I make this Stuffed Peppers recipe with a savory pork and beef filling, par-cooked rice, and a rich beefy tomato sauce. It takes me just 25 minutes to prep, and a few simple chef techniques make my recipe unique. It’s perfect for serving for lunch or dinner.
I have a confession about Stuffed Peppers. The rice sitting in the middle of the meat freaked me out as a kid because I was convinced it was bugs. Ridiculous, I know. The ones I grew up with also got cooked so long they got mushy. When you are little, texture is everything. These are the opposite of the ones from my childhood. They taste like the best parts of three things I love. The filling is somewhere between a baked meatball, a golumpki, and a country-style meatloaf, all packed into a roasted sweet pepper and served with a sauce so good you will want to put it on pasta. Sounds good? Let’s cook!
Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed peppers are sweet bell peppers hollowed out and filled with a seasoned meat and rice stuffing. Then they’re baked in a tomato sauce. Grow up in an Italian house like I did and you get oregano, a little basil, mozzarella, and tomato. Grow up in Texas or the Southwest, and you see cumin, chili powder, and a filling that is at least half rice. Mine is the Italian-American version my family made, cooked the way I like it now that I am the one in charge. Ha!
My recipe is really about cooking everything most of the way before it ever meets in the oven. You simmer a beefy tomato sauce, and toast and par-cook the rice right in some of that sauce. Caramelize the onions and peppers, then soak the cubed bread in them. Then give the hollowed peppers a head start in the oven so they finish at the same time as the meat. Everything folds into the filling, gets stuffed and mounded, and bakes under sauce and a little mozzarella. You just need to get the meat combo and the par-cooked rice right, and the rest is mostly a matter of timing. Read through the chef tips below before you start, and I promise these stuffed peppers will come out dang tasty.
I use pork and beef together because that combination is the secret to a filling that stays juicy. I also borrow a trick from Italian meatballs and soak cubed bread into the aromatics so the proteins don’t go dense.
My daughter Olivia was hesitant about these because of the pepper. She ended up liking them, which told me everything, because she is a tough sell. My wife and my in-laws happened to be over the night I made this, and everyone went back for seconds. I highly recommend making these the next time you want a one pan meal to feed the whole table.
Ingredients and Substitutions
This Stuffed Peppers Recipe has 2 main components. The pork-beef filling and the beefy tomato sauce. Here are all the ingredients I use to make both:
- Ground beef and ground pork, I use an 85/15 ground beef with ground pork. The pork is the secret weapon for flavor and juiciness. You can use a lower-fat beef since the pork adds plenty of fat, and grind either one yourself if you like.
- Sweet peppers – Red, orange, or yellow bell peppers, or a combination. They sit on the vine longer than green ones and come out sweeter and fruitier.
- Bread – Crustless cubed white bread, French, or an artisan loaf. It soaks up the oniony, garlicky flavors and holds moisture in the filling, keeping the meat tender.
- Long grain white rice, I like a starchier rice here, and any white rice works. It gets toasted and par-cooked so it finishes exactly when the peppers do.
- Onion and garlic – Caramelized yellow onion brings the umami backbone to the stuffing, and a few minced garlic cloves round it out. A white, sweet, or red onion, or even a shallot, are all fine.
- Oregano and parsley – Dry oregano adds a warm, slightly bitter earthiness and parsley brings fresh color and a bright finish. Both are optional, but the little Italian punch is worth it.
- Tomato paste and tomato puree – The paste gets cooked to a rust color to concentrate its umami and acid, and the puree is the body of the sauce. Buy passata or puree from a brand like Mutti, or blend your favorite canned San Marzano tomatoes.
- Beef stock – Do not skip this. Beef stock with the tomato puree is what makes the sauce taste like it belongs next to the beefy filling. A homemade beef stock is best, but a good boxed brand works too.
- Butter and champagne vinegar – Unsalted butter finishes the sauce with fat, richness, and a beautiful sheen. Champagne vinegar adds just enough acid to sharpen everything without the harsh sting. If you need a substitute, use sherry vinegar or a little lemon juice.
- A bay leaf adds a soft woody, slightly bitter note to the sauce.
- Mozzarella and parmigiano are totally optional but take the whole pan over the top. I like them melted over the top after the foil comes off for richness and a little browning.
- Salt and pepper – I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt and grind my own peppercorns. Ground white pepper goes in the sauce to keep the color consistent.
How to Make Stuffed Peppers
Cook the tomato paste: Add a little olive oil to a medium saucepan over low to medium heat. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until it becomes a rust color.
Simmer the sauce: Pour in the beef stock and bring it to a boil to dissolve the paste and start reducing. Add the tomato puree, bay leaf, salt, and ground white pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer on a back burner until you need it.
Toast the rice: Add the rice to a small pot over low to medium heat. Stir constantly for 3 to 4 minutes until it turns a milky white color. Toasting the grains first is a trick I picked up from some Egyptian friends. It gives you fluffy rice that never clumps.
Par-cook the rice: Stir in some of the tomato sauce, bring it to a boil, and cover. Simmer on low for 8 minutes. Pull it right at or just before al dente, firm but not crunchy. It will finish cooking later in the juices from the meat and peppers. Fluff with a fork and lay it in a thin layer on a plate to cool.
Caramelize the onions: Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion with a little salt to draw out moisture, and cook 5 minutes until the edges brown. Drop the heat to low and cook for another 10 minutes stirring occasionally, until they are soft and sweet.
Add peppers, garlic, and bread: Stir in the diced peppers with a pinch of salt and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds until fragrant. Then add the cubed bread and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, just until it soaks up the juices. Set the pan aside to cool.
Prep and Roast the peppers: Slice about 1/2 inch off the tops of the sweet peppers and remove the pith and stem. Small dice one from each color of the tops for the filling, about a cup, and save the rest. Rub the inside of each hollowed pepper with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and stand them in a 13×9 casserole dish. Roast at 425°F for 15 minutes to soften, then take them out and set the oven to 375°F.
Mix the filling: Add the cooled rice, half the parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, and the onion-pepper-bread mixture to a large bowl and mix to distribute. Add the ground beef and pork and fold just until combined. Use your fingers like rakes, reach under, lift, and separate. Fry a small piece of the filling in a little oil, then taste it. There is no better way to know your seasoning is right. If it needs more salt or pepper, add it and fry another piece.
Stuff the peppers: Spoon the filling into each roasted pepper, filling without packing it tight so the juices stay in, and mound it about 1/2 inch to an inch over the rim.
Finish the sauce and bake covered: Stir the butter and champagne vinegar into the reduced sauce until combined. Scrape any fond off the sides of the pot back in. Spoon a few tablespoons of sauce over each pepper and pour the rest into the dish, reserving about a cup for plating. Cover with foil and bake at 375°F for 35 to 40 minutes, until the center reaches about 120°F.
Add cheese and finish: Remove the foil, sprinkle on the mozzarella and parmigiano if using, and bake uncovered another 15 to 20 minutes until it reaches about 150 to 155°F internally. Let the peppers rest a few minutes, then garnish with the remaining parsley.
Chef Tip + Notes
If you love stuffed peppers the one step I will never let you skip is par-cooking the rice before it ever goes near the oven, ok. Most people make one of two mistakes: adding the rice raw, which leaves you with hard, crunchy grains, or cooking it all the way through, which makes it mushy as the peppers bake under the foil. I cook mine until just before al dente so it finishes cooking in the moisture released by the meat and peppers, giving it the perfect texture every time.
- Soak the bread into the aromatics: Add the cubed crustless bread to the cooked onions and peppers and let it soak up the juices for a few minutes before it goes into the filling. It helps retain moisture and prevents the meat proteins from tightening too much, keeping the stuffing soft and tender, exactly how I like it
- Fold the meat, do not knead it: Use your fingertips to lift and separate the meat into the rice and vegetables, and stop the second it is combined. Working it like meatball mix sets the proteins and gives you a tough, meatloaf-dense center.
- Roast the peppers first: Take a very thin slice off the bottom of each pepper so they stand up straight. Be careful not to cut all the way through, or the filling will leak out. Give the hollowed peppers 15 minutes in a hot oven before stuffing. They cook slower than the meat, and a head start is what gets tender peppers and juicy filling at the same time instead of one overdone.
- Use a thermometer: Pull the pan at about 120°F under the foil, then take it to 150 to 155°F after the cheese goes on. Overcooking is what gave stuffed peppers their mushy reputation, and a thermometer is the easiest way to stop that.
Serving Suggestions
On a weeknight, I serve these right out of the casserole dish with a homemade French bread to mop up the sauce, and that is the whole dinner. When I have more time or people over, I plate each pepper with a spoonful of the reserved sauce, a little extra parsley, and prepare a big bowl of Italian salad and a basket of homemade dinner rolls so the table has something to pass around.
That sauce is too good to let stop at the peppers, so I always make a little extra and toss it with pasta the next day, almost like a quick version of my spaghetti and meatballs. It is the same beefy, tomatoey backbone as a long-simmered marinara sauce, and any leftover stuffed pepper gets chopped and folded into eggs the next morning the way I would use leftover meatloaf.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: I serve these within an hour of baking for the best texture, and if I need to hold them, I keep them covered in the oven under 200°F until it is time to eat.
How to Store: Cover and keep in the sauce in the refrigerator for up to 3 day. Freeze them in the sauce for up to 3 months, then thaw in the refrigerator for a day before reheating.
How to Reheat: I add the peppers and sauce to a casserole dish, cover with foil, and bake on a middle rack at 375°F for about 45 minutes, or until hot in the center.
More Beef Recipes
Stuffed Peppers Recipe
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
- 4 cups beef stock
- 24 ounces tomato puree
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons champagne vinegar
- Salt and ground white pepper to taste
For the Peppers
- 1/3 cup long grain white rice
- 2/3 cup stuffed peppers sauce
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onions, small diced
- 3 bell pepper tops, small diced
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2 cups crustless cubed white bread
- 6 sweet peppers, tops removed and hollowed out
- 1 pound 85/15 ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 teaspoons dry oregano
- 1 tablespoons finely minced parsley
- 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Sauce
- Add the olive oil to a medium to large sized sauce pot over low to medium heat. Stir in the tomato paste and cook it for 3 to 4 minutes or until it becomes a rust like color.
- Pour in the beef stock and bring it to a boil. Next, add in the tomato puree, bay leaf, salt, and pepper and simmer over low heat for 45 to 60 minutes, or until you need it for this recipe.
- When you’re ready to use it, finish it with the butter, and vinegar and stir it in until it’s completely combined.
For the Peppers
- Preheat the oven to 425°.
- Add the rice to a small sized sauce pot over low to medium heat and stir the rice constantly to toast it until it becomes a milky white color, which takes about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Next, add 2/3 cup of the sauce and bring to a boil over high heat. Add on a lid and simmer over low heat for 8 minutes. Using a fork fluff the rice and transfer to a plate and spread it into a thin layer on a plate to cool.
- Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a large sauté pan over medium heat and add in the onions with a gentle season of salt. Saute for 5 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Turn the heat down to low and cook for 10 minutes while occasionally stirring.
- Stir in the peppers and cook for 6 to 8 minutes to soften. Then, stir in the garlic and cook just until fragrant.
- Toss in the bread and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the bread is coated in the juices from the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside to cool.
- In the meantime, place hollowed out peppers in a 13×9 casserole dish cut side up. Evenly drizzle them with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and brush the oil in the peppers. Season them with salt and pepper and bake on a middle rack in the oven at 425° for15 minutes. Remove and let them sit to slightly cool at room temperature. Turn the heat down to 375°.
- In a large bowl add in the cooked rice, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, and bread onion mixture and mix to combine. Next, add in the ground beef and pork and thoroughly mix it together. Fry a small piece in a oil to make sure it’s properly seasoning.
- Next, stuff the hollowed out peppers with the meat mixture. Fill it up but don’t compact them too tightly. They should have a mound coming out over the top.
- Drizzle a few tablespoons of the sauce over the top of each stuffed pepper and then pour the remaining sauce into the casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake on a middle rack in the oven at 375° for 35-40 minutes or until it reaches around 120° internally.
- Then, remove the foil, evenly add on optional cheese to the tops of the stuffed peppers and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until it reaches around 155° internally.
- Let the peppers slightly cool and then serve with an optional garnish of parsley.
Stuffed Peppers Recipe