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Stuffed Bell Peppers are a quick and easy, flavorful dinner that’s both light and satisfying. You can make them in either the oven or the Instant Pot, if you have one. Also great as leftovers the next day!

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.
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.

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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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.
For the Oven
- Preheat your oven to 350° F(175°C).
- Place the bell peppers upright in a baking dish. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the peppers are tender and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
For the Instant Pot
- 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).
Nutrition
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Laura is a home cook, with 25 years experience behind the stove, who spends an extraordinary amount of time in the kitchen cooking. She loves making new recipes and finding wonderful new things to eat, both at home or abroad. She spends a lot of time researching, crafting, and perfecting her recipes.
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!