stuffed bell peppers

Name: Stuffed Bell Peppers
Prep time: 1 h
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 - medium bell peppers; 1 pound(s) ground chuck; 1 cup(s) instant rice, cooked (or 1 box beef and mushroom Rice-a-Roni); 1 - finely chopped onion; 1 teaspoon(s) olive oil; 1/2 cup(s) chopped celery, optional; 1 can(s) diced tomatoes (or use fresh summertime tomatoes if you have them) (16 oz); 1 tablespoon(s) sugar (or sugar substitute); 1/2 teaspoon(s) dried basil or 2 tsp. fresh basil, chopped (or more if you wish); - shredded cheese of your choice; - salt to boiling water

(11 RATINGS)

6.20K Pinches 11 Photos

Donna Brown

West TN, TN

Updated on Oct 2, 2021

This is a good way to use an abundant supply of fresh veggies in the summer months. We love fresh basil and tomatoes together and have quite a bit of both in the summertime. This dish freezes well for a wintertime treat.

Rate

Blue Ribbon Recipe

A simple and basic recipe for stuffed bell peppers just like mom used to make. The pepper is par-boiled so they're super tender after baking. Inside of the peppers is a yummy rice and meat mixture. Once baked, the cheese on top is a tasty final touch. A great weeknight meal because it comes together in a snap.

— The Test Kitchen

prep time 1 Hr

cook time

method Bake

yield

Ingredients

4 - medium bell peppers
1 pound ground chuck
1 cup instant rice, cooked (or 1 box beef and mushroom Rice-a-Roni)
1 - finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped celery, optional
1 can diced tomatoes (or use fresh summertime tomatoes if you have them) (16 oz)
1 tablespoon sugar (or sugar substitute)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil or 2 tsp. fresh basil, chopped (or more if you wish)
- shredded cheese of your choice
- salt to boiling water

How To Make stuffed bell peppers

Test Kitchen Tips

We baked these for 45 minutes. Once the cheese is added, we baked for another 10-15 minutes.

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2

Fill a large pot with water, add salt and sugar. Boil and add bell pepper that insides have been removed. You can cut the tops off and stuff whole pepper or cut the pepper in half lengthwise. Boil gently until pepper changes color and is tender (about 4-5 minutes).
Step 3

In a skillet, brown ground chuck in oil with onion and celery until meat is no longer pink and onion and celery are tender and opaque, drain well. Add tomatoes and seasoning.
Step 4

Mix in the cooked rice.
Step 5

Stuff peppers with meat mixture. If any meat mixture is left spoon around peppers casserole style. Bake until bubbly and tender.
Step 6

In the last few minutes of cooking, top with shredded cheese and cook until melted.
Step 7

They freeze really well. However, leave off cheese until ready to cook. 
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