10 Wildly Delicious and Easy Stuffed Pepper Recipes (2024)

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Elisabeth Sherman

Elisabeth Sherman

Elisabeth Sherman is a food and culture writer living in Jersey City.

updated Apr 30, 2019

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The quest to keep weeknight dinners exciting (and nutritious) — especially for busy families — can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Take these stuffed pepper recipes, for example — they present the dinnertime staples (chicken, turkey, pasta) in a new, more adventurous form. Most of these recipes make it to the table in under an hour, and while some are cheesier than others, they are all, for the most part, vegetable-heavy and protein-packed.

Stuffed peppers are versatile and easily customizable, so you can feel free to experiment and play with these recipes, too. Here are 10 favorites from a few of the best food bloggers out there.

1. Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers from The Girl on Bloor

A Philly Cheesesteak sandwich is typically a carb-heavy treat that seems impossible to make even remotely healthy. This version, which swaps bread for a bell pepper, is low-carb, but still cheesy. The sliced sirloin steak is combined with mushrooms and onions then topped with mozzarella cheese.

2. Wild Greens and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers from Food with Feeling

Stuffed peppers don’t need to be filled with meat to be satisfying. If you’re looking for a nutrient-rich, light dinner dish, look no further than these vegetarian stuffed peppers. The bell pepper serves as a bowl for the healthy shredded greens, which are mixed with quinoa and topped with shaved almonds and avocado dressing.

3. Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers from Peas and Crayons

If you want your dinner to have a little kick to it, then these Buffalo chicken stuffed peppers should be right up your alley. The spicy chicken is coated in gooey pepper Jack and cheddar cheese, and then topped with sliced jalapeño. Want to up the heat factor even more? Drizzle your favorite Buffalo sauce on top.

4. Lasagna Stuffed Peppers from A Saucy Kitchen

Craving pasta but trying to cut down on carbs? You might try this vegetable-based alternative. Layers of cheese and a hearty meat sauce give the illusion of a classic lasagna, but the bell pepper bowl replaces the sheets of pasta.

You won’t find any rice in this stuffed pepper recipe. Instead zucchini and quinoa take center stage, alongside turkey. This protein-rich dish might be one of the healthiest dinners you’ve ever served, but it packs enough flavor to satisfy your family.

6. Bell Pepper Pizzas from Peas and Crayons

Stuffed peppers can be a treat, too. This low-carb version of pizza combines all its classic elements — spaghetti sauce, grated cheese, and red pepper flakes — and stuffs them inside a pepper. This recipe is so great because you can customize it with your favorite pizza toppings, making it a great meal to cook with kids.

This decadent Italian recipe doesn’t actually include any meat. Instead, the peppers are stuffed with a rich bread stuffing and topped with tomato sauce. The stuffing gets a hint of sweetness from golden raisins, and that signature Italian flavor from grated Romano cheese.

8. Chicken Stuffed Peppers from Cooking Classy

This recipe is almost like a burrito bowl inside a roasted pepper. Diced chicken meets black beans, brown rice, onion, and corn to create a protein-packed dish that still brings a dash of fun to the dinner table.

9. Jambalaya Stuffed Peppers from Diethood

Classic Jambalaya (a stew prepared with chicken, shrimp, andouille sausage, and rice) finds an unexpected home inside a roasted pepper. You’ll get both spicy and smoky flavors here, and the addition of the shrimp makes it perhaps one of the boldest dishes on this list.

This deconstructed stuffed pepper dish is the ultimate comfort food: It’s full of cheesy goodness, juicy ground meat, and, of course, the signature peppers mixed in, too. It’s a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. And because you can make the whole thing in one pot, you won’t have to put out much effort to become your family’s dinnertime hero.

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10 Wildly Delicious and Easy Stuffed Pepper Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Do you need to boil peppers before stuffing them? ›

Many recipes call for boiling the peppers first, but I prefer to roast them – more flavor and less cleanup! The best way is to slice the peppers in half from the stem end down through the base, remove all the seeds and membranes, and then roast the halves until they're tender-crisp.

Why are my stuffed peppers bland? ›

The thing about most stuffed bell pepper recipes is 3that they call for salt in the filling, not for the peppers themselves. Without salt, the peppers are flabby and bland, merely a filling case. With a sprinkle of salt, they transform into a sweet and powerfully savory part of the dish.

How do you keep stuffed peppers from getting soggy? ›

How to Prevent Watery Peppers
  1. Pre-cook Peppers. When you bake peppers that are not pre-blanched or cooked, it is normal that they release their natural water – which can be easily avoided by pre-cooking beforehand. ...
  2. Use Leftover Rice. Does this tip sound familiar to you? ...
  3. Save Cheese for the Topping.

How long do you boil peppers to soften them? ›

To boil bell peppers: Cook peppers, covered, in a small amount of boiling salted water for 6 to 7 minutes or until crisp-tender. To sauté bell peppers: Heat a skillet with 2 to 3 tablespoons of cooking oil over medium-high heat. Carefully add bell peppers and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes.

Do you cook stuffing before you stuff? ›

If you're using raw meat, poultry or shellfish to make your stuffing, cook those first, add them to your stuffing mix and then immediately stuff your bird. If you're preparing the stuffing ahead of time, cool it immediately and placed it in shallow containers in the refrigerator.

What do you eat stuffed peppers with? ›

18 Side Dishes to Serve with Stuffed Peppers
  1. 02 of 18. Quick & Easy Sautéed Broccolini. ...
  2. 05 of 18. Charred Sugar Snap Peas with Sesame-Chili Sauce. ...
  3. 08 of 18. Easy Cilantro-Lime Rice. ...
  4. 11 of 18. Chitrannam (Lemon Rice) ...
  5. 14 of 18. Zucchini & Mushroom Sauté
Nov 3, 2023

What are the ingredients in Stouffer's stuffed peppers? ›

GREEN BELL PEPPERS, WATER, COOKED BEEF, TOMATO PUREE (WATER, TOMATO PASTE), TOMATOES (DICED TOMATOES, TOMATO JUICE, CITRIC ACID, CALCIUM CHLORIDE), COOKED ENRICHED LONG GRAIN RICE (WATER, RICE, IRON, NIACIN, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, FOLIC ACID), 2% OR LESS OF SOYBEAN OIL, SUGAR, MODIFIED CORNSTARCH, TEXTURED SOY FLOUR, ...

How do you get the most flavor out of peppers? ›

Filleting a pepper is the best way to easily separate the seeds and pith from the flesh. Doing this allows you to get the most pepper flavor possible with the least amount of heat.

How do you get the most flavor out of bell peppers? ›

Try adding basil, chives, cilantro, coriander, cumin, curry, garlic, marjoram, or rosemary to you bell peppers when cooking for more amazing flavor combinations. Top them with cheese. Sautéed bell peppers are amazing with a little added cheese and can really elevate their flavor and presentation.

Why are my stuffed bell peppers watery? ›

First and foremost, it's essential to precook your peppers. Bell peppers contain more than 90% water, much of which is released during the cooking process. If you cook your stuffed peppers in one fell swoop, that moisture will release and end up in the final dish.

Why didn't my rice cook in my stuffed peppers? ›

If you find your rice didn't cook in your stuffed peppers, it's likely one of two reasons: It didn't have enough time to cook through. There wasn't enough moisture for the grains to absorb.

Why are my stuffed peppers tough? ›

If the peppers aren't tender when the cheese is melted, and the filling is hot, simply tent the pan with foil and continue baking until they are. Cut the Pepper in Half from Stem to End. When making stuffed peppers in the oven, I find splitting them from top to bottom best.

Why do my stuffed peppers fall apart? ›

The goal is to tenderize them before they're stuffed and baked, but generally the poor fellas are over-boiled, which results in their tendency to fall apart and, as noted, be flavorless. But peppers can have tons of flavor when given the right treatment. The trick is to roast them at high heat.

Why do you boil peppers for stuffed peppers? ›

Pre-cooking is the idea of quick-starting the cooking process of your stuffed pepper. Since stuffed peppers can take as long as 45 minutes to bake, shortening that down with a quick boil really helps me out.

Is it better to parboil peppers for stuffed peppers? ›

ANSWER: Some recipes call for blanching the peppers to soften them slightly; others do not. Green peppers at a local store were stuffed with a raw ground meat mixture and looked as though they were not boiled or blanched. If you bake peppers this way, they will take longer to cook and will hold their shape better.

Do you have to cook peppers before canning? ›

Instructions for Canning Sweet Peppers: The skins of bell peppers or sweet peppers are more tender, so they generally do not need to be blistered and peeled (thank goodness). Simple quarter or roughly chop bell peppers and cover them with water in a pot. Boil for 3 minutes, then transfer to pint or half-pint jars.

Should you cook or raw bell peppers? ›

Eating them raw provides maximum vitamin C content, but cooking bell peppers can increase the availability of other nutrients.

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