Classic Stuffed Peppers: easy recipe - Simple and Seasonal (2024)

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Enjoy this favorite meal using items you already have in the fridge! With ground beef, cheese, rice and spinach these Classic Stuffed Peppers will get rave reviews from everyone in the family.

Stuffed peppers with Mexican fillings, with Italian seasonings, vegetarian peppers, meaty peppers. . . there are so many variations on this favorite meal of mine!

Stuffed Peppers

We can all use more quick and easy dinner ideas, right? If you haven’t made classic stuffed peppers before, you’re going to be wowed by how simple they are to prepare and how delicious they taste.

There’s nothing complex or unusual about this recipe. Just straight forward lightly seasoned ground beef with tomato sauce stuffed into peppers. Add a little spinach, cooked rice and cheese and you have a tasty meal on the table in under an hour.

Sure I could fancy these up with all kinds of exotic spices or additions–but why mess with perfection? My kids love these peppers and any recipe that has my kids excited to eat a lot of veggies is a winner as far as I’m concerned!

Lots of stuffed bell peppers recipes involve slicing the bell pepper in half lengthwise, then fill each half with the stuffing.

In this recipe, you leave the bell pepper in tact but remove the core and stem. You then stuff the meat, cheese, rice and spinach right into the cavity and bake whole.

The peppers soften as they roast so when you cut into one of these stuffed peppers to serve you get cheesy, flavorful beef filling in each bite.

What goes in stuffed peppers?

There are so many ways to make stuffed peppers, but the recipe I’m sharing below is my favorite for everyday dinners. I almost always have these ingredients available in my pantry and fridge so I know stuffed peppers are never more than an few steps away.

Here’s what I use for my Classic Stuffed Peppers recipe:

{Ingredients at a glance; scroll down for recipe with amounts]

• Bell peppers with the tops and cores removed
• Ground beef
• Chunky tomato sauce (seasoned)
• Fresh spinach
• Cooked rice
• Mozzarella cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make Classic Stuffed Peppers

STEP 1. In a skillet, brown ground beef over medium heat until cooked through, drain any fat and return to pan.

STEP 2. Over medium heat, add the oregano and tomato sauce. Once thoroughly heated add spinach and cook until completely wilted. Simmer for 5 minutes to reduce liquid. Add rice and cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

STEP 3. Spoon mixture into peppers and place in a roasting pan. Top each pepper with a little cheese.

Cook in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly with lightly browned edges on the peppers. Serve hot!

Recipe Tips

• Keep an eye on the cheese as the peppers bake. If it begins to brown too much, cover the peppers with tinfoil for the remainder of baking time.
• Use a tomato sauce with garlic and onion already in it if possible. Your favorite chunky marinara sauce is perfect.

Can you freeze stuffed peppers?

Stuffed peppers freeze beautifully! This recipe makes six stuffed peppers which is ideal for a dinner for my family. If you have a smaller family, pop the leftovers in the freezer for easy reheating later.

You can also prep a double batch on a weekend, serve half right away and keep the others in the freezer for later in the week.

To reheat from frozen: Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 until thawed (about 5 minutes).

What kind of peppers to use

This recipe tastes great with any color of bell pepper! Use a rainbow of pepper colors for maximum visual appeal. I love to grab a combo of yellow, orange, red and green bell peppers here to make everyone say “Ooooh!” when the see them lined up on the table.

What kind of rice to use in stuffed peppers

The beauty of recipes like this is you can use whatever you have on hand, here. I’ll most often use whatever cooked rice we have leftover from previous meals. I’ve put everything from Cilantro Lime Rice to basic brown or white rice here and it’s always been delicious.

For a “southwestern” flair, try using Crockpot Express Mexican Rice. It’s easy to prepare in the pressure cooker and the leftovers are flavorful. It’s perfect for stuffed peppers!

Don’t forget to pin these stuffed peppers for later!