garlic
• Couscous Salad
• Pasta with Marinara, Pomodoro Sauce, or Pesto

How much protein is in a stuffed pepper?

These healthy stuffed peppers are full of vitamins and minerals from the vegetables, as well as satisfying protein from the beef. Each stuffed pepper half has about 324 calories, 22 grams of fat, 14 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, and 19 grams of protein.

Preparation and Storage Tips

• Make Ahead: This is a great prep-ahead meal. You can assemble the bell peppers, cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking. Allow the dish to come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before baking according to recipe instructions. Since the peppers and filling might still be cool, you may need to increase the baking time by about 10 minutes.
• How to Freeze: You can freeze the stuffed peppers before or after baking. Wrapped tightly, they will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• Leftover baked stuffed peppers will last in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
• How to Reheat Stuffed Peppers: Cover loosely with foil and bake in a 350°F oven until heated through. If baking from frozen, you'll need to increase the total baking time by at least 30 minutes.

Recipe Variations for Stuffed Peppers with Rice

• Swap out the ground beef and use ground turkey, ground chicken, ground pork, or ground sausage.
• Choose red, yellow, or orange peppers for a sweeter taste; grab green bell peppers for a less-sweet, more zesty taste.
• Any variety of rice will work. I like to use cooked long grain white rice, but cooked wild rice or cooked brown rice will both be delicious, too. For a shortcut, try microwaveable packets of rice like Uncle Ben's Ready Rice. You can even try this recipe with cauliflower rice for more veggies!
• Instead of rice, use cooked quinoa or cooked couscous.
• Give the peppers a southwestern spin by adding some cumin, chili powder, and black beans to the filling mixture (rather than the Italian herbs). Use Pepper Jack cheese or Monterey Jack cheese with the cheddar cheese (instead of mozzarella), and garnish with fresh cilantro.
• For a vegetarian dish, omit the ground beef and add a can of drained, rinsed black beans, white beans, kidney beans, or chickpeas to the rice mixture.

Tips for the Best Stuffed Peppers Recipe

• For a shortcut, use leftover rice from the night before or a packet of microwaveable rice (like Uncle Ben's Ready Rice).
• Garnish the finished dish with fresh herbs just before serving. They add a nice colorful, fresh touch!
• Use red, orange, or yellow peppers if you prefer a sweeter taste. Try green bell peppers for a zestier bite.
• For the Slow Cooker: To make these stuffed peppers in a Crock Pot, skip the step of pre-cooking the peppers in the microwave. Stuff the peppers with the rice and ground turkey filling, cover, and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours. Top with the cheese and continue cooking until the cheese melts (about 10-15 more minutes).

More Stuffed Pepper Recipes to Try

• Easy Stuffed Pepper Casserole
• Stuffed Pepper Soup
• Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers
• Bell Pepper Casserole
• Mexican Stuffed Peppers
• Stuffed Green Peppers with Tomato Soup

Stuffed Peppers with Rice

Classic Stuffed Peppers with rice, ground beef, two different types of cheese, and Italian herbs are baked in tomato sauce until tender and flavorful!

Course Dinner

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword classic stuffed peppers, stuffed bell peppers, stuffed peppers recipe, stuffed peppers with rice

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

0 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 4 - 8 people

Calories 324kcal

• 4 sweet bell peppers, any color
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 lb. ground beef
• ½ cup finely diced onion
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or mozzarella cheese, divided
• Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley or basil

• Preheat oven to 350°F.

• Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise, discarding seeds and membranes. Place peppers, cut side up, in a microwave-safe 13x9-inch baking dish. Add 2 tablespoons of water to the dish. Lightly cover with parchment paper. Microwave until peppers begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Drain any excess liquid.*

• Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and onion; cook until the meat is no longer pink. Drain off fat. Stir in cooked rice, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Add ½ cup of cheddar and ½ cup of Monterey Jack or mozzarella. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.

• Season the inside of each pepper with salt and pepper. Stuff peppers with beef mixture and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cover with foil.

• Bake until tender and heated through, about 35 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining ½ cup of cheddar and remaining ½ cup of Monterey Jack or mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, until cheese melts, about 10 more minutes. Serve warm. Garnish with fresh parsley or basil.

*Alternatively, you can pre-bake the peppers in the oven instead of in the microwave. To do so, fill a baking dish large enough to fit peppers with about ½ -inch of water. Place peppers cut-side down in water, cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes.

• For a shortcut, use leftover rice from the night before or a packet of microwaveable rice (like Uncle Ben's Ready Rice).
• Garnish the finished dish with fresh herbs just before serving. They add a nice colorful, fresh touch!
• Use red, orange, or yellow peppers if you prefer a sweeter taste. Try green bell peppers for a zestier bite.
• For the Slow Cooker: To make these stuffed peppers in a Crock Pot, skip the step of pre-cooking the peppers in the microwave. Stuff the peppers with the rice and ground turkey filling, cover, and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours. Top with the cheese and continue cooking until the cheese melts (about 10-15 more minutes).

Serving: 1/2 of a stuffed pepper | Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 484mg | Potassium: 508mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2349IU | Vitamin C: 81mg | Calcium: 235mg | Iron: 2mg

This recipe was originally published in August, 2020. It was updated in July, 2022.

Should peppers be cooked before stuffing?

Why is my rice hard in stuffed peppers?

Should I cover my stuffed peppers when baking?

How do you soften peppers before stuffing them?