Stuffed Bell Peppers with Ground Beef and Rice — Sweet bell peppers are stuffed with a mixture of Italian sausage, ground beef, rice, and veggies then topped with CHEESE! This is a great meal prep recipe that comes in handy on busy weeknights! EASY, hearty, comfort food that the whole family will love!
Table of Contents
- Easy Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe
- Ingredients for Classic Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Ingredients Tips
- How to Make Stuffed Bell Peppers with Ground Beef and Rice
- Make-Ahead Instructions
- Stuffed Peppers Recipe Tips
- Recipe FAQs
- Recipe Variations to Try
- Storage and Reheating Instructions
- What to Serve with Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Easy Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe
- More Easy Stuffed Recipes:
Easy Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe
After years of making my favorite stuffed pepper soup, I’m finally sharing my recipe for actual stuffed bell peppers. Stuffed Italian bell peppers with rice are a family favorite that everyone loves!
Bell peppers are first par-baked in the oven while the ground beef, sausage, and rice filling is prepared on the stovetop. In just 20 minutes, the filling and peppers are both done and you can tackle the really fun part of this recipe — stuffing the peppers!
I topped my rice-stuffed bell peppers with cheddar cheese and it becomes golden and bubbly and provides a nice ‘lid’ that secures the stuffing in place. Not to mention cheese makes any veggie-centric dinner more popular with my family!
Assembling stuffed bell peppers is a little more labor intensive than my go-to 30-minute dinners, but the few minutes of extra effort is worth it! The peppers freeze like a dream and are great to have stashed away for busy weeknights, last-minute dinner guests, and quick lunches.
If you’re looking for a hearty but healthier dinner idea that’s packed with veggies, can be assembled in advance, and reheats well the next day, make these sausage, rice, and beef stuffed bell peppers!
Ingredients for Classic Stuffed Bell Peppers
You don’t need any special ingredients to make these stuffed peppers!
Here’s what you’ll want to have on hand:
- Bell peppers (any color you like – red pepper, orange bell peppers, or green are the most common!)
- Ground Italian sausage (sweet Italian or hot)
- Ground beef
- Onion
- Celery
- Garlic
- Worcestershire sauce
- Marinara sauce
- Beef broth
- Granulated sugar
- All-purpose seasoning
- Dried oregano
- Cooked rice (any type of rice)
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Shredded cheddar cheese
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Stuffed Bell Peppers with Ground Beef and Rice
To streamline the assembly process when making these Italian stuffed bell peppers, be sure to get the peppers into the oven first and then make the filling as they bake. By the time the peppers are done, the filling should also be complete and you can begin stuffing the peppers right away.
Partially Bake the Bell Peppers
- Cut the very tops off of the peppers and remove the seeds and white ribs inside. Place cut-side down in a 9×13-inch baking dish and pour 1 cup of water into the dish.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake the bell peppers for 20 mins.
Make the Stuffed Pepper Filling
- While the peppers are baking, in a large skillet, brown the ground beef and Italian sausage.
- Add the onions, celery, and garlic. Cook until the onions are soft, stirring with a wooden spoon frequently.
- Stir in the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, marinara sauce, sugar, and spices. Bring the filling to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove the ground beef mixture from the heat. Stir in the cooked rice and grated Parmesan.
Stuff and Bake the Bell Peppers
- Remove the bell peppers from the oven. Discard the water.
- Turn the peppers so they’re cut-side up. Fill each pepper with the prepared filling.
- Cover the baking dish loosely with foil and return to the oven. Bake for an additional 25 minutes.
- Remove the foil, top the ground beef and rice-stuffed peppers with cheddar cheese and broil just until the cheese starts to bubble and turn brown.
Make-Ahead Instructions
Bell peppers stuffed with rice, ground beef, and sausage are great for meal prepping and can be prepared partially or completely in advance.
- Just the filling: Can be cooked on the stovetop, allowed to cool, and then refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen for up to 3 months. When ready to use, par-bake the bell peppers as instructed before stuffing.
- Fully assembled, but not baked: Par-bake the peppers, prepare the filling, stuff the peppers, and then refrigerate for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, finish baking as instructed.
- Fully assembled and baked: Let the stuffed bell peppers cool before sealing in a zip-top bag or container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Stuffed Peppers Recipe Tips
- Partially cook the bell peppers before stuffing. This ensures they’re entirely cooked by the time the filling is heated through. Technically you may skip par-baking the bell peppers, but know in advance that they’ll retain some crunch even after being filled and baked.
- Use a blend of ground beef and sausage. Using both kinds of meat adds so much texture and flavor to the bell pepper filling! If you only have one or the other on hand, then use what you have. Tip – You might want to add more herbs and spices if using just ground beef since Italian sausage is very well seasoned.
- Use any Italian sausage you like. I used mild sweet Italian sausage, but you may use hot if desired.
- To save time, use packets of pre-cooked ready rice or use leftover rice from last night’s dinner. You can use white rice, long-grain, brown rice, a rice pilaf, rice medley – whatever you have is fine.
- To control the saltiness of the dish, use low sodium beef broth and add more salt to taste to the filling.
Recipe FAQs
Bell peppers need more time in the oven to cook through completely than the filling does. Par-boiling them first in the oven ensures they’ll be tender (but not mushy!) after being stuffed and baked again.
Yes, but the bell peppers will be slightly crispy still when you serve them. If that doesn’t bother you, feel free to skip par-baking the peppers.
Stuffed bell peppers can become soggy if they’ve been overcooked or if you added too much liquid to the filling. If you follow this recipe as instructed, you shouldn’t have any issues!
I like to cut off the very tops and use a paring knife to remove the seeds and white pith. When you stuff the peppers, they should stand upright without issue in the baking dish.
The stuffed bell peppers might wobble a bit if they’re uneven on the bottom. If that’s the case, cut off just enough of the bottom of the peppers to make them stand up straight. Make sure you don’t cut through the bottom of the peppers, though, or else the filling will ooze out.
Recipe Variations to Try
- Switch out the protein. I used a mixture of ground Italian sausage and ground beef, but you can try using ground chicken or ground turkey, all ground beef or sausage, ground pork, etc.
- Use a different grain. I used cooked white rice, but brown rice, quinoa, orzo, etc. may all be used.
- Try adding other vegetables. But just don’t add too many veggies to the filling or else it will have too much liquid. But a couple handfuls of spinach or kale, some shredded zucchini, or even canned or frozen corn may be added.
- Use a different blend of cheeses. I love the combination of cheddar and Parmesan, but you can use pretty much any cheese or blend of cheeses you like. Monterey Jack or pepper Jack cheese are two good ones to top the peppers with since they melt really nicely.
- Replace the marinara sauce. You can use regular tomato sauce that’s been seasoned with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, or you can try using pizza sauce.
- Mexican Stuffed Peppers. Add a few shakes of red chili flakes or some chili powder to the filling mixture. Cumin is also a nice spice that pairs well. If you’re cranking up the heat a bit, I can’t resist a bit of cilantro also added in. If you like black beans, they’re also a good one to really bulk up and stretch the filling mixture.
What to Serve with Stuffed Bell Peppers
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Easy Stuffed Bell Peppers
Equipment
- 1 large skillet I use enameled cast iron
- 1 9×13-inch baking pan I use porcelain or ceramic or glass (recommended over metal)
Ingredients
- 6 large bell peppers, any color, with tops cut off and seeds removed
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage, I use sweet Italian, you can use hot if desired
- 1 pound ~90% lean ground beef
- 1 small white or yellow onion, diced small
- 1 celery rib, diced small
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 ½ cups marinara sauce
- 1 cup reduced sodium beef broth
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, optional but recommended for flavor balance
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning, or poultry seasoning or seasoning blend
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 ½ cups COOKED rice
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided (I use white cheddar, any cheddar is fine)
Instructions
Peppers
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Remove the top of each pepper by slicing it off horizontally, and using a paring knife, remove the seeds and white from the inside, carefully. Tips – If you can't get all the white out, it's fine. I just like to remove any very obvious white membrane. If desired, evenly season the inside of each pepper with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Place the peppers in a 9×13-inch baking dish with the cut side (tops) down. Tips – I recommend using a porcelain, ceramic, or glass baking dish rather than metal for a better results.
- Add 1 cup of water. The pepper should not tip over but if one does, make sure to stand it back up, cut side facing down.
- Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Tips – This is calling par-baking or par-boiling the peppers and is done so that the finished peppers are soft and tender. If you don't mind or like a crunchier finished pepper, then you can omit par-baking. However, in traditional stuffed peppers recipes, the peppers are very soft and if that's your goal, then you need to par-bake and cannot skip this step. While the peppers are par-baking, you must continue on making the filling so it's ready when the peppers are. So carry on! Set a timer because your peppers will likely be done about 10 minutes before the filling is done simmering and you don't want to over-cook them. When peppers are done, take them out of the water and discard the water; set aside until you're ready to fill them
Filling
- To a large skillet, add the ground sausage, ground beef, and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until nearly done; crumble and stir frequently to ensure even cooking. I don't drain off any fat/water/cooking juices but if you seem to have an excessive amount, you can.
- Add the onions, celery, and cook for about 4 minutes, or until quite soft and translucent and proteins are fully cooked; stir very frequently.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant; stir continuously.
- Add the marinara sauce, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, optional but recommended sugar, all-purpose seasoning, dried oregano, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes; stir occasionally. The goal is to have a juicy but not overly soupy/watery mixture when done simmering.
- Add the rice, Parmesan, stir to combine, and remove from the heat. Tip – I love microwaving a packet of ready rice in 90 seconds to save lots of time rather than cooking rice from scratch for this recipe.
Stuffing the Peppers
- If you haven't already, remove the baking pan with the peppers from the oven, carefully peel back the foil (save it), take the peppers out of the baking pan, place them on a plate or a clean countertop, discard the par-boiling water, spray the baking dish very well with cooking spray; set aside.
- Fill each pepper with filling about 3/4 of the way full; or as dictated by the amount of filling you have so that each pepper is stuffed evenly. Place the peppers in the prepared baking dish, this time with the cut side up, so the filling stays in them.
Baking
- Cover the peppers again with your saved sheet of foil and bake covered (do NOT add water this time) for about 25 minutes.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven, peel back the foil, and evenly top eah pepper with the 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese.
Broiling
- Place the cheese topped peppers under the broiler and broil on HIGH for about 2 minutes, or until the cheese is as lightly golden browned as desired. This is technically optional, but it's very hard to achieve golden cheese without broiling, unless you bake for much longer, at which point the peppers would turn to must. Broiling Tips – Use extreme caution when broiling because food can go from underdone to burnt in a minute flat and that would be an ultimate shame at this stage in the recipe! Be careful, don't turn your back on it or leave your kitchen!
Serving, Storage, and Make Ahead Instructions
- Serve peppers immediately. Extra stuffed peppers will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. For Make-Ahead instructions, read the blog post section entitled "Make Ahead" for info on how to make any aspect of the peppers ahead of time and/or store and then cook and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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