Stuffed Sweet Long Red Peppers are delicious stuffed peppers that are so easy to make, they can be made in minutes! Stuffed Sweet Long Red Peppers are a sweet and savory recipe that includes red peppers, ground beef, parmesan cheese, black olives, bread crumbs and egg. They’re popular as an appetizer or main dish.
Italian stuffed sweet peppers
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:10 mins
- Cook:35 mins
- Easy
- Serves 3
Take five ingredients and whip up this simple midweek supper of pesto peppers with couscous, mozzarella cheese and tomatoes
- Healthy
- Vegetarian
| Highlight | Nutrient | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| low in | kcal | 419 |
| fat | 11g | |
| saturates | 2g | |
| carbs | 58g | |
| sugars | 9g | |
| fibre | 6g | |
| protein | 15g | |
| salt | 0.8g |
Ingredients
- 3 red Romano peppers , halved and deseeded
- 160g pack semi-dried tomatoes & mozzarella balls in olive oil
- 140g couscous
- 2 tbsp pesto
- 5 tbsp dried breadcrumb
Method
- STEP 1Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Arrange the peppers, cut-side up, on a baking tray. Brush with a little oil from the pack of tomatoes & mozzarella, then season. Cook for 10 mins to soften slightly.
- STEP 2Meanwhile, mix the couscous in a bowl with the pesto and pour over 125ml boiling water. Cover and leave for 5 mins to fluff up. Drain the tomatoes & mozzarella well, then mix into the couscous. Divide between the peppers, then sprinkle over the breadcrumbs
- STEP 3Bake for 15-20 mins until the top is crisp and the peppers are tender.
STUFFED BELL PEPPER
These stuffed bell peppers are filled with a mixture of ground beef, tomato sauce and rice, then topped with cheese and baked to perfection. A classic dish that’s comfort food at its finest!
I love to prepare stuffed veggies such as stuffed zucchini, stuffed cabbage and these fabulously delicious stuffed peppers. My family requests this recipe time and time again, it’s just that good.
Stuffed bell peppers have been popular for many years for good reason – they’re totally delicious! My version features a hearty beef and rice mixture with plenty of melted cheese. Serve your stuffed peppers as-is, or add a side salad for a meal that your family will be sure to love.
STUFFED BELL PEPPERS INGREDIENTS
- Bell Peppers: You can choose any color bell peppers you like. Be sure to choose peppers with flat bottoms so they will stand up in the baking dish.
- Ground Beef: I use 90% lean ground beef as it has plenty of flavor without a lot of grease. If you use meat with a higher fat content you may need to drain excess grease from the pan after it is cooked.
- Rice: This recipe calls for cooked rice. Leftover rice will work just fine.
- Onions: The onions should be finely diced and add a lot of flavor to the beef and rice mixture.
- Seasonings: Season everything up with salt, pepper, garlic and Italian seasoning. Tomato sauce adds moisture and flavor. A sprinkle of parsley over the baked peppers is the perfect finishing touch.
- Cheese: I use freshly grated mozzarella cheese in this recipe, but you can feel free to substitute your favorite cheese if you prefer.
HOW DO YOU MAKE STUFFED BELL PEPPERS?
Prepare the bell peppers by slicing off the tops and removing the seeds. Bake the empty peppers to soften them up before you add the filling. While the peppers are cooking, brown your beef in a pan and break it into crumbles. Add onion and garlic to the pan, and cook until the vegetables have softened.
TIPS FOR STUFFED PEPPERS
- Look for bell peppers that are about the same size to make sure that each of the peppers takes the same amount of time to cook.
- If a pepper does not stand up on its own, cut a thin slice off of the bottom of the pepper to make the bottom level.
- Feel free to use different colored bell peppers. The cooking process is the same for each of the colors and the dish will be more vibrant.
RECIPE FAQS
Do peppers need to be cooked before they’re stuffed?
Peppers need to be cooked before they are stuffed to ensure they are tender. If you want a crispier pepper you can omit the par-baking step.
Can stuffed bell peppers be made in advance?
Stuffed peppers can be made in advance. You want to follow all the steps in the recipe except topping the peppers with cheese, then refrigerate the peppers. When you are ready to serve the peppers, top them with cheese and bake them at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. Remove the covering and bake them for an additional 10 minutes.
How do you reheat stuffed peppers?
You can reheat stuffed peppers either in the oven or in the microwave. To reheat in the oven, bake the peppers in a covered dish at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. To reheat the peppers in the microwave, cook them individually on high heat for 2 minutes.
What should I serve with stuffed peppers?
I like to serve my peppers with a veggie based side dish such as green beans, broccoli or a green salad. For heartier appetites, I also include a sliced baguette bread.
STUFFED BELL PEPPER VARIATIONS
These meaty stuffed peppers are delicious as-is, but you can also customize them to suit your taste.
- Meat: You can use sausage or ground turkey instead of ground beef.
- Grains: Try quinoa or orzo instead of rice
- Veggies: These peppers are great with other vegetables added to the filling such as diced zucchini, olives or corn.
- Cheese: You can use a different cheese to top the peppers such as cheddar or Monterey Jack.
These stuffed bell peppers are a classic dish that remain popular because they are so delicious. Everyone will be asking for seconds when these stuffed peppers are on the dinner table!
Stuffed Bell Peppers
These stuffed bell peppers are filled with a mixture of ground beef, tomato sauce and rice, then topped with cheese and baked to perfection. A classic dish that’s comfort food at its finest!
CourseMain Course
CuisineAmerican
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Servings
Calories408kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 6 bell peppers any color, or a combination of colors
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef I use 90% lean
- 1/2 cup onion finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cups cooked white rice do not use raw rice
- salt and pepper to taste
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded, divided use
- 2 tablespoons parsley chopped
- cooking spray
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a large baking dish with cooking spray.
- Slice the tops off the peppers and remove the ribs and seeds inside.
- Place the peppers cut side down in the baking dish. Add 1 1/2 cups of water to the dish.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- While the peppers are cooking, prepare the filling. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
- Add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper.
- Cook for 5-6 minutes, breaking up the meat with a spatula, until meat is cooked through.
- Add the onion to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the rice, tomato sauce and Italian seasoning. Stir to combine. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese and salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove the peppers from the oven and drain off the water. Turn the peppers over and fill each one with the beef mixture.
- Top each pepper with the remaining cheese. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned and peppers are tender.
- Sprinkle with parsley, then serve.
NOTES
- Look for peppers with flatter bottoms so that they will stand up in the pan. If your peppers are not completely flat on the bottom you can cut a thin slice off to help them stay up better.
- Be sure to use cooked rice in this recipe, raw rice will not work.
- If you are using meat that has a higher fat content, you may need to drain excess grease from your pan after it is cooked.
NUTRITION
Calories: 408kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 628mg | Potassium: 912mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 4335IU | Vitamin C: 160mg | Calcium: 186mg | Iron: 4.1mg
Chicken Stuffed Peppers (Easy, Healthy, Delicious Keto Dinner!)
Chicken Stuffed Peppers make the perfect quick, easy, healthy, and low carb weeknight meal! With only 10 minutes of hands-on time and 30 minutes in the oven, you’ll have dinner ready in no time!
Chicken Stuffed Peppers
Here’s the thing about stuffed peppers – even though they seem like a simple meal, they can take a long time to make once you factor in the cooking time for the filling.
Not with this recipe! We’re using rotisserie chicken and a super quick homemade enchilada sauce as the filling, so there’s no need to cook rice, soak and cook beans, or saute any vegetables or protein.
I think that’s why I love this recipe so much. It really is so easy to pull together on a busy weeknight, and I’m all about the fast recipes for the (pretty frequent) occasion when my time just seems to disappear during the day.
How to Make Chicken Stuffed Peppers
This stuffed pepper recipe is one of the easiest I’ve seen, and it’s full of delicious flavor.
Start by making a “T” shaped slit in each pepper. You can do this by making a horizontal cut underneath each stem across the top half of each pepper. Then make a vertical slit down the front of the pepper and remove the seeds.
I used sweet twister peppers, because they most closely resemble the classic enchilada shape and are readily available where I live. Don’t worry, they may look like it, but these aren’t hot peppers!
You could use poblano peppers and follow the exact same steps, or you can even use red bell peppers!
If you’re using bell peppers, cut them in half (from stem to bottom) and serve them as “boats” (open stuffed instead of closed stuffed). You’ll only need three peppers if you use bell peppers.
If you want to make these into little appetizers, you could even shred the chicken really finely and make these with jalapeno peppers. Seriously, I’m loving this idea and am dying to try it – if you try it please let me know what you thought!
Next, stuff each pepper with 1/2 cup shredded cooked rotisserie chicken. Place each pepper into a nonstick 9 x 9 metal baking dish. As long as you use a non-stick pan, there’s no need to grease your pan before adding the stuffed peppers.
Pour the sauce over the peppers. Open each pepper a bit as you do this so you get plenty of sauce inside each one. I’d recommend using my Easy Healthy Enchilada Sauce for this recipe to keep this dinner healthy, low calorie, and bursting with delicious flavor!
You can definitely use store bought enchilada sauce if you want, but once you try homemade enchilada sauce you’ll be amazed at how much more flavorful it is.
Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the stuffed peppers. Do your best to only sprinkle the cheese in the middle of the peppers. This helps keep it from melting over the edges where it would disappear into the sauce.
Be sure to tent your aluminum foil before baking! If you don’t, the cheese will stick to the aluminum and create a mess.
Optional Alterations and Add-Ins
I think the most common change people wonder about with this recipe is whether or not they can use bell peppers instead of sweet twister peppers, and the answer is yes!
I talked a little bit about how it would change the recipe in the section above, but the main thing to note is that this will taste best with red, orange, or yellow bell peppers than it will with green bell peppers.
Some other ideas are:
- Mix some softened cream cheese with the chicken before stuffing the peppers.
- Substitute your favorite ground meat (beef, chicken, or turkey all work) for the rotisserie chicken. I love using my Turkey Taco Meat recipe here!
- Experiment with the cheese you use. I used a shredded Mexican cheese mix for convenience when I wrote this recipe, but I also love it with freshly grated cheddar or mozzarella.
What to Eat With a Stuffed Pepper
Plate each pepper and pour over some of the remaining sauce. Serve it with a side salad and your favorite side dishes. If you leave the chicken out of this Southwest Chicken Salad, it would make the perfect Mexican Chopped Salad to pair these with.
These would also be great served with rice and beans! Cauliflower rice would be awesome, too, if you’re looking for a low carb option.
Do Stuffed Chicken Enchilada Peppers Reheat Well?
Yes! Stuffed peppers reheat very well. You can make a large batch of these and eat them throughout a busy week.
Can You Freeze These Stuffed Peppers?
Definitely! Stuffed peppers are such a freezer friendly meal. I’d store them in an airtight container to avoid freezer burn though.
You can freeze them before or after baking them, both will work. Unless you’re freezing leftovers, I’d probably opt for freezing them before baking them just to save some prep time.
When you’re ready to eat them, you can either let them thaw in the fridge overnight and bake them as instructed, or you can even bake them straight from frozen.
How to Make These Peppers Vegan or Dairy-Free
The enchilada sauce for these peppers is already vegan, so the only alteration you’d need to make is to use vegan shredded cheese for the topping.
How to Make This Recipe Gluten Free
This recipe is gluten free as it’s written and doesn’t need any alterations. If you use a different enchilada sauce, it’s important to check and see if it’s gluten free or not (some may be thickened with flour instead of starch).
YIELD: 4 STUFFED PEPPERS
Chicken Stuffed Peppers
Chicken Stuffed Peppers are the perfect easy, healthy, and low carb weeknight meal! They only need 10 minutes of prep time and 30 minutes in the oven.
PREP TIME10 minutes
COOK TIME30 minutes
TOTAL TIME40 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 sweet twister peppers (bell peppers also work)
- 2 cups pulled apart rotisserie chicken (or cooked chicken breast)
- 1 batch Easy Healthy Enchilada Sauce
- 1 cup shredded block cheese of choice (my favorites are cheddar or a Mexican shredded cheese mix)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Make a small slit across half of the top of the pepper (under the stem), from the middle of that slit make a long slit down the length of the pepper (be careful not to cut the stem off). Remove the seeds. Wash and dry the peppers. *If you’re using bell peppers, see the notes.
- Stuff each pepper with ½ cup rotisserie chicken.
- Place the stuffed peppers in a 9 x 9 metal non-stick baking dish.
- Pour the enchilada sauce over the peppers, doing your best to get the inside of the peppers coated with sauce.
- Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the peppers.
- Cover with tented aluminum foil (make sure the aluminum foil isn’t touching the cheese).
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the peppers are cooked through, the chicken is hot, and the cheese is bubbly.
Notes
I used sweet twister peppers, because they most closely resemble the classic enchilada shape. You can also use bell peppers. If you’re using bell peppers, cut them in half (from stem to bottom) and serve them as “boats” (open stuffed instead of closed stuffed). You’ll only need three peppers if you use bell peppers.