Ground Beef Stuffed Peppers

Ground beef stuffed peppers are a classic meal that are delicious, wholesome, healthy, and filling. Crispy and crunchy bell peppers are tender inside, stuffed with a savory ground beef, rice, and veggie mixture, and are topped with melty cheese. This family favorite meal is easy to make ahead and freezer-friendly.

Why You'll Love Ground Beef Stuffed Peppers

• Stuffed peppers are the best dinner. We loved stuffed peppers over at our house. Whether they are Vegan Stuffed Bell Peppers, Leftover Turkey Stuffed Peppers, or Ground Beef Stuffed Peppers, they're always a big hit. I mean they are rich in flavor and texture and are just more exciting than your run-of-the-mill dinner.
• Great for meal prep. Ground beef stuffed peppers are easy to make ahead, freeze and reheat well. You can prepare the entire stuffed pepper in advance or just the filling and assemble when ready to bake.
• They are delicious fresh or as leftovers. Some dinner options are best served fresh, and while these hot and freshly baked stuffed peppers are absolutely delicious, they reheat really well and also taste great the next day, too! That means if you make enough, you don't need to cook tomorrow.
• It's a healthy, balanced meal. With rice, beef, peppers, onion, tomato sauce, cheese, and zucchini, you get everything you need for a balanced meal in a neat little package! This dinner brings vitamins A, B, C, and K, plus essential minerals like potassium, iron, zinc, and magnesium.

Ingredients and Substitutions

To make these delicious and wholesome ground beef stuffed peppers, you will need the following ingredients (ingredient quantities in recipe card below):

• bell peppers - tops removed and seasoned with salt and pepper. Feel free to use any color of bell peppers that you have on hand. Look for peppers that are large and round and easy to stuff.
• olive oil
• ground beef
• yellow onion
• garlic
• zucchini - you can substitute with other vegetables that you want to. Some of my favorites include carrots, peas, broccoli, and mushrooms.
• fresh parsley
• salt and pepper
• soy sauce
• tomato sauce
• cooked rice - I used white rice, but feel free to substitute with brown rice. Since we are using cooked rice, this won't affect the cook time of the filling or stuffed peppers at all.
• cheddar cheese

You will also need measuring cups and spoons, shallow saucepan or skillet, and 9x13-inch casserole pan.

How to Make the Best Ground Beef Stuffed Peppers

1. Prepare the bell peppers. Cut the tops of the bell peppers off. Remove and discard the seeds. Place the peppers on a lightly greased 9x13-inch baking pan and lightly season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Cook the beef. Heat oil in a large skillet or shallow saucepan for 2 minutes over medium-high heat until the hot oil sizzles. Add ground beef and stir well to cook for 6-8 minutes until browned on all sides. Make sure to break up beef into small pieces to help even browning.
3. Make the beef filling. Stir in onion, garlic, zucchini and parsley and sauté for 1-2 minutes until tender. Season the beef mixture with salt and pepper and stir in soy sauce and tomato sauce. Stir occasionally and bring the mixture to a simmer to help soak up the flavors, about 3 minutes. Add in rice and ½ cup cheese and stir well to mix all evenly. Turn off heat and set the beef rice mixture aside.

4. Stuff the peppers. Fill up each pepper with beef mixture and sprinkle remaining cheddar cheese on top.

5. Bake. Bake the ground beef stuffed peppers in a 375 F preheated oven for 40-45 minutes until the pepper softens and the melted cheese turns golden brown. Let the stuffed peppers rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh parsley on top and serve.

More Ground Beef Recipes

• 25 Best Ground Beef Recipes
• Italian Meatballs
• Phyllo Meat Pie
• Mexican Ground Beef Tacos
• Classic Juicy Hamburgers
• Spaghetti Bolognese

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