Beef Stuffed Peppers

Our Italian Beef Stuffed Peppers are perfect for family dinners, entertaining guests, or for meal prep lunches! Tender bell peppers are filled with a savory mix of seasoned ground beef, rice, tomato sauce, Italian seasonings, and a blend of melty cheeses that will have everyone asking for seconds.

Unlike most people, I actually began my stuffed peppers journey in my decade as a vegetarian (have you tried our quinoa and black bean stuffed peppers? They’re awesome!). Over the past 15 years or so, I’ve tried all kinds of stuffed pepper combinations, fillings, and cooking methods. Through this process, I’ve worked out a lot of kinks on how to best prepare your peppers, best cooking time and temperature, and what fillings work well.

Beef Stuffed Peppers Ingredients

• Bell Peppers (any color). Bell peppers are the star of the show! Use whatever color pepper you prefer, or whichever looks best at your store or market when you’re ready to make these. Or use a mix of red, yellow, orange, and green peppers!
• Olive Oil. Used to sauté our onion.
• Yellow Onion. Adds depth of flavor to our filling and helps to enhance the other flavors in our recipe.
• Ground Beef. Our protein, used in our filling. I recommend using a 90% lean ground beef for this recipe.
• Cooked Rice (white rice or brown rice). Fills out our beef filling. This is a great way to use up leftover rice!
• Tomato Sauce. Adds another classic Italian flavor to our recipe, can be included as another veggie in our filling, and also helps to bind together our filling ingredients.
• Italian Seasoning, Salt, and Pepper. We’re using a simple store-bought Italian seasoning blend to give our dish it’s Italian flavors, in addition to a little salt and pepper.
• Mozzarella Cheese and Parmesan Cheese. Both of these are commonly used in Italian dishes, and the combination takes our recipe to the next level! The mozzarella is mild, soft, and extra melty whereas the parmesan adds a bold and savory flavor.
• Fresh Basil (for serving). Topping your stuffed bell peppers with a sprinkle of fresh basil adds that final pop of Italian flavor goodness.

See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for all ingredient measurements and full recipe directions.

How to Make Stuffed Peppers with Ground Beef

If needed, cook the rice. If you do not have leftover / cooked rice in your fridge, cook some white or brown rice following the directions on the package. For a single batch of this, starting with ½ Cup of dried rice will give you a bit more than you need.

Make the filling. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the onion with the olive oil until the onion begins to soften and brown (about 3-5 minutes).

Add the ground beef, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks.

Cook until the beef is browned, and no pink remains (about 5-7 minutes). Turn off the heat and remove any excess fat/liquid from the pan.

Add the cooked rice, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.

Stir to combine.

Mix in ⅓ of the mozzarella cheese and ½ of the parmesan cheese.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Stuff the peppers. Place the pepper halves onto the baking sheet and evenly divide the filling between the peppers.

Gently press the filling into the crevices of each pepper and smooth out the top.

Bake for 20-minutes. At this point, a fork should be able to poke into the peppers but they will seem a bit ‘hard’ yet.

Top with cheese. After the initial bake, top the peppers with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.

Bake for an additional 10-minutes, until the peppers are fork tender and the cheese is melted. If you feel the cheese is browning to quickly, gently set a sheet of aluminum foil over the peppers.

Serve. Option to serve with fresh basil, and enjoy!

Recipe Variation Ideas for Our Stuffed Bell Peppers with Ground Beef

Use a different grain. While the base recipe uses white rice or brown rice, you can also try quinoa, farro, or orzo! If using orzo, under cook it slightly before stuffing your peppers to avoid it getting mushy. You could also use cauliflower rice for a low-card option.

Use a mix of ground beef and Italian sausage! This really amps up the Italian flavor! To keep things simple, this works best if you’re doubling or tripling the recipe (since you can most often buy each of these in 1 pound portions). If you’re doubling, use 1 pound of ground beef and 1 pound of Italian sausage (mild or hot per your preference). If you’re tripling the recipe, use 2 pounds of ground beef and 1 pound of Italian sausage (this is what we do when we make our freezer-prep lasagnas and this is my ideal ratio!).

Add spinach to your filling! You can add up to 1 Cup of fresh spinach, de-stemmed and cut into ribbons, to your filling if desired. Doing this doesn’t change the flavor and adds some more nutrition (like a boost of iron, vitamins, and fiber to name a few).

Add some spice with a shake of red pepper flakes. A small pinch will do the trick! Either add to the beef filling mixture, or set it out for people to add to their own when serving.

Ground Beef Stuffed Peppers Storage

Store cooked and fully cooled stuffed peppers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Can You Freeze Stuffed Peppers?

Yes! You can freeze cooked stuffed peppers for up to 3 months for easy meals another day. To do so, ensure the peppers have fully cooled (at least to room temperature). Transfer them to a freezer-safe container, cut side up, to freeze. I recommend portioning them into single-serve bags for quick grab-and-go.

Let frozen stuffed peppers thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

How to Reheat Stuffed Peppers

When ready to enjoy, simply cut your peppers into a few smaller pieces and either microwave them or warm them up in the oven until heated to your desired temperature. If using the oven method, place the peppers cut side up on a baking sheet or in a baking dish and warm them at 350°F for 8-10 minutes.

What to Serve with Stuffed Peppers

Since stuffed peppers are a wholesome, well-balanced meal by themselves, we often enjoy these on their own. However, you can definitely round out your meal with a number of sides!

• Vegetables. Roasted or sauteed veggies would pair nicely with these. Brussel sprouts, zucchinis, sweet potatoes, broccoli… you name it! If you’re roasting, you can throw them in the oven along side your peppers too! You can also use those convenient steamer packs from the freezer section.
• Leafy Green Salad. A big green salad is always a great side! With the Italian flavors of this dish, a Caesar salad or greens with Italian dressing would be great choices.