Stuffed Bell Peppers is another seasonal dish that I look forward to making every year. If it’s a good year for peppers, I’ll make it repeatedly! I don’t know why I don’t buy peppers and indulge in making Stuffed Bell Peppers in the winter months – it just doesn’t cross my mind. But all summer long I have my fingers crossed, hoping for a bumper crop of bell peppers, and this year I got my wish. Last year was a banner year for eggplant – this year the peppers took over!
I love comfort food – who doesn’t? But comfort food that takes a lot of time and trouble to prepare, and which results in a pile of dirty dishes, defeats the purpose. This recipe does entail par-cooking the peppers. I tried to avoid this step by stuffing the raw peppers and adding water to the baking dish, then baking them with the lid on, hoping to steam the peppers as they baked. The results were inconsistent and not at all pleasing. So instead of steaming or microwaving the peppers, I simply pre-bake them (before filling) for about 20 minutes in a hot oven, before stuffing them. And of course I bake them in the same dish that I’m baking the stuffed peppers in. No muss, no fuss.
I try to stagger the cooking process. For example, if there are steps that I can do in advance of preparing the evening meal, I’ll take care of those tasks in the morning before I get on with my day, so that when it’s time to prepare dinner, it’s not as much of a production. In this case, I prepare Stuffed Bell Peppers the day following a day when I’ve served rice for dinner, so that I don’t have to make the rice the day of. I use the Instant Pot to prepare rice, so it’s no trouble to make a bit extra the day before so that I have enough left over for stuffing the peppers. Not a big deal, but it does help me to get Stuffed Bell Peppers on the table more quickly. I love to cook (obviously) but I don’t want to spend my whole day doing it!
In addition to being a satisfying and tasty one-dish meal, this recipe is comforting in that it’s so reliable. There’s nothing tricky about it. The number of peppers isn’t an absolute because bell peppers come in many shapes and sizes. Amazingly, regardless of how many peppers you use, 12 large ones or 6 large ones and 8 small ones, no matter. If they fit in your pan, the amount of filling will be exactly what you need to stuff the peppers! If the peppers are falling over because their bottoms are uneven, just cut a sliver, just enough to flatten the bottom without cutting a hole in the bottom of the pepper.
As with most of the dishes I make from harvest fare, Stuffed Bell Peppers are infinitely riffable. You could add black beans, corn, pesto, whatever you have. I prefer aged mozzarella as the cheese topping, but you could use whatever you like, whatever gives you comfort. That’s what it’s all about!
Stuffed Bell Peppers
Equipment
- 9X13 deep dish baking dish with a lid (3.5 quarts)
- 12-inch skillet
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- 12 green peppers (or however many you can fit in your baking dish)
- 1 jalapeno
- ½ sweet onion
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 t kosher salt
- 2 t tamari (gluten-free)
- 2 cups diced tomatoes (strained)
- 1 t dried oregano
- ½ cup grated Parmesan
- 6 ounces shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Cook the rice – Cook the rice according to the package instructions. I use the Instant Pot. You can skip this step if you already have cooked rice on hand, of course.
- Preheat the oven; spray your baking dish; prep the veg – Preheat the oven to 400℉. Spray or coat your baking dish with olive oil. Slice the tops off of the peppers. Stand each of the peppers in the baking dish, shoulder to shoulder. Remove the and discard the stems of the tops, and chop the pepper tops into 1/2-inch pieces. Destem, deseed, and chop the jalapeno. Peel and dice the onion.
- Par-cook the peppers – Bake the peppers to soften them before you stuff them with the filling. Remove from the oven and let them cool a bit so that they're not too hot to handle when filling them.
- Sauté the ground beef and the veg – While the peppers are baking, add the ground beef to your skillet, break it up a bit with your spoon, then season it with salt and tamari. Sauté the ground beef on medium heat, stirring often, until It's mostly browned. It's OK if there's still some pink. Add the chopped peppers and onions to the skillet, and sauté until very soft. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the ground beef and veg, and add it to a large bowl.
- Mix the filling – Add the rice, diced tomatoes, oregano, and grated Parmesan to the bowl and stir until evenly mixed.
- Fill the peppers – Using a large spoon, fill each pepper with the filling, pushing down so that each pepper is completely filled to the top.
- Bake – Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid, top each pepper with a generous amount of shredded mozzarella, distributing it evenly among the peppers, and bake for another 5-10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly. Let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
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