Easy Stuffed Bell Pepper Recipe Perfect for a Weeknight Meal

If you’re looking for an easy and palate pleasing Stuffed Bell Pepper Recipe that’s perfect for a weeknight meal, I have the one for you. I grew up eating my mom’s stuffed bell peppers. It’s comfort food, but it’s also healthy. Win-win. When my kids walked in the door last night, the air was filled with the amazing aroma this recipe gives off. I know I’ve made an award-winning (meaning kid pleasing) recipe when they say two things: what’s for dinner it smells amazing and that was really good mom.

The hardest part of this recipe (and it’s not hard at all) is getting the bell peppers ready to be stuffed. You just chop off the top and take out the seeded core. After that, the most time consuming part is chopping the veggies. Unless you have a food processor. An item that’s on my kitchen wishlist.

Here’s the order I recommend doing this recipe in:

• Chop all of your vegetables that go in the meat filling
• Get the whole peppers ready
• Bake the whole peppers
• While the whole peppers are baking, cook your filling
• Fill the whole peppers and bake again

If you have a plan and an order to do things in, your time in the kitchen will be less. I love being in the kitchen, but I do not under any circumstance want to be in there longer than necessary. Who’s got time for that yo? (My kids love it when I say ‘yo’.)

Easy Stuffed Bell Pepper Recipe

Side note: I stated that this recipe feeds 5 because that’s how many are in my family. And, we each only had one stuffed pepper because we had sides with it as well. One stuffed pepper, plus a side like rice and fresh fruit, fills us up.Just note that this recipe is for 5 people to each have one pepper.

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Easy Stuffed Bell Pepper Recipe

An easy stuffed bell pepper recipe perfect for a weeknight meal.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time50 mins

Servings: 5

Author: Julie@MomFabulous

Ingredients

• 5 red yellow, or orange bell peppers (make sure they're round in shape for easier stuffing)
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1 cup diced bell peppers I did half green, half red
• 2 garlic cloves minced (or use 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
• A handful of fresh spinach
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or more depending on preference, just taste before you add more at the end
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• Grated Cheddar or Co-jack cheese for topping

Instructions

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• 2. Chop your 1/4 cup onion and half cup bell peppers for filling. Set aside.
• 3. With a paring knife, cut off the top of the pepper. Discard or save to top your pepper bowls with. Discard the seeded core. Place the peppers on a parchment lined oven safe dish. Bake for 10 minutes or until soft. (You don't want them to be wrinkly yet at this point because you're going to bake them again as a last step.)
• 4. While the whole peppers are baking, pour your 3 Tablespoons of olive oil and heat in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the diced onions and peppers and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until soft. Add the minced garlic and cook about 1 minute. Add the spinach and cook for 1 minute. Add the 1 lb of ground beef and break it up with a wooden spoon. Stir it into your vegetable mixture and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook until the meat is mostly browned, about 10 minutes.
• 5. Divide the meat mixture evenly into your prepared whole bell peppers. Return them to the oven for 7 minutes. Add cheese (optional) and cook another 3 minutes. If you don't add cheese, cook them for a whole 10 minutes before removing from oven. The peppers should be wrinkly, the cheese melted and the meat browned on top.

Notes

You can substitute spinach for kale.
You can substitute the diced bell peppers for zucchini or yellow squash.
Serve the peppers with rice and some fresh fruit.

Adapted from Whole30