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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Stuff the peppers. Fill up each pepper with beef mixture and sprinkle remaining cheddar cheese on top.
- 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.
Storing and Reheating Instructions
- How to store: Let leftovers cool down before placing them in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- How to freeze: stuffed peppers also freeze and reheat well. So they are perfect for meal prepping. Store the cooked stuffed bell peppers (or just the cooked filling) in an airtight container with the cut side up for up to 3 months.
- Reheating in the oven: If you have time, I recommend reheating the ground beef stuffed peppers in the oven (or air fryer) at 350F. Place them in a casserole dish (the peppers may leak) and cover with aluminum foil (to steam the peppers). Bake covered for 20 minutes and uncovered for 5 minutes. If frozen, extend the cooking time. If reheating from frozen, extend the cooking time even further until warmed through, about 5-10 minutes longer.
- Reheating in the microwave: I recommend cutting the beef stuffed peppers into quarters, allowing them to separate (they sort of resemble flower petals!) before heating for 1-3 minutes in the microwave, until warmed through.
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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Recipe
Ground Beef Stuffed Peppers
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Ground beef stuffed peppers are delicious, healthy, and filling. Stuffed with beef rice and veggies, they're easy to make ahead and freezer-friendly.
Ingredients
- 6 large bell peppers
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
For the beef filling:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb. ground beef
- ½ cup yellow onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 1 + ½ cups cheddar cheese, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Prepare the bell peppers by cutting the tops off. Remove and discard the seeds. Place the peppers on a lightly greased baking pan and lightly season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- Fill up each pepper with beef mixture and sprinkle remaining cheddar cheese on top.
- Bake the stuffed peppers 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.
Notes
How to store: Let leftovers cool down before placing them in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
How to freeze: Stuffed peppers also freeze and reheat well. So they are perfect for meal prepping. Store the cooked stuffed bell peppers (or just the cooked filling) in an airtight container with the cut side up for up to 3 months.
Reheating in the oven: If you have time, I recommend reheating your stuffed peppers in the oven at 350F. Place them in a casserole dish (the peppers may leak) and cover with aluminum foil (to steam the peppers). Bake covered for 20 minutes and uncovered for 5 minutes. If frozen, extend the cooking time. If reheating from frozen, extend the cooking time even further until warmed through, about 5-10 minutes longer.
Reheating in the microwave: I recommend cutting your peppers into quarters, allowing them to separate (they sort of resemble flower petals!) before heating for 1-3 minutes in the microwave, until warmed through.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Beef
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
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Aaron says
I eat ground beef regularly but wanted some variation. Came across your '25 Best Ground Beef Recipes' and decided to try this one. Its crazy easy to make and tastes super delicious. Didn't have zucchini so I used mushrooms, carrots, and peas, it was fantastic.
Darrin P says
These were wonderful, my family loved them and could eat just the filling itself! I spiced it up with some mustard powder and paprika, and used tricolor quinoa instead of the rice. It was phenomenal! Definitely going in the keep pile!
Margaret says
Just happened to search ground beef recipes and this recipe was in the list. So glad I tried it. My husband loved these stuffed peppers! He can’t wait to have the leftovers. Thank you for sharing!
Reeta Young says
Delicious and not hard to make. I will definitely be making them again.
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you so much Reeta!
Kate says
Our family loved these peppers! They were easier to make than I thought. I’m adding it to our weekly dinner rotation!!
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
So happy to hear that Kate!
Lisa says
I made this for dinner tonight... Actually turned out better than I expected.... Only thing I did different was I used 2 tsp Italian seasoning and instead of using plain rice I used a box of Rice A Roni long grain and wild rice.... Was very tasty