I have a thing for bell peppers. They are one of my all time favorite vegetables to cook with. Stuffed Bell Peppers are a classic (and easy) way to use them. For this recipe, we put a tasty BBQ spin on a classic stuffed bell pepper. You'll only need a few basic ingredients to create this delicious meal for your family.
Stuffed Bell Peppers with a BBQ Twang
This recipe was inspired by the fact I totally freaking forgot why I bought so many bell peppers. True story. These colorful bell peppers winked at me during my last trip through the market, so I grabbed them. I promise you, I had a recipe in mind when I got them. A few days later, I remembered they were in the bottom of the crisper. Dang it!
When in doubt, stuff those beauties. It doesn't mater what color bell pepper you pick (red's my fave), just scoop them out and stuff them with a beefy BBQ mixture for a yummy dinner.
Ingredients Needed:
- Bell peppers (any color)
- Ground Beef (I prefer lean, but you do you.)
- BBQ sauce (sweet + sticky, y'all)
- Sharp cheddar cheese
- Onion
- Garlic
- Rice
- Egg
- Salt + pepper
For me, stuffed bell peppers are like making meatloaf. Use what you've got! A little of this, a little of that, and a whole lotta love = dinner. You can tweak this recipe anyway you'd like. Check out our tips + ideas at the end of this post.
TIP: This recipe makes 4 very large (stuffed to the top) bell peppers. You can use 6 to stretch it out for more servings.
If you don't cook with bell peppers a lot, this is a great starter recipe. I love the mild flavor of the peppers. Plus, we are baking these for an hour+, so the peppers will be nice and tender.
How to Make Stuffed Bell Peppers:
- First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9x9 (or larger if using 6 peppers) with non-stick spray.
- Next, slice ½ inch from the top of the peppers. Remove the seeds and white membranes inside the bell peppers. Discard the guts.
- Then, slice a very thin layer off of the bottom of the peppers so they will stand up straight. Place the peppers in the baking dish bottom side down.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef with a portion of the BBQ sauce, half of the cheddar cheese, and all remaining ingredients. Combine well.
- Press the beef mixture into the prepared bell peppers, filling to the top.
- Top each pepper with the remaining BBQ sauce. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 1 hour.
- Remove the stuffed bell peppers from the oven. Uncover and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Return to the oven and bake for 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Finally let the peppers stand 15 minutes before serving.
If you want to cut out some carbs in this recipe, you can leave out the rice. Also, if you don't have any cooked rice, you can use uncooked rice instead. Just cut the amount in half.
I like using an egg to bind the beef mixture together. You can leave it out if you'd like, but the mixture will be more crumbly.
TIP: If you are using a fatty ground beef, pour off excess fat halfway through cooking. If you use lean ground beef, you can skip this step.
More recipes you might like:
Black Eyed Pea Chili
Crockpot Lasagna Soup
Cheesy Stuffed Zucchini
Using BBQ sauce in the meat mixture replaces the need for a lot of other seasonings. The next time I make these peppers, I'm going to add some chopped bacon. Because.
Tips + Ideas for Stuffed Bell Peppers:
- Replace the rice with a can of drained kernel corn or drained diced tomatoes.
- Create more (smaller) servings for this recipe by slicing the peppers in half lengthwise before filling with the meat mixture.
- Add some crispy, cooked bacon for a savory flavor.
- This recipe makes 4 very large hearty pepper servings, or 6 normal sized pepper servings. When sliced in half, can make 8. The nutritional information listed at the bottom of this recipe is for 4.
- Try this recipe with shredded chicken or pulled pork. Great way to use up leftovers and maximize your food budget. 🙂
Beef BBQ Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 bell peppers very large, or use 6 regular sized
- 1.5 pounds ground beef
- 1.5 cups bbq sauce divided
- 1.5 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded, divided
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 1 egg
- ½ onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9×9 (or larger if using 6 peppers) with non-stick spray.
- Next, slice ½ inch from the top of the peppers. Remove the seeds and white membranes inside the bell peppers. Discard the guts.
- Then, slice a very thin layer off of the bottom of the peppers so they will stand up straight. Place the peppers in the baking dish bottom side down.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef with a 1 cup of the BBQ sauce, 1 cup of the cheddar cheese, and all remaining ingredients. Combine well.
- Press the beef mixture into the prepared bell peppers, filling to the top.
- Top each pepper with the remaining BBQ sauce. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 1 hour.
- Remove the stuffed bell peppers from the oven. Uncover and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Return to the oven and bake for 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Finally let the peppers stand 15 minutes before serving.
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