Classic Stuffed Peppers
Whole bell peppers filled with seasoned ground beef, rice and tomatoes, then baked under melted mozzarella. The recipe makes 6 stuffed peppers and takes about 1 hour 20 minutes.
Equipment
- Medium saucepan
- Large nonstick skillet
- Baking dish
- Aluminum foil
Ingredients
For the Peppers
- 6 bell peppers medium-large, any color
- salt a pinch for the inside of each pepper
For the Beef and Rice Filling
- 2/3 cup long-grain white rice uncooked
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion finely chopped, about 1 cup
- 1 1/4 pounds lean ground beef 90% lean
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper plus more to taste
- 3 cloves garlic minced, about 1 tablespoon
- 14.5 ounces canned petite diced tomatoes 1 can, drained
- 8 ounces canned tomato sauce 1 can, divided
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley minced, plus more for garnish
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
For the Topping
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 4 ounces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cook the rice according to the package directions.
- Slice about 1/4 inch off the top of each pepper, then remove the stems, ribs and seeds. Pour about 1/2 inch of water into a baking dish just large enough to hold the 6 peppers. Stand the peppers upside down in the water, cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- While the peppers bake, heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Push the onion to one side of the pan. Add the ground beef in chunks, season it with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and let it brown on the bottom for about 3 minutes.
- Break up the beef, stir it into the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute more, until the beef is cooked through. Take the pan off the heat and drain off the excess fat.
- Stir in the drained diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce, the cooked rice, 3 tablespoons of parsley and the Italian seasoning. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Turn the peppers upright in the dish and sprinkle a pinch of salt inside each one. Fill the peppers with the beef and rice mixture and pour the remaining tomato sauce over the tops.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- Uncover, sprinkle the mozzarella over the peppers and bake uncovered for 10 to 20 minutes more, until the cheese is melted and the peppers are as tender as you like. Garnish with more parsley and serve warm.
Notes
Source and method: The ingredients, amounts, oven temperatures and bake times follow Cooking Classy's Stuffed Peppers.
Salt and pepper: Cooking Classy seasons to taste without giving an amount. The 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper for the filling come from Cupcakes and Kale Chips' Classic Stuffed Peppers, which uses a similar amount of beef. That pairing is untested as one recipe, so taste the filling before you stuff the peppers; if you are watching salt, start with 1/2 teaspoon.
Total time: The 1 hour 20 minutes on this card is the prep time plus the cook time.
Rice: 2/3 cup of uncooked long-grain white rice makes about 2 cups cooked. Brown rice works but takes more than twice as long to cook; use 2 cups cooked. With leftover rice from the day before, add an extra 1/4 cup of tomato sauce or a little broth, because it is drier.
Ground turkey: Ground turkey (85 to 93% lean) can replace the beef. It will not brown the same way, so skip the browning-on-the-bottom step.
Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days and reheat at 350°F until warmed through. Baked stuffed peppers can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months; thaw in the fridge before reheating.
Nutrition: Calculated per stuffed pepper (1/6 of the recipe) from USDA values for the ingredients as listed, using raw 90% lean ground beef with no fat drained off, the whole can of tomatoes and whole milk mozzarella. It does not include the pinch of salt inside each pepper or any salt in the rice cooking water.