Stuffed Peppers

Besides a good ol' chicken dinnerif there's one weeknight staple we are very familiar withit's stuffed peppers. Strong enough to hold their shapebell peppers are also large enough to hold a decent amount of filling while taking on a variety of flavors—they're the perfect vessel for countless combinations and ingredients. This versatile meal is not only simple to makebut feeds families big and smallmaking it a cheap & easy weeknight dinner legend. While I love all our experiments with countless variationsthis classicstraightforward recipe is hard to beat. Make it as-is using all my tips and tricksthen use it as a jumping-off point to get creative and create your own dream stuffed peppers. Here's everything you need to know:

What People Are Saying:
"This is a great basic start to stuffed peppers. The sky is the limit from here. I have made this several timesnot really following the recipe but using it as a guideline in a zillion different variations." - Dustinzzz

"I have made this dishusing this recipeat least twenty times. My family and friends beg me to make it! I make it exactly as written with the exception of substituting cauliflower rice for actual ricemaking it into a low carb dish. Otherwiseit IS the perfect stuffed pepper dishexactly as written. Perfect every time." - Francebrun

How To Make Stuffed Peppers

INGREDIENTS

• Rice: Either works herethough you’ll definitely want to plan ahead if you’re cooking brown rice the same night as your peppers (it can take up to an hour to cookwhereas white usually takes less than 30 minutes). Not a rice cooking pro yet? Follow food editor Taylor Ann’s guides to cooking both brown and white riceand you’ll be a master in no time.
• Tomato Paste: If you’re like meevery time you need tomato paste for a recipeyou open a canuse a few tablespoonsthen pop the can back in the fridge to wait to be thrown away next time you do a fridge clean out. Relatable? You’ve got to try my new hack: whenever you open a canspoon all the tomato paste from it onto a small sheet pan or platethen freeze it. Once it’s frozen enough to not stick togetherstore them in an airtight container. Next time you need just one or two tablespoonsyou can use your frozen backstock instead of opening a new can—just cook it for a little longer than you normally would!
• Ground Beef: I usually default to 85/15 (85 percent lean meat and 15 percent fat) or 90/10but use whatever you like here.
• Diced Tomatoes: I love the convenience of canned tomatoesbut not all are created equal. My favorite brand is San Marzano because I find it to be the most consistentbut other brands will work. Look for ones that have short ingredient lists (just tomatoessaltcitric acidand water or tomato juice). I haveon occasionbeen known to use fire-roasted or tomatoes with green chiles herebut I never want ones that contain any added sugar or additives.
• Bell Peppers: You can go with any colors herebut keep this in mind: standard redyellowand orange are usually a little sweeter than their green or purple counterpartswhich lean towards grassier and slightly bitter. Any will work herebut I do recommend trying to buy ones that are similar in sizeboth height- and width-wise.
• Monterey Jack Cheese: This is my favorite cheese to use here because it’s a little buttery and nuttybut whatever cheese you like works—try cheddar for a sharpermore robust flavorpepper Jack for a little kickor even a Mexican blend for a little variety. Though I’m usually a bit proponent of shredding your own cheesefor this family-friendly mealI’m okay with saying you can use the pre-shredded kind.
• Parsley: This is my preferred garnishbut anything that adds a little pop of green will work here—chivesthymeeven scallions would be great.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Start by preheating your oven to 400°and making your rice if you haven't yet. PersonallyI like to get my peppers prepped and cut before making the fillingso I don’t have to multitask too much. Here’s how I do it: I cut off the top (using a small paring knife to carve a circle around the stemkind of like when carving a pumpkin)then I pull out the core and the seeds. I suggest turning the peppers upside down over the sink and tapping them to get the excess seeds out. You could even try rinsing the peppers out if you need some extra help. If a few seeds stay indon’t panic—it won’t mess up your dish.

Once your peppers are readyget a large skillet and some oil heating over medium heat. Add your onionsgarlicand tomato paste in stagesletting each one cook a bit before adding the next. You might be tempted to just chuck in your tomato paste with your ground beefbut trust me—letting it cook on its own for a minute or two helps caramelize it and bring out some of its more complex flavors (AND helps get rid of any leftover taste from the can it came in).

Once your aromatics are softened and fragrantadd your ground beef. Cook itbreaking it up with your spoonuntil it’s no longer pink (a little under is okaybecause it’s going to get baked). Drain the excess oil if needed.

Stir in your cooked rice and diced tomatoesthen add your oreganosaltand pepper. Taste for seasoning herethen let it cook down for a few minutes until the liquid is reduced a bit.

Then fill your peppers! I like to drizzle my empty peppers with a little oil to keep them nice and supple while bakingand then do a little on top to guarantee a flavorful and tasty topbut it’s up to you.

Once you’ve got your peppers filledtop them with cheesethen wrap your whole pan in foil and pop it in the oven.

Most of the baking will happen while the peppers are coveredbut you do want to give them a little uncovered time in the oven to make sure that the cheese gets nice and bubbly. 10 minutes should be enoughbut feel free to let it go a little longer (especially if you’re using pre-shredded cheese that can take a bit longer to melt).

Garnish with a little green if you desirethen serve!

The full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• Do you need to cook peppers before stuffing them? You canbut I prefer not to. The peppers are easier to fill when they’re still rawand this way they still retain a little bit of texture after they’ve been baked. If you do cook them before stuffingmake sure not to over-bake them—you want them to be tenderbut not mushy or soggy.

Stuffed Pepper Variations

This is our classicbeef-filled recipebut we love a creative stuffed pepper here at Delish. We have plenty of stuffed pepper recipes you should check outbut here are a few of my personal favorites:

• Roasted Ricotta-Stuffed Peppers
• Pizza-Stuffed Peppers
• Cheesesteak-Stuffed Peppers
• Shakshuka-Stuffed Peppers
• Chicken Parm-Stuffed Peppers
• Grilled Stuffed Peppers

Storage

If you want to prep this a day aheadcut and core your peppersthen store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Prepare your filling as directedthen store it in a separate airtight container in the fridge. When you're ready to servesimply fill and bake until tender. You can also assemble these through step 4and then freeze the entire baking tray for up to three months. Hot tip: freeze them in the baking traythen wrap them up individually—then you can cook just one or two peppers at a timewithout having to make the whole tray.

When you’re ready to bakeyou can either pull them out to defrost the night before and bake them for the regular timeor bake them from frozenbeing mindful that they will take ~30 minutes longer to cook.