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Stuffed peppers in a baking dish.
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4.97 from 122 votes

Best Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers are always a family favorite recipe. They're filling, healthy, easily customizable, and are perfect for meal prep (if you're lucky enough to have any leftovers). Watch how I make them in the video below!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Stuffed Bell Peppers, stuffed bell peppers recipe, stuffed peppers, stuffed peppers recipe
Servings: 6 servings
Author: Lisa Bryan

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 6 bell peppers cut in half lengthwise and seeds removed
  • 3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • ½ yellow onion diced
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 (15-ounce can) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 2 cups baby spinach roughly chopped
  • 1 ½ cups cooked rice
  • ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • ½ cup Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
  • chopped parsley for garnishing
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Pre-roast the peppers. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds and membrane. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil and rub both the inside and outside to coat them. Arrange them upside down in two baking pans or one sheet pan and pre-bake for 15 minutes.
    Prepped bell peppers in a dish.
  • Cook the onion and garlic. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the onions and garlic for about 2 minutes, until lightly softened.
    Cooked onions in a pan.
  • Brown the beef. Add the ground beef and cook until the beef is browned, breaking it up with a spatula as needed.
    Ground beef and onions in a pan.
  • Add the flavoring. Drain off any excess liquid from the beef and stir in the diced tomatoes, rice, spinach, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir for a 1 to 2 minutes, until the spinach is wilted.
    Cooked stuffed pepper filling in a pan.
  • Fill the peppers. Remove the bell peppers from the oven and use tongs to flip them over. Fill the peppers with the beef mixture and top with a sprinkle of cheese. Place them back in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the peppers are soft.
    Stuffed peppers before baking.
  • Serve. Before serving, top with fresh chopped parsley.
    Ground beef stuffed peppers.

Video

Notes

  • Each serving is two halves of stuffed pepper.
  • You can bake these in two casserole pans or one larger half-sheet pan. 
  • I prefer to use lean ground beef, so I don't have to drain off any excess grease. But if you have a higher fat content ground beef, you'll likely need to drain some fat. 
  • You can get 1 ½ cups of cooked rice by cooking ½ cup of dry rice (approximately). And if you don't have time to make rice, you can also buy microwaveable rice as a quick and easy shortcut.
  • Freeze for later: You can freeze the peppers for up to 3 months. If you’re stacking them, be sure to place parchment paper between each layer to prevent them from sticking.
  • For reheating: To reheat from frozen, bake the peppers directly in the oven at 350°F for about 10 to 15 minutes. Alternatively, you can microwave them for 3 to 4 minutes. For quicker reheating, I recommend thawing them overnight in the fridge, which will reduce the reheating time by a couple of minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 328kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 115mg | Potassium: 590mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 4736IU | Vitamin C: 156mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 3mg