Crockpot Stuffed Peppers
Crockpot stuffed peppers cook upright in the slow cooker until tender, filled with seasoned beef, rice and melted cheese. They are a full dinner in one pot, and the peppers keep their shape if you do not overcook them.
6
servings25
minutes6
hoursBell peppers stuffed with beef, rice, tomato and cheese, cooked upright in a tomato sauce bath. A complete meal in one pot.
Ingredients
6 medium bell peppers, tops cut off and seeded
1 lb lean ground beef
1 cup cooked white rice
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 cup shredded mozzarella or cheddar, divided
1 egg, beaten
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 cup beef broth
Directions
- Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds and ribs. Trim a thin slice from the bottom of any pepper that wobbles so it stands up.
- In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, cooked rice, diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, paprika, egg and half the cheese. Mix with your hands just until combined.
- Stir the tomato sauce and beef broth together and pour half into the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Spoon the filling into the peppers, packing lightly. Do not press hard, the rice will swell.
- Stand the peppers upright in the slow cooker, packing them in snugly so they lean on each other.
- Pour the remaining sauce over and around the peppers.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours. The beef filling should reach 160°F and the peppers should be tender when pierced with a fork.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and cover for 10 minutes to melt.
- Lift the peppers out carefully with a large spoon and serve with sauce from the pot.
Notes
- Use pre-cooked rice. Raw rice often stays hard in this recipe. Swap ground turkey or Italian sausage for the beef. For a crockpot unstuffed peppers version, chop the peppers, brown the beef, and layer everything with uncooked-rice-free sauce, adding cooked rice at the end. Leftover peppers keep 4 days in the fridge and freeze for 3 months.
Why stuffed peppers work in a slow cooker
Oven stuffed peppers can be a fuss. The peppers split, the tops dry out and the filling scorches before the pepper is soft. In the crockpot, the peppers steam in tomato sauce and cook slowly until tender while the filling stays juicy.
The sauce does double duty. It flavors the peppers from the outside and becomes a sauce to spoon over each serving. You can load the pot in the morning and have a hot dinner when you walk in the door.
Ingredient notes
Bell peppers: Choose peppers that sit flat and are about the same size. Green ones are the classic and slightly bitter, while red, yellow and orange are sweeter. Trim a small slice from the bottom if they wobble.
Ground beef: Lean ground beef, around 90 percent, keeps the filling from getting greasy. Cook it through to 160 degrees in the finished peppers.
Cooked rice: Use rice that has already been cooked. Raw rice absorbs the juices unevenly and can stay crunchy.
Diced tomatoes: Drain them well so the filling does not get watery. The sauce around the peppers provides the moisture.
Cheese: Mozzarella melts into a stretchy cap, while cheddar gives a sharper flavor. Add it in the last half hour. Buy peppers that feel heavy for their size, with firm, glossy skin and no soft spots, since those hold up best through long cooking.
Tips for the best stuffed peppers
Stand the peppers upright: Pack them snugly in the crock so they lean on each other and do not tip. If your cooker is wide, crumple a piece of foil to wedge them in place.
Do not overstuff: Fill the peppers to the rim, but do not press the filling down hard. Loose filling cooks evenly and does not turn dense.
Watch the time: The most common mistake is cooking them too long, until the pepper walls collapse. Check at five hours on LOW, and when a fork slides in easily, they are done. The center of the filling should read 160 degrees. If the sauce looks thin at the end, remove the peppers carefully and let the sauce cook uncovered on HIGH for fifteen minutes.
Swaps and variations
Use ground turkey or Italian sausage in place of beef, or make them vegetarian with black beans and corn. Brown rice works if you cook it first. For a Tex-Mex version, add cumin, chili powder and a little salsa, and top with pepper jack.
Do not stuff the peppers with uncooked rice as a shortcut. It rarely cooks through, and the filling ends up hard and starchy. Mixed colors look good on the platter, and the red, yellow and orange peppers taste sweeter than the green ones. Add a spoonful of sauce over each pepper to keep them glossy and moist.
What to serve with it
These are a full meal with a side salad and crusty bread to mop up the sauce. Garlic bread or roasted potatoes also fit the plate. Spoon some of the tomato sauce from the bottom of the crock over each pepper before you bring them to the table.
Storing, freezing and reheating
Keep leftover peppers with a little sauce in a covered container in the fridge for up to four days. Reheat in the microwave for two to three minutes, or in a covered dish in a 350 degree oven for twenty minutes.
To freeze, wrap each cooled pepper tightly and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. Make a double batch of filling and freeze half for the next busy night. Freezing the filling alone is a good shortcut.
Crockpot Stuffed Peppers at a glance
- Prep time: 25 minutes
- Cooking time: 6 hours
- Servings: 6 servings
- Ingredients: 14, led by bell peppers, lean ground beef, cooked white rice, (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
Tips for Crockpot Stuffed Peppers
Use pre-cooked rice. Raw rice often stays hard in this recipe. Swap ground turkey or Italian sausage for the beef. For a crockpot unstuffed peppers version, chop the peppers, brown the beef, and layer everything with uncooked-rice-free sauce, adding cooked rice at the end. Leftover peppers keep 4 days in the fridge and freeze for 3 months.
Crockpot Stuffed Peppers FAQ
How long does Crockpot Stuffed Peppers take?
Crockpot Stuffed Peppers takes 6 hours of cooking after 25 minutes of prep.
How many people does Crockpot Stuffed Peppers serve?
This recipe makes 6 servings.
What do I need to make Crockpot Stuffed Peppers?
14 ingredients, led by bell peppers, lean ground beef, cooked white rice, (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes. Amounts are in the recipe card above.
