With just 7 ingredients and packed full of flavor, these Italian stuffed peppers are the ideal easy weeknight meal. You can’t go wrong with these sweet red bell peppers stuffed with a cheesy, hearty ground beef and rice filling!
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Easy Italian Stuffed Peppers
If you’re looking for an easy weeknight meal that’s the perfect balance of healthy and hearty, I’ve got your covered with these yummy Italian stuffed peppers! We’re talking fresh red bell peppers stuffed to the brim with an Italian-inspired ground beef and rice mixture, finished off with a generous sprinkle of melted mozzarella cheese…
They’re the ultimate healthier comfort food and SO simple to make! This Italian stuffed peppers recipe:
✔ uses just 7 ingredients
✔ that are all pantry/freezer staples
✔ bakes to perfection in 35 minutes
✔ full of texture and flavor
✔ is a satisfying all-in-one meal
✔ you can pick up everything you need for this recipe at Meijer!
My kids love them, my husband loves them, and apparently even MY DOG loves them! Yep, I turned my back for half a second and she snatched one right off the stovetop… Never a dull moment around here!
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Italian Stuffed Peppers Recipe Ingredients
Like the cheesy chicken and rice casserole I shared recently, these ground beef stuffed peppers start with a little shortcut — a package of Knorr Herb & Butter Rice. It provides a flavorful base for the filling, and the herby, buttery sauce keeps it tender and juicy. And you can conveniently pick it up at Meijer, along with all of the other necessary ingredients!
Knorr Rice Side Dishes cook on the stovetop in just 7 minutes, which makes them an ideal quick and easy side for any meal. But this also makes them perfect as a main dish meal recipe starter! Just add your favorite protein and veggies for a dinner your family is sure to love.
ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS:
cooked and crumbled ground beef — making these stuffed peppers with ground beef is ideal for stretching a pound to the max. Ground chicken or ground turkey would also work well or spice them up a bit with some ground Italian sausage!
fresh red bell peppers — I like the way the sweetness of red bell peppers pairs with the savory filling, but you can use orange, yellow, or even green, as well.
tomato paste — helps to bind everything together without adding excess liquid. Since we’re not using a whole can, I recommend looking for a variety that comes in a tube to avoid waste.
Parmesan cheese — the grated kind works just fine in this dish.
mozzarella cheese — we prefer a whole milk variety with large shreds, but any shredded variety will do.
How To Make Ground Beef Stuffed Peppers
Start prepping these ground beef stuffed peppers by browning the ground beef and preparing the Knorr Herb & Butter Rice. To save time, these steps can be completed simultaneously while the oven is preheating and shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes tops.
1| Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. While the oven is preheating, bring a saucepan filled with 2 cups of water to a boil to prepare the rice. Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a large skillet and drain.
2| Wash and dry the red bell peppers thoroughly, then slice them in half. Remove the seeds and membranes from inside each pepper, and arrange them in a 13×9″ baking dish
3| Mix the browned ground beef with the Parmesan cheese, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Fold in the prepared Knorr Herb & Butter Rice.
4| Generously fill each pepper with the rice and ground beef mixture. Pour 1/2 cup of water into the baking dish around the stuffed peppers, and bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle each stuffed pepper with shredded mozzarella cheese, and then return the peppers to the oven for about 5 more minutes or until the cheese is melted.
A few quick tips for best results:
- Choose large red bell peppers that are uniformly round in order to best maximize the filling to pepper ratio.
- I chose to slice my peppers in half, preserving the stems for visual appeal. But you can also just lop off the tops and stand them up! If you go this route, take a thin slice off the bottoms so that they sit up straight in the dish.
- If you prefer a more tender filling, you can add the mozzarella cheese at the beginning of the cook time, which also shaves about 5 minutes of cook time off the total. I like the way that the exposed part of the filling gets a little crispy while baking, so I choose to add mine at the end and then pop them back in to melt the cheese.
These Italian stuffed bell peppers with ground beef are an ample meal all on their own, no sides necessary! But if you feel like you need just a little something more, a super simple tossed salad and/or some fresh fruit are the perfect light additions.
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Easy Italian Stuffed Peppers
With just 7 ingredients and packed full of flavor, these Italian stuffed peppers are the ideal easy weeknight meal. You can't go wrong with these sweet red bell peppers stuffed with a cheesy, hearty ground beef and rice filling!
Ingredients
- 1 (-oz.) pkg. Knorr Rice Sides Herb & Butter
- 4 large red bell peppers, sliced in half
- 1-lb. ground beef
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- chopped fresh basil (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare Knorr Rice Sides with water according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain and stir in the grated Parmesan cheese, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Fold in the hot rice.
- Generously stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture. Arrange stuffed peppers in a 13x9" baking dish. Pour 1/2 cup water into the dish around the peppers.
- Bake for 35 minutes, until the peppers are tender. Sprinkle the peppers with shredded mozzarella cheese, and return to the oven. Bake for about 5 minutes, until the cheese is fully melted.
- Top with fresh basil, if desired. Serve hot.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1/2 stuffed pepperAmount Per Serving: Calories: 343Total Fat: 21.2gSaturated Fat: 9.6gCholesterol: 65.8mgSodium: 535.5mgCarbohydrates: 19.8gFiber: 1.7gSugar: 2.4gProtein: 18.2g
Knorr Sides are pretty much always on my Meijer grocery list. Not only for sides and as meal starters, but because my kids often make them as a quick lunch or afternoon snack, too!
Which reminds me… Have you tried Meijer’s super convenient grocery pickup and/or delivery, yet? I can’t recommend it enough — it not only saves time, but it also saves me from all of those unplanned extras my kids have a tendency to toss into my shopping cart!
Oh, and as an added bonus, Meijer has a great 10 for $10 sale on Knorr Side Dishes right now! Add some to your next pickup or delivery order, along with the remaining ingredients for these tasty Italian stuffed bell peppers.
Did you make this recipe?
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Nora
Sunday 4th of October 2020
These Italian Stuffed Peppers are so delicious and easy to make. And adding Knorr Herb & Butter makes peppers soft and tasty. My family loved this recipe!
Emmeline
Sunday 4th of October 2020
So delicious and easy to prepare - a perfect weeknight meal!
Anita
Sunday 4th of October 2020
This dish is so easy to prepare and so colorful. It's pretty enough to serve for special events.
April
Sunday 4th of October 2020
I love that you made it easy and used the packaged rice. I am going to make these for the family tonight.
Anna
Tuesday 29th of September 2020
My family loved these peppers! The filling is delicious!