Classic Stuffed Bell Peppers

About This Recipe

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.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 6bell peppers
• 500 gground beef
• 1onion(diced)
• 2 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 1.5 cupscooked rice
• 2 cupstomato sauce(divided)
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 1 tspsalt
• 1/2 tspblack pepper
• 1.5 cupsshredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the peppers

   Cut the tops off the peppers, remove seeds and membranes, and blanch in boiling water for 3-4 minutes; drain.

2. 2

   Make the filling

   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.

3. 3

   Stuff the peppers

   Fill each pepper generously with the beef and rice mixture.

4. 4

   Arrange and bake

   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.

5. 5

   Add cheese

   Uncover, top each pepper with shredded cheese, and bake 10-15 more minutes until the cheese is melted and golden.

6. 6

   Serve

   Serve hot, spooning some of the sauce from the pan over each pepper.

Variations

• •

  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.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 4 days in an airtight container; reheat covered in a 180C/350F oven or in the microwave until warmed through.

Frequently Asked Questions