Enjoy a family favorite dinner with these Italian-American stuffed peppers made with ground beef, tomato sauce, rice, and a cheesy finish.
Stuffed Peppers
If you’re looking for a dish that marries tradition with a modern twist, look no further than these Italian-American stuffed peppers. Bursting with flavors from seasoned ground beef, rich tomato sauce, rice, and a perfectly melted cheese topping, this recipe is comfort food at its finest. It’s from my friend Dyanne’s grandma, and they’re the best stuffed peppers I’ve had. My husband Tommy said they reminded him of his Uncle Ralph’s meatballs. They’re also freezer-friendly, so you can double the recipe and freeze the other half. If you want to try more, these Turkey Stuffed Peppers with a Mexican twist are also amazing!
Why You’ll Love This Stuffed Pepper Recipe
I love how simple ingredients can come together to create something delicious. Since my husband loves stuffed peppers, I make them quite often for dinner. Here’s why you need to make these easy stuffed peppers a staple in your home:
- Hearty and Satisfying: The combination of ground beef and rice provides a robust, filling mixture.
- Comfort Food: This dish has all the flavors that remind you of home.
- Freezer-Friendly: Double the recipe, let them cool, then freeze for up to 3 months for another night when you don’t have time to cook.
- Dietary Restrictions: Weight Watchers-friendly, gluten-free, high-protein
If you make this healthy stuffed peppers recipe, I would love to see it. Tag me in your photos or videos on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook! And be sure to join the Skinnytaste Community to see what everyone’s cooking!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Stuffing sweet bell peppers with a saucy, cheesy beef and rice mixture creates a comforting, hearty meal that makes an incredible family dinner. See the recipe card below contains the exact measurements.
- 90% Lean Ground Beef: I prefer using ground beef here to keep the traditional taste I grew up with, but any ground meat will work. Using lean ground beef help reduce the calories and fat.
- Rice: You can use any rice, but leftover or instant rice is great if you’re short on time.
- Aromatics: Finely chopped onion and garlic for flavor.
- Cheese: Mix grated Pecorino Romano with the rice and beef, and top each stuffed pepper with shredded mozzarella. If you can’t have dairy you can use dairy-free cheese or omit.
- Basil for a fresh, aromatic taste.
- Egg binds the filling to help hold the ingredients together.
- Tomato Sauce: Mix crushed tomatoes and water (or low-sodium broth) for an easy tomato sauce. Tuttorosso is my go-to for canned tomatoes. Jarred marinara would also work.
- Kosher Salt to season the stuffed pepper filling and tomato sauce.
- Bell Peppers: Buy larger, uniform peppers to make it simpler to stuff them and keep them standing. Choose a variety of colors or use all of one color.
- Mozzarella Cheese: Sprinkle it on top and let it melt before serving.
Here’s How I Make Stuffed Peppers
If you start with cooked rice, making the filling doesn’t take long. Then, while the peppers cook, you can sit back and relax as the oven does all the work. See the printable instructions in the recipe card below.
- Make the Stuffed Pepper Filling by combining the beef, rice, onions, garlic, Pecorino Romano, basil, egg, crushed tomatoes, and salt in a large bowl.
- Make the Tomato Sauce: Stir the water, remaining crushed tomatoes, and salt in a large saucepan.
- Stuff the Peppers with a cup of the rice mixture and place them in the pot with the tomatoes. Ladle some sauce over each.
- Cook the Stuffed Peppers: Cover the pot and cook them on medium-low for 35 to 45 minutes until the bell peppers are tender and the meat is cooked through. Spoon more sauce on each and top with mozzarella. Cover and cook until the cheese is melted.
Tips for Making Perfect Stuffed Peppers
- Pepper Selection: Look for firm, brightly colored peppers. Since they will be stuffed, I like to choose large ones that are even all around.
- Should peppers be cooked before stuffing? You don’t need to cook the bell peppers first. They cook slowly on the stove as the ground beef cooks.
- Getting Peppers to Stand Up: Since these are cooked upright, look for peppers that are level on the bottom or cut a sliver off the bottom to help them stand up.
- Rice Options: Use leftover rice to speed up the process, or cook a fresh batch. Brown rice or instant rice works, too.
- Ground Beef: I loved them with ground beef, but you can use ground turkey or your favorite ground meat.
- Cheese Choices: While mozzarella provides a gooey texture, you can experiment with provolone, a sprinkle of parmesan, or omit it altogether. You can also swap Pecorino Romano for parmesan in the filling.
- Herbs: Fresh basil delivers the best flavor, but you can substitute it with dried. And if you don’t have basil, parsley or oregano will work.
- Sauce: Replace crushed tomatoes and water with jarred marinara or make homemade tomato sauce.
Serving Suggestions
These stuffed peppers with rice and meat are a complete meal. However, if you need to make them more filling, they’d be excellent with a green salad or roasted asparagus.
Storage
- Refrigerate leftovers for 4 days.
- Meal Prep Tip: These stuffed peppers are great for make-ahead meals. Prepare them in advance, refrigerate for up to 2 days, and cook when needed—ideal for busy weekdays.
- Can you freeze stuffed peppers? Yes, you can freeze them for up to 3 months. You can also make and freeze only the filling. When ready to eat, thaw the rice mixture overnight in the fridge, stuff the bell peppers, and cook according to the directions.
- How to Reheat: Microwave or bake the thawed stuffed peppers until warm.
More Bell Pepper Recipes You’ll Love
For more dinner ideas using bell peppers, check out these five delicious stuffed bell pepper recipes to inspire your next meal!
Yield: 4 servings
Serving Size: 1 pepper and sauce
- 1 lb 90% lean ground beef
- 1½ cups partially cooked, leftover or instant rice white rice*
- ½ cup onion, very finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
- ⅓ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
- ¼ cup basil, chopped
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup + 3 tablespoons crushed tomatoes, divided (I love Tuttorosso)
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 cup water, or low sodium broth
- 4 large bell peppers, of various colors, tops cut off and seeded and cored
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
In a large bowl combine ground beef, rice, onion, garlic, Pecorino Romano, basil, egg, 3 tablespoons crushed tomato and 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt and mix well with a fork.
Combine remaining crushed tomato, water and remaining salt in the base of a large saucepan large enough to fit the peppers standing up.
Fill each bell pepper with 1 cup of mixture and nestle the stuffed peppers into the sauce. Ladle a little sauce over each.
Cover and cook the peppers on medium-low heat for 35-45 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the meat is cooked through in the center. Ladle more sauce over each and add 2 tablespoons of mozzarella cheese to the top of each pepper, cover and cook until melted, about 5 minutes.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.- Ready-rice or leftover cooked rice works just the same.
- Regular, uncooked rice will work but will increase the cooking time by an extra 20-25 minutes.
Serving: 1 pepper and sauce, Calories: 449.5 kcal, Carbohydrates: 37.5 g, Protein: 33 g, Fat: 18.5 g, Saturated Fat: 8.5 g, Cholesterol: 139.5 mg, Sodium: 750 mg, Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 8.5 g
