Instant Pot Stuffed Bell Peppers are a quick and easy, flavorful dinner that’s both light and satisfying. Also great as leftovers the next day!
» If you love stuffed peppers, also check out these Air Fryer Jalapeno Poppers.
When it comes to the Instant Pot, we have a list of super easy recipes that we make in it for dinner that just can’t get any easier. These Stuffed Bell Peppers are one of them.
This recipe couldn’t be any easier. The peppers turn out so flavorful and delicious, and there are even a few minor adjustments you can make to change them up so you don’t ever get bored of them.
If you just got your Instant Pot or you haven’t used it yet, this is a great recipe to start with. It’s impossible to mess it up, even if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Why Use An Instant Pot
The Instant Pot is one of the most useful kitchen appliances you can buy, because it drastically cuts down on the cooking time for developing flavors in soups and stews, getting tough cuts of meat tender, and even baking a cheesecake. And there are many accessories that will help you get more out of your Instant Pot.
If you don’t have one yet, check out our guide on which one to buy. You can also check out our Instant Pot page for more information.
What Peppers to Use
You can really use just about any pepper to make stuffed peppers but for this recipe we use bell peppers.
Not only do they stand upright, they are firm enough to hold the ingredients, and they have a nice sweet flavor.
I typically use red bell peppers that are medium in size and that have a flat bottom on them. Red peppers are slightly sweeter than the other options. However, you can use green or yellow bell peppers as well.
If your peppers aren’t flat on the bottom, they won’t stand upright and will be difficult to serve, so be careful in picking. You also want peppers that are pretty uniform in size so they call cook at the same rate.
Ingredients In This Dish
- Bell peppers – Tops cut off, seeds and membranes removed. We chose red bell peppers for this recipe because red are the sweetest but green and yellow work just as well.
- Ground beef – This recipe uses 15% fat ground beef. This gives the beef the fat it needs to be really tender and juicy. It adds a lot of great flavor to the peppers.
- Rice – Cooked. If you want to try cooking rice in the Instant Pot try this recipe.
- Tomato sauce – Tomato sauce gives a great boost of flavor and helps all the ingredients stick together.
- Onion – Half of a medium white or yellow onion, chopped
- Garlic – Freshly mined cloves are best, but chopped garlic from the store will also work.
- Seasonings – Salt, onion powder, cumin, black pepper, and oregano.
How to Make Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers
Start by cutting the tops off the peppers. Take the seeds and membranes out. You don’t have to get too technical about it, just shake out the pepper and pull out the thickest of the white ribs.
In a bowl, combine the ground beef with the remaining ingredients. I just mix it up with my hands. It’s easiest to get everything well incorporated that way. You can mix it with a spoon or even put it in the food processor, if you want.
For the hamburger, I use a 15% fat ground beef. This gives the beef the fat it needs to be really tender and juicy. It adds a lot of great flavor to the peppers.
Once it’s all mixed up, stuff the mixture evenly into each pepper. If you have medium peppers, the mixture will fill each pepper to the top.
Pour 1 cup of water into the bottom of your Instant Pot and insert the trivet. Place the peppers upright on the trivet. Lock the lid and set the vent to sealing.
Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 8 minutes. Allow for a natural release of pressure (about 5-10 minutes). It sometimes takes less time, so if you’re in a hurry, you can release the pressure manually after 4 minutes.
Test the internal temperature of the peppers with an instant read thermometer to make sure it reached 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
Serve the peppers with fresh parsley or basil for garnish. You can also serve it with extra tomato sauce or some sour cream, if you want.
Tips and Notes
- Poking a few holes in the bottom of the peppers allows the liquid that builds up inside to drain out.
- If your bell peppers don’t have flat bottoms and won’t stand upright try cutting the bottom to make it flat. Just be careful not to cut to much.
- Choose peppers that are about the same size so they will cook at the same rate. A medium size red bell pepper with a flat bottom is what I usually choose.
Variations for Stuffed Peppers
As mentioned, there are many variations you can make to these peppers to mix things up a bit.
- Serve them with cheese melted over the top (cheddar, smoked gouda, or mozzarella are our favorites)
- Mix the ground beef with 1/4 cup of cream cheese instead of tomato sauce
- Use different rice, such as brown rice, Mexican rice, or cilantro lime rice
- Mix in 2 teaspoons of homemade taco seasoning and serve with fresh tomatoes, shredded lettuce and salsa on the top
- Use cauliflower rice instead of white rice, for a low-carb alternative
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Instant Pot Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 medium bell peppers red are the sweetest
- 1 pound ground beef 85/15 (500g)
- 1 cup cooked rice 150 g
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce 55 g
- 1/2 onion diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon oregano
- Parsley or basil for garnish
Instructions
- Cut the tops off the peppers. Take the seeds and membranes out.
- In a bowl, combine the ground beef with the remaining ingredients. Mix well to fully combine.
- Stuff the mixture evenly into each pepper.
- Pour 1 cup of water into the bottom of your Instant Pot and insert the trivet. Place the peppers upright on the trivet. Lock the lid and set the vent to sealing.
- Set the Instant Pot to Pressure Cook for 8 minutes. Allow for a natural release of pressure (about 5-10 minutes).
- Test the internal temperature of the peppers to make sure it reached 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
- Serve with fresh parsley or basil for garnish.
Equipment Needed
Nutrition
🥧 If you’re interested in more great recipes, I share all my favorite Instant Pot recipes over at A Pressure Cooker Kitchen, air fryer recipes at Air Fry Anytime, and cocktails and drinks at Savored Sips. Check it out today!
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Laura is a home cook who loves making new recipes and finding new favorite things to eat, whether at home or abroad. She also runs a popular travel blog and spends a lot of her time traveling for food.
Not only do these look and sound delicious, they are so easy to make. Such a fabulous meal.
I am always looking for new ways to use my instant pot, and these stuffed peppers look amazing. So many ways to adapt them too. YUM!
Yes! Another amazing Instant Pot recipe to add to my collection! These were so meaty and flavorful, even the kids gobbled them up!
Never thought to make stuffed peppers in the IP, this is brilliant! Bookmarking!
These stuffed peppers sound amazing! I am going to have to make these for lunch today! Time to dust of the instant pot and have a healthy and delicious lunch!