The BEST Stuffed Peppers Recipe Ever (Made Easy With Rice & Ground Beef)

Tasty, finger-licking good, stuffed peppers made with rice and ground beef! A crowd-pleasing appetizer that can serve as a meal. You get your vegetables, starch, and protein from the well-seasoned meat all in one bite.

These savory, delicious fat peppers are sure to please a crowd and are perfect for social gatherings such as cocktail parties, Superbowl parties, wedding receptions, and birthday parties.

If you’ve been looking for a good stuffed pepper recipe online, look no further because these fat babies are guaranteed to excite your taste buds!

My crazy relationship with bell peppers

I don’t remember being very fond of green peppers as a kid… probably because they always looked so weird and unattractive to me. LMBBO! I mean, we can all agree with that right?

I mean, bell peppers are probably the vegetable most used to insult someone’s physique because of how funny shaped they are. It’s funny how you can form a negative opinion of something based on how it looks without even trying it.

Well, that was the case for me as a kid… they looked ugly so I thought they tasted as bad as they looked. Lol! But people change right?

Well so did my relationship with bell peppers once I realized they weren’t all a funky forest green color and pretty bright yellow, orange, and juicy red ones exist.

That was what first allowed me to see bell peppers in a positive light, which then enabled me to actually try and put one in my mouth! LMBBO! 

As I got older I developed a love for cooking and I remember there always being 4-5 big green and red bell peppers in the bottom drawer of my grandma’s refrigerator.

I would always see her cutting and slicing them up every time she was cooking something in the kitchen.

It was then I knew bell peppers had to be good or at least of some value because of how often she used them. I just figured they made food taste better or something, which was true. 

And remember, I wasn’t just always in the kitchen as a boy up under my grandma Viola watching her cook, but my grandma Gwen, Nana Alice, and even my mom to some extent.

And guess what… they ALL USED GREEN BELL PEPPERS! LMBBO! They used to slice them up and add them to things like potato salad, baked turkey wings, collard greens, cabbage, and add them to a big pot of beans.

I then saw the difference peppers made in food and over time, grew in love with them. So it’s no surprise how often you see them listed in so many of my recipes now. 

The first time I tried stuffed peppers

The first time I tried stuffed bell peppers had to be sometime during my teens – that’s one thing my family didn’t make very often for us as kids.

And because I wasn’t the biggest fan of bell peppers or too fond of eating them, I would split them in half and eat all the filling and throw the pepper away! Lol! What a waste… But now? I eat the whole darn thing.

It’s funny because my mom tried one the other day when I got done creating this recipe and guess what? She did the very same thing… ate the meat and rice and threw out the pepper. Smh!

It’s like… what’s the point? Right? Are the peppers just there to make everything look good or to be eaten along with the filling?

I’ve seen so many people do this over the years with stuffed bell peppers – eat everything inside and throw away the pepper like it’s peeling. I tell you, bell peppers just don’t get any respect, do they!? Lol!

Well, guess what… I’m one of bell peppers biggest fans now and that’s why I made this delicious tasty stuffed bell peppers recipe.

So check it out below… and I hope y’all enjoyed hearing about my childhood memories of bell peppers and my topsy-turvy relationship with them. It took a lot of time but we’re in a very good place now as you can see. Haha! 

Ok so first things first, let me address one of the most important things and that’s the cookware and utensils you’ll need to prepare this dish.

These are must-haves so if you don’t have these things you better get them before starting the recipe!

Cookware and utensils you’ll need:

• Sharp knife: You need a knife to slice the head open and remove all the glands inside the pepper.
• Large Spoon: Like the one in the photo below to stir in the filling.
• Large Pot: At least a 10 qt pot so it’s big enough to boil several peppers at once and big enough to hold a lot of water.
• Large skillet: You need a skillet to brown the meat
• Large mixing bowls: To create and mix in the filling
• Large baking dish: At least an 8×10 baking dish to hold 6 bell peppers.

Ingredients you’ll need:

• Green bell peppers
• Meat add-ins: Ground beef and sweet Italian sausage
• Vegetable add-ins: Onions, diced tomatoes, and garlic
• Condiments: Ketchup, Tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce
• Cheeses: Parmesan cheese and sharp Cheddar cheese
• Seasonings: Celery Salt, Italian seasonings, Red Pepper Flakes, Oregano, black pepper, brown sugar, and Parsley flakes.
• Other: Beef broth, White rice, and water.

About the peppers

How to cut peppers

• When you cut out the glands inside the bell peppers you want to cut out as much as possible but make sure you don’t poke any holes in the bell peppers.
  
  Don’t want the filling oozing out! Lol!
• Don’t cut too low when removing the head because you want the peppers to be tall enough to fit all the filling. Lol!
• Cut the glands out using a small knife because it will be pretty different to get down in the pepper with a huge knife! 

Preboiling the peppers

Ok so one thing I had to learn my first time making stuffed bell peppers was pre-boiling them shortens the baking time. Make sure you use enough water to fully cover the peppers.

That way every part of the pepper gets preboiled. I only pre-boil them for a few minutes because it doesn’t take long for the peppers to get soft once you put them in that scorching hot water.

You want the peppers to have some bite and not be super tender to where they can’t hold up so a quick couple minutes will do the job.

You will know when they’re done because they will change in color and go from green to a dark forrest green color.

About the bed for stuffed peppers

I have some folks ask me “What is a bed”? In cooking, the definition is just a pile or layer of food more food is placed over.

The broth, stewed tomatoes, and onions are what you’d consider a bed for this recipe… a bottom layer of ingredients for the pepper to sit over.

The only purpose for the best is just to prevent the peppers from sticking and or burning at the bottom. The same reason you add a little liquid to a baking dish when you’re preparing to bake meat.

But you can just use a little broth honestly – I used stewed tomatoes with a little onions since that’s what I had sitting around and didn’t want to waste it.

The ground beef and sweet Italian sausage + alternatives

Ground beef – As I always say, use 80/20 ground beef. It has the best taste because it has the perfect lean-to-fat ratio which provides the perfect amount of fat for flavor and moisture.

For those of you wondering, 80 stands for the percentage that is lean meat, and 20 stands for the percentage of fat content in the package of ground beef.

Traditionally, people just used ground beef for the filling in stuffed peppers but one day I didn’t have enough ground beef and had a few sweet Italian sausages in the freezer so I decided to use it for the filling and it took the recipe to another level.

Sweet Italian sausage tastes great with green bell peppers but in moderation so I go with a 50/50 ground beef to Italian sausage ratio.

Sometimes, I’d even go with a 75/25 beef-to-sausage ratio and use just a half pound of sweet Italian sausage – it just depends on my mood and what I have a taste for.

• Ribe Eye Steak or a tender fatty steak: Listen if you do not have any ground beef in the fridge but have a steak that’s marbledfatty and tender, like rib-eye steak, you can put it in a blender if you have one and grind it up into ground beef.
  
  It might taste even better because we know rib eye steak is one of the best types of steak.
• Ground turkey: Got some ground turkey? Listen it won’t taste the same but it’ll still be good.
  
  If you’re a fan of ground turkey and feel like being healthy go ahead and use ground turkey, it will taste different but still be very good.

Sweet Italian sausage – Yall know I’m good at combining ground beef and sweet Italian sausage. I have so many recipes using both.

If a recipe calls for ground beef, I’m probably going to use a 50/50 ground beef sweet Italian ratio. Sweet Italian sausage is just packed with so many strong flavors from all the spices and fat content.

I just can’t help but to use it. I love sweet Italian sausage as y’all should know by now, it’s probably my favorite sausage after Kielbasa.

• Mild Italian Sausage: Got mild Italian or only found mild Italian sausage in the store? Cool, you can use it if you’re ok with spicing things up and a little heat.
  
  Just omit the red pepper flakes because then things may get too hot. 
• Spanish chorizo: This is a popular substituting Italian sausage, because of all of its bold flavors and rich smokiness.
  
  Just like Italian sausage, chorizo gives a depth of flavor and complexity to dishes with its unique and distinct blend of spices, like smoked paprika and chili peppers.

About the vegetables

Onion- The onions are a must… I can’t think of too many things I make using ground beef without adding onions to it. I use yellow onions for this recipe and saute them with ground beef as it cooks to soften them.

Garlic paste – Garlic paste is such a vital ingredient as is in most recipes. Garlic just elevates and makes everything taste better.

I know I sound like a broken record because I say this a lot but it’s one of the most popular basic seasonings along with onion powder, salt, and pepper for a reason because it goes with everything and enhances everything you use it on.

So make sure you use garlic paste. I use to use garlic powder but I like the flavor of garlic paste better.

• Garlic cloves: If you don’t have minced garlic or garlic paste, but have some garlic cloves around the house, you can use them.
  
  Just peel them, then place a couple in a blender with some olive oil and BAM, you have garlic paste. Just blend it well until it’s all minced up.
• Garlic powder: If you don’t have garlic paste you can use garlic powder or granulated garlic just use less because garlic powder is finer so there’s more garlic in a teaspoon of garlic powder than there is in a teaspoon or garlic paste or minced garlic.

About the condiments

• Tomato paste: Tomato paste thickens the filling and gives it a nice, redish color and tomato flavor.
• Ketchup: I added ketchup to not only give the filling a saucy tomato flavor but to add a hint of sweetness to a dish that has a decent amount of acidity.
  
  I used brown sugar but added ketchup because I wanted to add more of a neutral semi-sweet tomato flavor which is what ketchup is – and didn’t want to overdo it with the sugar.
• Worcestershire sauce: This adds depth of flavor and gives the filling a mild smoky flavor. I always use Worcestershire sauce when Im creating a recipe that calls for ground beef.

Let me get into the cheeses and alternatives

Parmesan cheese- I’ve spent months testing this recipe and have tried using a bevy of different cheeses for this recipe.

I found that parmesan cheese satisfied my taste buds the most!!! It’s important though if you’re using parmesan cheese, to grate it and not use the already shredded kind.

Shredded cheese doesn’t taste as good and takes longer to melt because it’s coated with little dusty preservatives so yea, use block cheese and shred it.

• Provolone: If you want to follow this recipe to a T and not deviate too much from it but don’t have Parmesan, Provolone will probably be the best substitution.
  
  There are other cheeses however that will work great for this recipe.
• Mozzarella: I never used Mozzarella but it seems people use it the most on stuffed bell peppers so give it a shot if you don’t have Parmesan cheese.
  
  Mozzarella and Provolone have a similar taste to me. Different but similar.
• Cheddar: Cheddar is actually a new addition folks. I just updated the recipe and now use both Parm and Cheddar.
  
  I ran out of Parm and had some cheddar in the fridge and liked the color it gave the stuffed peppers so I used some and thought the variety in the taste of cheese took it up a notch.

About the seasonings and alternatives

Italian seasoning and Oregano – Herbs add depth of flavor!

• Poultry seasoning: If you don’t have Italian seasoning Poultry seasoning is probably the best substitution!
  
  It has oregano, thyme, and sage in it just like Italian seasoning which is a seasoning of herbs. So this is the best alternative.
• Oregano: Thyme, Rosemary, Basil, and Sage: These are pretty much most of the main flavors and herbs that make up Italian seasoning and Poultry seasoning.
  
  So if you don’t have either you can throw a little of each of these herbs up in there which together pretty much makes Italian seasoning.

Brown sugar – I use brown sugar to reduce the acidity mainly in the sauce! There’s garlic paste, onions, tomatoes, and tomato paste in the filling.

Without adding a little sugar it might be a bit too bitter and acidic for some folks. The sugar doesn’t make it sweet it just balances out the acidity in the peppers, which is also why I used a little ketchup.

• White sugar: If you don’t have any brown sugar you can use white sugar, just use slightly less because white sugar is sweeter. If you use white sugar I would use about 1/3rd less.

Red pepper flakes – Yall know I think it’s important to infuse whatever you’re making with a variety of different flavors. Think of it as music.. the more melodies the more appealing to the ear.

Well, the more layers of flavor your food or beverage has, the better it usually tastes. Now too many flavors can result in a bad taste especially if the ingredients aren’t congenial.

But these peppers are cheesy acidic with a hint of sweetness from the brown sugar so why not add some heat to it?

I only use a little bit of pepper flakes because they’re strong and will ruin the dish for some if you add too much and make it too hot. 

• Cayenne pepper: If you don’t have red pepper flakes, the best alternative will be a pinch of cayenne pepper. Just make sure not to use too much because it’s strong and can ruin the dish.
• Scott Bonnett pepper seasoning: Just like with Cayenne pepper, use less because it’s spices.
• Tobasco hot sauce: A couple of squirts of Tobasco won’t hurt just don’t use too much.
  
  Give the filling a taste test to judge how much you need and use a little at a time until it has the perfect hint of heat.
• Mild Italian sausage: You can use a 75/25 sweet-to-hot Italian sausage ratio to give the dish just a hint of heat as the red pepper flakes do.

About the broth and rice + alternatives

Beef broth: Broth adds additional flavor and create a bed for the dish to prevent sticking and burning but it’s not necessary for the bed. You can use a little water and sauce if needed.

White rice: I looooove 10 Minute Success White Rice. It’s good and only takes 10 mins or so to cook but if you want to go with your favorite rice do you.

I’ve made this recipe with yellow rice and even Spanish rice before. It still came out very good so those are options if you don’t have white rice. 

About the filling!

• Best time to give it a taste test: if you want to add more of anything this is the time to do it. You’re always free to add more of this or that and even add something to the filling that’s not apart of the recipe to make it yours…

How to make stuffed peppers

1. Cut the peppers in half: Slice and remove the head of the bell pepper then carve out the inside of the pepper (pericarp) removing both the glands and seeds.

2. Next, pre-boil the peppers in a large pot until semi-tender.

3. Create a bed: While the peppers are boiling, add the broth, onions and some of the stewed tomatoes to whatever baking dish you’ll be cooking the stuffed bell peppers in.

Then chop up a small amount of onions and add them to the baking dish too. Once the bell peppers are all done add them to the baking dish.

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4. Cooking the meat and boiling the rice: Place a large size skillet over medium heat then add in the ground beef and sweet Italian sausage and chop it up as it cooks with 2 spatulas so the meat is as fine as possible.

Then add in some chopped onions, garlic paste, celery salt, Italian seasoning, oregano, and black pepper.

Cook until the meat is no longer pink and has browned, then drain the fat. At the same time, boil the rice until tender.

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5. Make the filling: So this is probably the best time to preheat your oven while mixing the filling. So preheat the oven to 350 so it’s hot by the time you’re done making the filling and stuffing the peppers.

Add all the meat to a large mixing bowl then, shred the cheese, and add in the Worcestershire sauce, the ketchup, the tomato paste, half of the remaining stewed tomatoes, the rice, cheese, brown sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes, then stir well.

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6. Stuffing the peppers: Fully stuff the bell peppers… don’t save any of the filling!!! If you have to press some down to make more room, do so! Lol! But fill and stuff these babies up with all that saucy cheesy rice-filled meat!

7. Garnish the top of the peppers Top the peppers with the remaining stewed tomatoes, cheese, and parsley flakes then place them in the oven.

I used a combination of parmesan and cheddar cheese but I only used parmesan cheese in the original recipe for those of you who’ve been following me forever! Lol! 

8. Bake the peppers: Place the stuffed bell peppers in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes!

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Tips for best results

• Use tall peppers: The taller the better! This way you dont have to worry about being left over with too much filling.

The BEST Stuffed Peppers Recipe Ever (Made Easy With Rice & Ground beef) Video

Frequently asked questions

Can you use different color peppers and what’s the difference? Green is the least ripe and the most bitter so it’s not as sweet as the others – red peppers are the sweetest.

So yes you can use different color peppers but don’t expect them to taste exactly the same.

How to store stuffed peppers? Wrap them in plastic wrap or tightly seal them in a Tupperware bowl and sit them in the refrigerator.

How to reheat stuffed peppers? Yes! I usually reheat mine in the microwave and if they’ve gotten really cold while sitting in the fridge.

I’d split them in half and then warm them up because the center will never get hot if you don’t! Lol! You can also place them in the oven on low heat until warm.

How long does stuffed peppers last? They’re best in my experience when eaten within 2 days- 3 days tops.

Do you cover them while baking? No! The peppers will get fork-tender by just baking them. Doesn’t require aluminum foil because they’re already done for the most part because we preboiled them. 

Ok so that’s it, folks. Give this recipe a shot and leave a comment below letting me know how ya like it and please don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more fiya recipes.

Enjoy, later!

PBJ~

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