This easy and delicious Eastern European recipe for rice and meat stuffed bell peppers is bound to become a family favorite! It is made with sweet bell peppers, juicy ground beef, rice, and flavorful spices.
This recipe for stuffed bell peppers is great for whenever you need some inspiration when it comes to dinner ideas. This easy recipe is family-friendly, and it is the perfect mix of veggies mixed with filling ground beef and rice. These healthy stuffed peppers are ideal for dinners at home when you feel like having something healthy but comforting and filling at the same time.
This stuffed peppers recipe is very versatile. These peppers can be made with lean ground beef, sausage, turkey, chicken, or vegetarian ingredients. To make it even healthier, you can substitute the white rice, with brown rice or even cauliflower rice.
Why you will love these rice and beef stuffed bell peppers
- Healthy – these stuffed peppers are healthy and nutritious. They are made with juicy and well-seasoned ground beef and mixed with fluffy rice to create a hearty satisfying meal filled with protein.
- Easy – I love making these peppers because they are so easy to make. Prep time is around 15 minutes and it requires a handful of ingredients.
- Versatile – bell peppers are strong enough to hold their shape and are large enough to hold a decent amount of filling. You can fill them with so many different flavors and ingredients. You can use any kind of meat, any kind of rice, or beans or just meat and other veggies to keep them super healthy and nutritious.
- Crowd-pleaser – these stuffed peppers are easy to make yet so delicious and bringing these to any party or hosting at home, will sure to start some conversation.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need for this stuffed peppers recipe.
- Ground Beef – traditionally, these peppers are stuffed with ground beef. I prefer using the 85% fat. That gives it enough fat to keep it moist and flavorful but not greasy. If you prefer, you can use any other type of ground meat – chicken, pork, turkey or even meatless options.
- Bell Peppers – I love using red, yellow, or orange bell peppers for this recipe. You could use green as well, but I find them a bit bitter. You can use smaller or larger. It really depends what you are able to find in your market.
- Rice – I use medium grain rice for this recipe. But long or short grain will work as well. You can also use brown rice or even cauliflower rice to make these peppers even healthier.
- Tomato sauce – you can use homemade tomato sauce if you wish or your favorite grocery store brand tomato sauce will work just fine. I use Rao’s homemade marinara sauce. You can find it here.
- Onion – I use yellow onion, but shallots or red onion will work here as well.
How to make Bulgarian stuffed peppers with rice and meat
Almost every nationality has their own version of stuffed peppers and Bulgaria is no exception. What make these stuffed peppers unique, is the paprika and savory spices we use to add another layer of flavor. The savory spice can be found in most international food stores or here.
Make the beef/rice filling – Add 2 tbsp oil to a large pan. Add the chopped onion and cook until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add the ground beef and break into small pieces as much as possible. I love using this mincemeat chopper, it makes it so much easier! Cook until the meat is cooked and starting to get golden brown. Add the rice and the tomato sauce. Then season and add some water, enough to just slightly cover the rice and meat mixture. Once the water is evaporated, remove it from the heat and let it cool down.
Prepare the peppers – White the meat and rice mixture is cooling down, prepare the peppers for stuffing. Use a small paring knife to cut the top of the peppers. Keep the peppers up, insert the knife and cut around the stem of the pepper. Do not throw away the cut tops. Remove the seeds from the inside of the peppers as well as the tops.
Fill the peppers – Use a tablespoon and start filling up the peppers with the cooled down meat/rice filling mixture. Fill the peppers 3/4 full. Do not fill them up to the top. The rice at this point is not cooked through and it will continue cooking inside the pepper and expand.
Once you fill up all the peppers, add their tops back on. This will help the rice cook as well. Add 2 cups of water to the baking dish and bake until rice is cooked, 50-60 minutes.
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Easy Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 or 6 bell peppers depending on their size
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 cup rice uncooked
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 3/4 cups water
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon savory spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°
- In a large pan, heat oil and sauté the onions for 3-5 minutes or until soft and translucent
- Add the ground beef and cook for 5-7 minutes or until cooked and browned
- Season with salt and pepper
- Add the rice to the meat mixture
- Add the tomato sauce, the paprika, savory, salt and pepper
- Add 3/4 cups water to the meat/rice mixture
- Using a spoon, stuff each bell pepper with the meat and rice mixture 3/4 full
- Place the peppers in an oven-safe dish filled halfway with hot water to create steam to cook the peppers
- Cover and cook for 50 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
