Name: Stuffed Peppers Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: PT-475969H44M56S
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 6-8 Green Peppers – Cored (the inside flesh scooped out); optional – 2 Red onions with middle layers scooped out by spoon; 2 pounds of ground beef – I like to use sirloin because it has less fat; 1 medium onion – chopped; 1 large tomato; 1 zucchini – peeled and chopped; 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder; 1 tsp. of salt; ground black pepper – a couple of twists on the pepper grinder – or – a couple of dashes; 1 Tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce; 1 large can (about 16 oz.) of tomato sauce – divided; Cooked Rice – 2 cups of cooked white rice; 6 Tbsp. Butter (divided) – unsalted or salted; optional: shredded cheese for topping

Jump to Recipe

This is a classic recipe for Beef Stuffed Peppers. It is a perfect recipe for harvest season and a great comfort food dish for fall and winter. Easy to make and so delicious.

Stuffed Peppers Recipe (and other Vegetables)

This beef mixture can be used to stuff peppers or other vegetables. I usually stuff only peppers, but I thought I’d give red onions a try today. Together, they are delicious.

What I love about this recipe:

the beef mixture is a great base for stuffing lots of different vegetables
it’s an old-fashioned tried and true recipe
the ingredients are simple. You can find everything at your local grocery store and most in your garden

FAQs

Make-Ahead and Storage:

How far in advance can I make stuffed peppers?

About 2 days in advance.

Prepare peppers just as you would if you were baking them immediately, except for adding the tomato sauce. Store covered in the refrigerator

When ready, pour the tomato sauce into the bottom of the pan and over the peppers before baking

Storage: Store any leftovers covered in the fridge

Reheating: Try to add fresh tomato sauce to the pan and the top of the peppers for reheating. Reheat leftover stuffed peppers in a covered baking dish for 15-20 minutes or until heated through

Can a Stuffed Pepper be frozen?

Yes! You can freeze stuffed peppers for a few months. They can be frozen cooked or uncooked

Tips for storing in the freezer:

Use an aluminum baking pan to store peppers in. This will ease the transition from freezer to oven. Just be sure to cover the top of it and remember to cover peppers with foil for baking

Thawing stuffed peppers:

To thaw bake stuffed peppers.

Cooked Frozen Stuffed Peppers – bake cooked stuffed peppers at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes

Uncooked Frozen Stuffed Peppers – be sure to add about 20 minutes to the regular baking time

Does the ground beef need to be pre-cooked before adding it to the peppers?

I think so. Cooking the vegetables along with the ground beef really melds the flavors together

What goes well with Stuffed Peppers?

mashed potatoes
corn on the cob
a side salad
baked potato

What are some other vegetables that are good for stuffing with beef?

tomatoes
zucchini
sweet onions
eggplant
squash

Tips and Tricks:

Adding shredded cheese to the top of stuffed vegetables is a way to add more delicious flavor
Use this beef mixture as a base to stuff all sorts of vegetables. Great vegetables for stuffing include acorn squash, tomatoes, sweet onion, and butternut squash
Because the tomato sauce tends to dry out a little when baked, add more sauce to the top of the peppers and the bottom of the pan before reheating

If you are ready to make these delicious stuffed vegetables. Then, let’s make sure you have everything you’ll need:

Ingredients:

Green Peppers – Cored – Try to find some that have some width to them for stuffing
ground beef – I like to use ground sirloin
onion – chopped. Try using a sweet onion like a purple onion or Vidalia
zucchini – peeled and chopped. This is a delicious addition, but if you don’t have zucchini that’s ok
tomato – a juicy beef steak works well for the tomato
garlic powder
salt
ground black pepper – a couple of twists on the pepper grinder – or – a couple of dashes
Worcestershire sauce
tomato sauce – divided
Cooked white rice – 2 cups of cooked rice
Butter – I used unsalted butter because that’s all I had on hand, but I really think salted butter would be heavenly

How do you Make Stuffed Peppers?

Instructions:

Cook rice
Cut, core, and boil peppers
Cook beef
Add vegetables to beef and cook until tender
Add rice to vegetables and beef
Pour half of the tomato sauce into the bottom of the pot
Add the boiled peppers that have been drained
Stuff them with beef, rice, and vegetable mixture
Pour more tomato sauce over the peppers and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
Serve with bread, salad, and green beans

More Main Dishes

Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta

Roast Beef with Pepperoncini

Chicken A La King Recipe

Stuffed Peppers Recipe

★ 5 Stars ☆ ★ 4 Stars ☆ ★ 3 Stars ☆ ★ 2 Stars ☆ ★ 1 Star ☆

No reviews

Author: Melissa
Total Time: 0 hours
Yield: 8 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Description

An old-fashioned recipe for beef stuffed peppers and other stuffed vegetables.

Instructions

In a large pot, place cored peppers (and optional cored onions) in about an inch of water
Boil the cored peppers until tender (about 10 minutes)
In a large, nonstick skillet, cook the hamburger
*I like to drain the hamburger meat (if necessary) and then use a blender to make the hamburger texture super fine
In the same skillet with the hamburger added back to it, Add the onion, zucchini, tomato, garlic, salt, pepper, 8 oz. of the tomato sauce, and Worcestershire sauce
Continue to cook until all of the vegetables are tender

Mix the rice into the beef mixture
When peppers are tender, drain the water from the peppers and let them cool off a bit
In another large ovenproof pot – or – crock pot, add half of the tomato sauce to the bottom of the pot

start spooning the beef and rice mixture into peppers
Place the peppers, standing up in the oven-proof pot, – or a crock pot – on top of the sauce
Add a little more tomato sauce to the top of each pepper
Cover the pot, and if you’re using the oven (bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes) if you’re using a crockpot, place it on low for the day
Just before serving, add some tomato sauce from the bottom of the pot to the tops of the pepper, and about 1 Tbsp. of butter to the top of each cooked stuffed pepper
while the peppers are still warm you can add (optional) shredded cheese

Notes