Bell peppers stuffed with a seasoned ground beef, rice and tomato filling, baked until tender, a classic American family dinner.
Stuffed bell peppers are a staple of mid-century American home cooking, a practical one-dish dinner that combines ground beef and rice into a filling vegetable that's both nutritious and satisfying. The filling is straightforward — browned ground beef, cooked rice, diced onion and a can of tomato sauce, seasoned simply with garlic powder and Italian herbs — designed to be easy enough for a busy weeknight. Topped with shredded cheese and baked until the peppers soften and the cheese turns golden and bubbly, this dish remains a nostalgic comfort food for many American households, largely unchanged from the versions their grandparents made.
Serves 4
Cut the tops off the peppers, remove seeds and membranes, and blanch in boiling water for 3-4 minutes; drain.
Brown the ground beef with onion until cooked through, then add garlic, cooked rice, 1.5 cups of the tomato sauce, oregano, salt and pepper.
Fill each pepper generously with the beef and rice mixture.
Stand the stuffed peppers in a baking dish, pour the remaining tomato sauce around them, cover with foil, and bake at 190C/375F for 30 minutes.
Blanching the peppers briefly before stuffing softens them just enough that they finish cooking evenly with the filling.
Uncover, top each pepper with shredded cheese, and bake 10-15 more minutes until the cheese is melted and golden.
Serve hot, spooning some of the sauce from the pan over each pepper.
Blanch the peppers briefly before stuffing so they finish cooking evenly and don't stay tough while the filling is already hot.
Use day-old rice if possible, since it holds together better in the filling than freshly cooked, sticky rice.
Cover the dish with foil for most of the baking time, removing it only at the end to melt and lightly brown the cheese.
Ground turkey or chicken can replace beef for a leaner version.
A version with quinoa instead of rice adds extra protein and a slightly nuttier flavor.
Adding corn or black beans to the filling gives a Tex-Mex twist on the classic.
Refrigerate up to 4 days in an airtight container; reheat covered in a 180C/350F oven or in the microwave until warmed through.
Stuffed peppers became a staple of American home cooking in the mid-20th century, part of a broader trend of practical, one-dish family dinners that stretched inexpensive ground beef with rice and canned tomato sauce.
Yes, assemble the stuffed peppers (without the final cheese topping), freeze, and bake directly from frozen, adding extra time and topping with cheese near the end.
Trim a thin sliver off the bottom of each pepper (without cutting through) to create a flat, stable base.
Add a bit more tomato sauce to the beef and rice mixture before stuffing, since the peppers themselves don't release much moisture during baking.
Per serving (380g / 13.4 oz) · 4 servings total
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