Stuffed Green Peppers

This stuffed green peppers recipe makes a crowd-pleasing dinner, starring a hearty filling of rice, tomatoes, and cheese! Here’s a…

A Couple Cooks – Recipes worth repeating.

This stuffed green peppers recipe makes a crowd-pleasing dinner, starring a hearty filling of rice, tomatoes, and cheese!

Stuffed Green Peppers

Here’s a fun, hearty dinner idea that pleases everyone: Stuffed Green Peppers! We love the retro vibes of this concept. Throw rice, ground beef or plant based crumbles, tomatoes and cheese into a pepper and call it dinner! This one is so full of flavor, even veggie haters will be converts. The savory Italian-style seasonings of garlic, oregano and fennel make magic with tangy tomatoes and mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. It takes a bit of effort to prepare, but it’s well worth it!

Ingredients in this stuffed green peppers recipe

Stuffed peppers are a classic dish in many cuisines, like Spanish, Mexican, Central European, Indian, and more. These stuffed green peppers are classic American-style, filled with ground beef or plant-based crumbles, rice and cheese. The concept has been around since the 1890’s in American cuisine (source), but it became very popular in the 1970’s and remains a popular dish to this day. Here’s what you’ll need to make stuffed green peppers:

  • Green bell peppers
  • Rice
  • Plant-based beef crumbles or ground beef
  • Garlic
  • Crushed fire roasted tomatoes
  • Oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, fennel seeds, and salt
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Whole milk mozzarella cheese
  • Parsley
Stuffed Green Peppers

Tips for making stuffed green peppers

Stuffed green peppers are a simple concept, but they take some time to put together! The effort is well worth it, in our opinion. Make sure to set aside about 1 hour: 30 minutes for prep and 30 minutes for baking. Here are a few tips for putting together this recipe:

  • When chopping, choose peppers that stand upright. They’ll be standing upright in the dish when serving. If they’re a bit wonky, you can slice off part of the bottom to make a flatter surface.
  • Boil the peppers first. This makes sure they’re perfectly tender before stuffing them. (Without pre-boiling, the peppers are much too crunchy after the bake time.)
  • Consider making the rice in advance (or using pre-cooked rice). This speeds up the prep time and decreases complexity.
  • Bake with a bit of water in the bottom of the pan. This helps to steam the peppers so they don’t dry out during the bake time.
Stuffed Green Peppers

Vegetarian vs ground beef filling

This stuffed green peppers recipe is easily customizable to a vegetarian diet. There are lots of great options these days when it comes to plant-based meat substitutes. You can also make your own ground beef substitute. Here’s what to know about vegetarian and vegan options:

  • Use any plant-based crumbles, ground beef or sausage. We like the brands Impossible and Beyond.
  • Substitute 2 cups Homemade Vegan Ground BeefWant a homemade version instead? This mixture of mushrooms, walnuts and savory spices remarkably tastes like meat.
  • Or, go for regular ground beef. If you’re a meat eater, regular sausage works beautifully. Make sure to drain any extra fat before adding the sauce ingredients.

Can you make it vegan? Yes, simply substitute your favorite brand of vegan mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, as well as vegan Worcestershire sauce.

Tips for make-ahead and meal prep

This stuffed green peppers recipe takes about 1 hour to make, so we typically make it for a weekend or when we have extra time. But want to save time and make it on a weeknight? You can do that too. There are several options depending on what you’d like to do:

  • Make rice in advance: We recommend doing this either way: it’s helpful to not have to balance yet another component while making the recipe. You can also use pre-cooked packages of rice.
  • Make entire filling in advance: Make the entire filling in advance and refrigerate it, then re-warm it before stuffing the peppers.
  • Boil the bell peppers in advance: You also can pre-boil the peppers in advance, then fill and bake them day of.
  • Make the entire stuffed peppers in advance: Make the entire pepper recipe in advance and refrigerate. Add a few minutes to the bake time since you’ll be baking them from cold (not warm).

And that’s it! We hope you’ll love this recipe as much as we do. Let us know in the comments below!

Stuffed Green Peppers

More stuffed recipes

Love stuffing vegetables with tasty fillings? Here are a few more recipes you’ll enjoy:

This stuffed green peppers recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten-free.

Print
Stuffed Green Peppers

Stuffed Green Peppers


  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 6

Description

This stuffed green peppers recipe makes a crowd-pleasing dinner, starring a hearty filling of rice, tomatoes, and cheese!


Ingredients

  • 6 green bell peppers*
  • 2 cups cooked rice (1 cup dry)
  • 1 pound plant based beef crumbles or regular ground beef
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 15-ounces fire roasted crushed tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 6 tablespoons grated or shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
  • 1 ¼ cups whole milk mozzarella cheese, divided
  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, plus more to garnish

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Cook the rice (or use precooked rice).
  3. Boil the bell peppers: Cut off the tops of the peppers, then cut around the seeds and remove them. Boil for 5 minutes until tender when pierced with a knife. Remove from the water and drain upside down on a towel.
  4. Make the filling: Place the plant based crumbles or ground beef in a medium skillet and cook according to the package instructions, 2 to 3 minutes for plant-based crumbles and 6 to 7 for regular ground beef (for regular beef, drain excess fat after cooking).
  5. Add the garlic to the pan and cook 30 seconds, then add the crushed tomatoes, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, fennel seed, kosher salt, Worcestershire sauce, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, chopped parsley, and the cooked rice. Heat for 1 to 2 minutes until warmed through.
  6. Stuff the peppers: Place the peppers in a casserole dish. (If they have trouble standing upright, you can slice off part of the bottom: just try not to pierce into the pepper and make a hole.) Spoon the filling into each pepper.
  7. Bake the peppers: Top each pepper with a handful of shredded mozzarella and grated Parmesan. Add about 1/2-inch water to the bottom of the pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until the cheese melts and slightly browns, covering loosely with foil after 15 minutes. Allow to cool a few minutes before serving.

Notes

*Look for peppers that have flat bottoms so they’ll easily stand up in a pan.

  • Category: Main dish
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Keywords: Stuffed green peppers

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Classic Ratatouille

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This traditional ratatouille recipe is made the classic French way! Sop up these stewed late summer veggies with bread or serve as a side.

Ratatouille Recipe

Sure, you’ve heard of the Ratatouille movie: but do you know what ratatouille actually is? Not surprisingly, this humble dish that’s not anything like it’s glamorized movie version: thinly sliced vegetables served in a swirled stack. This classic French dish of stewed late summer vegetables is anything but fancy, but it’s a darn good way to use seasonal produce! Serve it as a side dish with fish or chicken, or as a main dish with white beans and crusty bread.

What is ratatouille?

Ratatouille is a classic dish from Southern France of stewed vegetables. There’s no formalized recipe or method, but it typically includes eggplant, tomato, zucchini, onion, and bell pepper. It’s a humble stew and surprise: not anything like the ratatouille you see in the Pixar movie.

  • Where did the Disney ratatouille recipe come from? In the 1970’s French chefs started making a version of the dish with thin sliced vegetables. French chef Thomas Keller riffed on this concept in his 1999 cookbook, calling the recipe Confit byaldi. Confit byaldi adds a tomato and pepper sauce on the bottom (piperade), then garnishes the thin-sliced vegetables with balsamic vinaigrette.
  • Chef Thomas Keller actually served as food consultant for the movie Ratatouille! He suggested this way to serve the humble dish to a food critic, which is how it made its way into the movie. It does seem like a pretty genius spin for a mouse to think up, so we’re glad to know it was actually a great real-life chef. (Source)
Ratatouille Recipe

Making a traditional ratatouille recipe: some tips

A traditional ratatouille recipe is a humble vegetable stew, filled with end of summer vegetables. Is it worth making? Absolutely! It’s a comforting dish that makes your kitchen smell like heaven as the garlic sizzles. The way it enhances the flavors is out of this world! Here are a few things to note about this ratatouille recipe:

  • Saute the veggies in two batches. The amount of vegetables is too large for the pot, so to get a good caramelization on them you’ll sauté in two batches. While some modern spins roast their ratatouille veggies, we wanted to go as classic as possible.
  • Then add garlic, tomatoes, and veggies and cook 30 minutes. At this point it’s totally hands off, so you can prepare the rest of the meal.
  • Serve with pistou if desired. Even better, serve it with classic French pistou over the top! Keep reading.

Serve with pistou to take it over the top

Though this is a traditional ratatouille recipe, we couldn’t resist adding a little spin! (Sorry, Remy.) Add a little green sauce to make this one really shine! What’s pistou?

  • Pistou is a classic French Provençal sauce made of garlic, olive oil and fresh basil. It’s like Italian pesto but without pine nuts, which gives it a looser texture.
  • Use an immersion blender or a mortar and pestle to make this traditional sauce.
  • The fresh, garlicky flavor notes really add to this humble dish.
Pistou

How to serve ratatouille

Ratatouille is a late summer recipe that works as main dish or a side dish for roast chicken or fish. But keep in mind: it’s all vegetables with no major source of protein to keep you full. To serve it as a main dish, pair it with a protein like white beans, chickpeas or bread and cheese. Here are some ideas:

How would you serve it? Let us know in the comments below.

Ratatouille Recipe

More classic French recipes

Love classic French recipes? Here are a few more delicious ways to enjoy French food:

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Ratatouille

Classic Ratatouille Recipe


Ingredients

  • 1 medium eggplant, cut into 3/4” pieces
  • 1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch thick bite-sized chunks
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • 1 yellow onion, sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 large tomato, roughly chopped
  • 28-ounce can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
  • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • ½ tablespoon lemon juice
  • ¼ cup roughly chopped basil
  • Pistou, for serving

Instructions

  1. Prep the vegetables (except tomatoes) and add to a large bowl. Add the 2 tablespoons olive oil and kosher salt and toss to combine.
  2. In a large frying pan or large cast iron skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. Add half of the vegetables and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until lightly browned (not fully cooked) and remove to a bowl.
  3. Reduce the heat to medium. Add another drizzle of olive oil and cook the second half of the veggies in the same manner for about 5 minutes, then remove them to the same bowl.
  4. Keep the heat on medium. Add the minced garlic to the hot pan. Cook about 10 seconds, stirring constantly. Then add the chopped tomatoes with their liquid and cook for 30 seconds. Add the crushed tomatoes and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Then add the cooked vegetables and stir.
  5. Simmer about 30 minutes until tomatoes are reduced and veggies are all tender, stirring occasionally. When it’s done, stir in the lemon juice, and add more salt and pepper to taste. Top with pistou if desired.

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