Stuffed Bell Peppers
Quick answer
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...
What makes this special
- A thin base trim keeps each bell pepper upright while beef, rice, and mozzarella fill and top the cavity.
- Seasoning the filling slightly salty balances the pepper's natural sweetness
- Adding mozzarella at the 30-minute mark seals the filling moist for the final ten minutes
Key ingredients
Core cooking flow
- 1 Cut the tops from 4 bell peppers like lids, then remove the seeds and pale ribs.
- 2 Heat a pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- 3 Add 300 g ground beef and break it apart as it cooks.
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. 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.
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
Stir in half of the 250 ml tomato sauce and 2 cups cooked rice until evenly coated.
Taste the filling and season it a little boldly, because the sweet peppers will soften the saltiness after baking.
- 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.
After the steps
Pick a recipe that fits this dish.
Continue with shared ingredients, meal pairings, or a similar method.
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