Description
An old-fashioned recipe for beef stuffed peppers and other stuffed vegetables.
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
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
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 Stuffed Peppers 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
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: American
