One pot stuffed pepper casserole has all the flavor with zero stuffing required!
Seasoned ground beef, rice, and bell peppers are simmered in a rich tomato broth and topped with loads of melty mozzarella cheese for the ultimate stuffed pepper casserole.
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You’ll Love This Stuffed Pepper Casserole Because…
- This stuffed bell pepper casserole is actually “unstuffed” and super easy to make.
- This crowd-pleaser is budget-friendly and can be kept warm in a crock pot to feed a crowd.
- Prep ahead on the weekend to enjoy hearty dinners and easy workday lunches all week long. The flavors will continue to improve.
Ingredient Tips For Stuffed Pepper Casserole
- Meat: The recipe calls for ground beef but ground turkey, chicken, or sausage can be used in this recipe.
- Bell Peppers: Bell peppers add a sweet crunch to this stuffed pepper casserole. Red, yellow, or orange bell peppers are sweeter while green peppers are a bit more earthy or bitter. I like to use a combination.
- Rice: Basmati white rice is used in this recipe, if changing the rice for another type, the amount of liquid may need to be adjusted.
- Tomatoes: Canned diced tomatoes add flavor, you can swap in Rotel for a little kick if you’d like.
- Broth: Adds flavor, use any kind you have on hand.
Variations
- Use up leftover vegetables from the fridge to bulk up this hearty dish. Mushrooms, diced potatoes, zucchini, sweet potatoes, kale, and spinach are great options.
- This is also a great recipe for using up leftover brown rice or other varieties. Reduce the liquid.
- Sprinkle some cheddar cheese or Parmesan in with the mozzarella for extra flavor.
How to Make Stuffed Pepper Casserole
- Brown beef with onion and garlic.
- Add remaining ingredients (except cheese) and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and cook (recipe below) until rice is tender.
- Top with cheese before serving.
Storing and Reheating
- Keep leftover stuffed bell pepper casserole in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freeze portions in zippered bags for up to two months and thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Leftovers can be tucked into a wrap, a pita pocket, or added to a hearty soup.
Italian-Inspired Casseroles
Did your family like this Stuffed Pepper Casserole? Leave a comment and a rating below!
Equipment
- Dutch Oven 3.5 QT
- Saucepan (If no Dutch Oven is available)
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 to 2 ¼ cups diced bell pepper red, green and/or yellow
- 2 cups beef broth more as needed
- 14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juices, 1 can
- 1 ½ cups tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup basmati rice uncooked
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- In a 3.5QT Dutch oven or saucepan, brown beef with onion and garlic until no pink remains over medium-high heat. Drain excess fat.
- Add peppers, beef broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, rice, Italian seasoning, and salt & pepper to taste.
- Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Simmer 25 minutes or until rice is tender. (Add more beef broth if needed).
- Once rice is tender, top with cheese and cover with a lid until melted. Optionally, broil in the oven to brown the cheese for 2-3 minutes.
Notes
Store leftover stuffed bell pepper casserole in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. For longer storage, freeze individual portions in zippered bags for up to two months. When you’re ready to enjoy it again, just thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat!
Nutrition Information
Calories: 434 | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 763mg | Potassium: 1035mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 2422IU | Vitamin C: 86mg | Calcium: 172mg | Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Casserole, Dinner, Entree, Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Hi Holly! How would you make this in the slow cooker? Thanks!
Hi Erin, I would brown the beef and onion first on the stovetop, then add all ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 4-8 hours or high for 1 1/2-2 hours. Just be sure to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t dry out! Good luck :)
WhaT if i dont have tomatoe puree?
Hi Nicole, you can try making your own tomato puree, or you can try substituting it with diced tomatoes. We would love to hear how it turns out.
Rarely give 3 stars to recipes from Spendwithpennies. Almost all recipes deserve 5+ stars. However, we thought this dish somewhat bland. I didn’t have tomato sauce so I used purée which isn’t as sweet as sauce. Should have added a bit of sugar. Maybe some red pepper flakes. Or Rotel tomatoes. After a few bites my husband added some diced jalapeños.
I wish I could make myself write down some of the things I make. I make them up, don’t measure when I do. Thanks for the receipes you post. I’ve tried a few and have turned out great.
You’re very welcome Bob!
so so good, loved it. Thank you.
Thanks Petra! So happy to hear that.
Looks so good. Will be dinner for sure tonight
Very good.
I want to make this in the crockpot. I saw a previous question regarding that but wondered when you recommend adding the rice, tomatoes etc? At the beginning? Or cook rice separately and add towards the end? Thanks!
I would suggest adding the rice at the beginning.
used this recipe but did it in my instant pot. Turned out great! Followed almost exactly. Sauteed in instant pot. Drained fat. Dumped rest of the ingredients in. Pressured cooked on high for 4 mins. Natural released for 10. Otherwise didn’t change a thing. (Besides just stirring cheese in at the end)
We are so happy you enjoyed this recipe, Kathy!
Hi Kathy, I was planning on doing this in my instant pot today but I was thinking there might need to be a decrease in liquid?
Cheers Amy
My family and I really enjoyed this dish! I doubled the recipe. Followed exact recipe with one exception. I didn’t have any rice on hand, so I ordered white rice from a Chinese restaurant (to be delivered. lol) and added the cooked rice at the end of cooking time. I continued cooking an additional 20 minutes, so that the juices would be absorbed into the cooked rice. This recipe is so delicious as is, and so basic that you can adapt it to your own tastes and what you have on hand. Also, I added cheese and red pepper flakes (grated Parmesan, which is my preference) to each plate rather than in the pot. Thank you for sharing, I will definitely be adding this to my dinner rotations.
We are so happy to hear your family loves this dish, Tricia! Thanks for leaving a review :)
I used peppers from my garden, but they weren’t the picture perfect size for a traditional stuffed dish. I also used homemade tomato sauce and garden onions. This was an easy recipe. The only thing I added was a little fresh ground pepper and seasoned salt. I feel like this will make great leftovers and the flavors will enhance as it is refrigerated!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Diana!
If I wanted to cook this in a slow cooker, do you have the instructions for that?
Hi Christine, I would brown the beef and onion first on the stovetop, then add all ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 4-8 hours or high for 1 1/2-2 hours. Just be sure to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t dry out! Good luck :)
Delicious and so easy. Thank you!
Super yummy and so easy to make!!
Thanks Debbie! Glad you enjoyed it.
This recipe is phenomenal. So easy and super delicious. I have two toddlers and they both love it too! Thank you for so many delicious recipes. Your website is a favorite of mine and I use it at least once or twice a week. Trying your toffee recipe this weekend!!!
Made this for the family. The idea was to find a recipe with ingredients we had on hand due to the stay at home order. We had ALL ingredients including the Italian seasoning and it was fantastic!
I made this tonight for dinner. I had to make the following changes due to stay at home order and this is what I had in the house. Used two red peppers and 1/2 green pepper that had to get used up and added two cans of Rotel tomatoes with green chilies. I think that made it a nice spicy flavor. Getting very creative using food that is in the house. Very good recipe.
Very good! Made almost as written. Added cinnamon to help with acidity (an old Italian thing) and sharp cheddar to top because that is what I had on hand. Will definitely make again. Thank you.
Hi,
Can I use jasmine rice or does it need to be basmati rice?
Thanks,
Renee
I’ve only tried it as written but it should work just fine. You may need to adjust cook time slightly.
Love love love! This casserole was amazing! SWP Employee
Thanks Samantha! So glad you enjoyed this casserole!
I made this as a skillet dish (adding about 1/2 cup of chopped green peppers to the skillet mix and left the other green peppers whole. I then cored the green peppers , halved them and grilled them on my traeger grill to roast and soften them. Then spooned the skillet mixture and cheese on top of the green peppers to heat it all up and melt the cheese. It really turned out very nice!!!
That sounds sooo delicious Ruth, thank you for sharing!