Stuffed Bell Peppers
Quick answer
- Total time
- 60 min
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
Stuffed bell peppers are hollowed out, filled with a sautéed mixture of ground beef, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, and cooked rice, then baked until the peppers soften and the filling is heated through.
Read more
Trimming the tiniest slice from the bottom of each pepper creates a flat base so they stand upright in the baking dish without tipping over, but cutting too deep will open a hole and leak filling. The filling should be seasoned a touch saltier than seems right on its own, because the pepper's natural sweetness will balance it out during baking. After 30 minutes at 190 degrees Celsius, mozzarella goes on top for a final 10-minute bake that melts the cheese into a seal over the filling, keeping it moist. The interplay of the pepper's sweetness, the tomato sauce's acidity, and the beef's savory depth makes this a nutritionally balanced one-dish meal.
Ingredients
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Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Prep
Cut the tops from 4 bell peppers like lids, then remove the seeds and pale ribs.
If a pepper wobbles, trim only a very thin slice from the bottom so it stands without opening a hole.
- 2Control
Heat a pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Add 90 g onion and 12 g garlic, then sauté until the onion looks slightly translucent and the garlic smells fragrant, without letting it brown hard.
- 3Heat
Add 300 g ground beef and break it apart as it cooks.
Keep the heat at medium and sauté until no red color remains and excess moisture has mostly evaporated, so the filling will not turn watery in the oven.
- 4Season
Add half the tomato sauce and 2 cups rice, then mix evenly.
Turn off the heat when the rice and beef are evenly coated with sauce.
- 5Season
Fill the peppers without packing the mixture too tightly, then stand them upright in a baking dish.
Pour the remaining tomato sauce around them so the bases stay moist and the peppers soften without drying at the edges.
- 6Heat
Bake in a 190C oven for 30 minutes, until the peppers soften but still hold their shape.
Add 120 g mozzarella on top and bake 10 more minutes, until the cheese melts over the filling and looks lightly settled.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- A thin base trim keeps each bell pepper upright while beef, rice, and mozzarella fill and top the cavity.
- Finish cue
- Add 90 g onion and 12 g garlic, then sauté until the onion looks slightly translucent and the garlic smells fragrant, without letting it brown hard.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official cooking and food safety guidance.
This recipe
60min, 8 ingredients
Category median
40min, 8 ingredients
Based on 309 recipes
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