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If you’re looking for a satisfying vegetarian snack or side dish for dinner, stuffed capsicum can be a good option. This super-food is loaded with essential nutrition, tastes delicious and is brightly colored to attract the attention of your little munchkins. Made with soft paneer and the hearty texture of quinoa generously sprinkled with dried herbs and spices, stuffed capsicum can be ideally served with any soup, sandwiches or even eaten by itself. Find a detailed recipe for how to make stuffed capsicum in the simplest way to give below and treat the taste buds of your children and family.

Cooking Time

Type Time (hh:mm:ss)
Preparation Time00:10:00
Cook Time00:40:00
Total Time00:50:00

Cooking Method

Type of Meal

Suitable For

Toddlers older than 20 month of age

Meal Schedule

Breakfast, Lunch, Snack or dinner

Recipe Type

Main or Side Dish

Ingredients

Type Quantity
Bell pepper of any color4
Small Onion1 Cup chopped
Garlic Cloves2 chopped
Mashed Paneer1 Cup
SaltAs Per Taste
Cook Quinoa1 Cup
Olive Oil1 tablespoon
Grated mozzarella cheeseHalf Cup
Dried Basil½ Teaspoon
Italian Seasoning½ Teaspoon
Pepper Powder½ teaspoon
Tomato¾ Cup chopped
Water1 Cup

Instructions

The step by step directions given here in chronological order provides the best perspective on cooking this dish without spending much time in the kitchen.

  1. Cook quinoa in water with 1 cup of water. When it gets fluffy, keep it aside.
  2. Cut the bell peppers from the top and scoop out the seeds from inside.
  3. Heat about 2 – 3 tsp olive oil in a pan and add garlic, onion, and stir in medium flame for few minutes.
  4. As the onion gets transparent, add chopped tomatoes and wait till it turns mushy.
  5. Add the mashed paneer and put the salt and pepper powder as a seasoning. Sauté for another 2 minutes while stirring in the cooked quinoa.
  6. As the mixture thickens, season with basil leaves and cheese and turn off the flame.
  7. Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees C for 15 minutes.
  8. Stuff the bell peppers with the mixture and arrange them in a baking dish lined with aluminum foil.
  9. Bake the bell peppers in the middle rack for 20 minutes until they become slightly tender.
  10. Broil for 2-3 minutes until the cheese melts. Serve warm.

Recipe Tips

  • This simple stuffed capsicum recipe is versatile enough to be made with different fillings like a mushroom, sweet corn, scrambled eggs, mixed vegetables, minced chicken or any other combinations.
  • Adding a handful of roasted cashews or peanuts can add crunch to your stuffing.
  • You can pan-fry or grill your capsicum.
  • This homemade stuffed capsicum baby food recipe can be made spicier by adding black pepper or green chilies.
  • It is advisable to make cottage cheese at home especially if you’re feeding your baby.
  • Quinoa needs to be dehulled before usage to avoid its bitter taste. The proper wash will get rid of its bitterness.

Nutrition Information (Per 2 Serving)

Type Value
Carbohydrates39.8 gm
Calories253 Kcal
Protein9.4 gm
Sodium389 mg
Dietary Fibre6.8 gm
Total fat5.8 gm
Sugar6.3 gm
Calcium112 mg
Cholesterol5 mg
Vitamin C212 mg
Vitamin A59% of RDA
Phosphorous56% of RDA
Vitamin E36% of RDA

Health Benefits

Stuffed capsicum stuffed with quinoa and paneer is the right solution to satiate the hunger pangs of growing toddlers as it is high in its nutritive value:

  • Rich in vitamins and anti-oxidants, bell peppers make an excellent addition to a healthy diet. It reduces the risk of chronic diseases, improves eye health due to the presence of carotenoids and Vitamin C.
  • Vitamin B in paneer plays a key role in making the bone cartilage better for babies. The good amount of fat and protein in paneer is good for the growth and all-round development of babies at their crucial stage.
  • Quinoa is a nutrient-rich food that is packed with high protein, vitamins, and minerals. It is an antioxidant with high fiber content that acts as a natural laxative to avoid constipation in babies.

Buying Guide

This reliable and effective buying guide protects the best interest of the consumers and gives valuable information about the ingredients used in making this dish.

  • Buy pre-rinsed quinoa and check the label if you want a gluten-free variety. Mostly sold in bulk, quinoa is a popular item in health food stores.
  • If you’re buying packaged paneer, check the use before date.
  • Try to buy organic capsicum from a good store. Avoid those that are shriveled or have brown or black soft spots in them.

Homemade stuffed capsicum for babies is a healthy way to sneak in some fiber and protein into your child’s diet. Roasted to perfection, this delicious after-school snack is truly a desirable alternative for all mothers instead of processed junk food bought from the supermarket.

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

I’m currently sitting in the passenger’s seat of Dustin’s truck, listening to our two kids in the backseat talk about their soon-to-be cruise experience.

That’s right! We’re headed to Ft. Lauderdale to enjoy a seven day cruise with twenty-three family members. I haven’t seen many of my cousins since we were young teenagers, and now we’re all grown adults. It’s amazing how fast time flies!

When this post goes live, we’ll just be getting back from our cruise, which means that I should have a gorgeous tan right now and feel completely relaxed (lol, that’s the hope…we are cruising with kids 😉 ).

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

I’m bringing my big camera on the cruise, so hopefully I’ll have some great photos (and some video footage) to share with you in a couple of weeks.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Okay, okay, enough about my hopeful tan and relaxed state of mind; let’s talk about some stuffed peppers.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

One of our goals for Live Simply in 2017 is to share more super easy, family-friendly, nourishing meals. I was so pleased with the great recipes that went up in 2016, and it’s my desire to continue to provide high-quality, well-tested, and simple real food recipes here on Live Simply. Along with equipping us (because we’re on this real food journey together) with simple and delicious (real food) recipes, we’re also working on a couple of resources to continue simplifying our real food lifestyle.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Today’s recipe, Easy Stuffed Bell Peppers, is the perfect way to start the new year (along with the green smoothie from earlier this week). This recipe is super easy to make, can be prepped a day in advance (or placed in the freezer and baked in the oven), and relies on simple real food ingredients. Because that’s how we roll around here: easy, real, and family-friendly. And, of course, we have lots of do-it-yourself recipes and tutorials coming this year, too.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Once the peppers are baked, they may be served with fresh cilantro, a dollop of sour cream, a few avocado slices or jalapeño slices, or garnished with lettuce or shredded cabbage. The possibilities are endless!

This recipe is a great base recipe to keep on your meal plan rotation, and then offer variety with different toppings each time you make the peppers.

I’d love to hear how you customize your peppers. Let’s eat!

By swasthi , on November 24, 2019 , 18 Comments

Stuffed capsicum recipe – Stuffed bell peppers are a popular dish across the world. These are so many different kinds of fillings made to stuff the bell peppers. They can be filled with meat, veggies, cheese, rice or even with noodles. Here I have shared the recipe for vegetarian stuffed bell peppers.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

These pan grilled stuffed capsicum are delicious with a burst of Indian flavors. They can be eaten as a appetizer or a side in your meal. My kids love them as a after school snack with this tomato soup or with sandwiches.

I consider these stuffed capsicum to be healthy as they are pan fried and loaded with veggies. You can use any kind of bell peppers – large or tinker bell peppers.

To make the stuffing, I have used potatoes, peas and carrot. Veggies like Cauliflower, baby corn, sweet corn, sweet potatoes or mushrooms can also be used. A handful of roasted cashews or peanuts can also be added to the stuffing to add crunch.

These potato stuffed bell peppers can also be grilled in a oven. It is convenient to oven grill especially when you make a large batch.

Step-by-step photos

Preparation

1. Boil or steam the veggies. I prefer to steam the potatoes first.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

2. When the potatoes are 3/4th cooked, i add carrots and peas to the steam basket. Steam for a little longer until just cooked.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

3. Rinse the capsicums. Small to medium sized ones work better, else they will have to be cut before serving.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

4. Cut off the tops. I also cut slightly on the bottom for frying them conveniently.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

5. Deseed them gently.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

How to make stuffed capsicum recipe

6. Heat a pan with oil. Fry cumin and garlic until the garlic smells good.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

7. Add sliced onions. I also added the tiny chunks of capsicum which i got after cutting the top.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

8. When the onions turn golden, add red chili powder,garam masala or any other spice powder and crushed kasuri methi.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

9. Saute just for a minute.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

10. Add the steamed veggies and chopped coriander leaves.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

11. Mash them well. Add salt as needed. Mix with the onion masala.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

12. Stuff the capsicums.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

13. Heat the same pan with oil. Add the stuffed peppers.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

14. Cover and cook on a medium to low flame until the capsicum is half cooked or fully cooked to suit your taste. These can be grilled in a preheated oven at 160 C for 8 to 15 mins.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

15. Sprinkle very little chaat masala mixed with a pinch of salt.

Matt Bray | Last Updated: September 5, 2019 | Fun & Learning

You are here: Home / Fun & Learning / Can You Freeze Stuffed Peppers?

Stuffed peppers are an easy-to-make, versatile dish that you can make with a variety of ingredients. This dish is a great way to use up peppers when they are in season. But sometimes, all those extra peppers can mean you have too many stuffed peppers sitting around as well. So can you freeze stuffed peppers when there are just too many? Absolutely!

Not only are they easy to freeze, stuffed peppers are actually an ideal dish for freezing. They retain their flavor and texture well in addition to holding their shape. If you do things correctly, your thawed dish will taste and look as good as it did when you put it in the freezer. Frozen stuffed peppers are perfect for people who live alone and do not want to spend a lot of time cooking every night. They are also perfect for busy families who need meals that can be reheated and served quickly.

To freeze and reheat stuffed peppers successfully, you will need to follow a few key steps:

Decide between cooked or raw

Freezing stuffed peppers starts with a simple question: Do you want to cook your peppers first for a shorter reheating time in the future or do you want to freeze them raw and cook them when they are thawed for a little better flavor? You should also decide between a raw filling and a cooked filling. Note that while it is possible to freeze and reheat stuffed peppers with a raw filling, it is safer to use a cooked filling. Which you choose depends on how much time you want to spend cooking after you take your peppers out of the freezer.

If you decide to freeze cooked peppers, make sure that any meat in them is cooked thoroughly. Allow the peppers to cool completely before you put them in the freezer. If you freeze them while they are still warm, they may become soggy when you thaw them.

Protect them from freezer burn

If you choose to freeze cooked peppers, use a freezer-safe casserole dish for maximum convenience. If the dish is freezer-safe, all you have to do is place a lid on it once the stuffed peppers are cooled. The dish can go right into the freezer and you can simply take your peppers out and reheat when you need them.

If you do not have a freezer safe casserole dish, you can wrap the peppers individually. Start by placing them on a baking sheet which can then be placed into the freezer until the peppers are frozen. Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and wrap the peppers individually.

Use a double layer of plastic wrap and take the time to make sure that no part of the pepper is exposed. Place the wrapped peppers into freezer bags that you have labeled and dated. Note that frozen stuffed peppers should still be good after a year if you have wrapped and stored them properly; however, they are best when eaten within six months.

Defrost correctly

You can place frozen peppers in the oven and reheat without thawing them first. Remove the lid of your freezer-safe casserole dish and place the dish directly into the oven, or unwrap them if you opted to wrap them individually. Bake them at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until they are completely thawed. If you want to shorten the baking time, thaw the peppers first by placing them in your refrigerator overnight. Baked the thawed peppers at 350 until they completely warm.

The fillings are limited only by your imagination

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Stuffed peppers have long been one of America’s favorite comfort foods. While the typical stuffing includes ground beef and rice, home cooks have developed many creative versions over the years.

The fillings for stuffed peppers are limited only by the cook’s imagination. The filling might be a simple rice and vegetable mixture, or it could include poultry, fish, shellfish, or pork. Bell peppers are the conventional choice, but jalapenos, mini sweet peppers, or poblanos are all excellent alternatives. Or convert a recipe to appetizer portions. Instead of standard bell peppers, use colorful mini bell peppers with the meat or vegetable filling of your choice.

Stuffed peppers usually include the starch, vegetables, and protein, so what to serve with them? Roasted potatoes are a good choice, or one or two vegetable sides, like roasted Brussels sprouts, steamed green beans, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes. Or add a tossed salad for a simple, yet satisfying lunch or dinner.

Here are some of our best recipes for stuffed peppers, including vegan and vegetarian options, along with an unstuffed pepper casserole that the family will ask for again and again.

Last updated on May 8th, 2019

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Stuffed capsicum recipe- very delicious and attractive holiday meal with colorful bell peppers. Stuffed capsicums come in many forms. Mine has spicy potato filling!

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Stuffed capsicum recipe with step by step photos. Flavorful potato stuffed bell peppers, perfect for holiday meals. Punjabi stuffed capsicum is made by stuffing a tasty spiced mashed potatoes inside capsicum and cooking it further. These delicious potato stuffed bell peppers goes very well as a side dish to roti or naan. These stuffed capsicum are also a wonderful snack with tea. To make it more special you can add cheese and serve as starter in parties. Few more popular punjabi recipes from the blog are palak paneer, aloo paratha, gobi paratha, chole .

To make stuffing for capsicum I have used a mix of potatoes and paneer. For making Indian style stuffed capsicum recipe you can use any kind of thick masala as stuffing for bell peppers. I sometimes use a mix of vegetables like potato, carrot and green peas. You can even use mushrooms, punjabi samosa filling, gram flour (besan) in this recipe. The popular stuffing for capsicum are baked beans, ricotta cheese with bread crumbs etc.

To make stuffed capsicum recipe select fresh firm bell peppers. If the peppers are small you can use it as whole. If they are bigger then cut into two before stuffing. I like to use colorful bell peppers in this recipe. Especially if you are making for parties they are more attractive.

These stuffed capsicums are healthy as they are pan fried with less oil. I use around 1 tablespoon oil and slow cook them for 20 minutes. The capsicums will turn shiny and wilt in the edges. Since the potato stuffing is already cooked, you can cook the capsicums as briefly as you like.

I bake the stuffed capsicums sometimes. I like to bake the capsicums if I am using continental filling with cheese. Here I am sharing the detailed recipe for how to make stuffed capsicum without oven. I have also mentioned notes for how to make baked stuffed capsicum.

Bharwan shimla mirch tastes best with hot phulka. You can also serve stuffed capsicum with jeera rice. As I have mentioned above these make for a wonderful party snack.

If you are looking for more capsicum recipes do check besanwali shimla mirch, capsicum curry, capsicum chutney recipes.

Stuffed capsicum or bell peppers – Make dinnertime extra special with this picture-perfect bowls of bell peppers. Made with spiced minced meat, cooked rice and tomato sauce, this is guaranteed to be a winner. Add a side of raita (yogurt salad) and pappadums for a complete meal.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Among all of nature’s bounty, bell peppers or capsicums are one of my favorites. You can do so much with them. Chop and add to curries, soups and stews. Cut into sticks, and dip your way to the favorite starter. Or just stuff them to create delicious dinner.

Now imagine a full-blown delicious Indian meal stuffed inside bell peppers. Rice and minced meat seasoned with ground spices like cumin, coriander, and a touch of red chili powder. Flavorful and vibrant, this dish tastes incredible when served with raita (Indian yogurt salad) and crunchy pappadums.

Ok, now, let’s have a quick look at how you make this stuffed capsicum (bell peppers). Start out by making the stuffing, which is all about browning the meat along with few spices to zoom up the flavor in the whole dish. Before I browned the meat, I sautéed some onions and garlic, and then threw in the minced meat. If you’re not a fan of beef, you can always substitute it with lamb.

Once meat is browned, the spices go in to flavor the rest of the ingredients in the pan. A couple of sliced tomatoes and herbs also adds immense depth of flavor. To make this stuffed bell pepper dish a complete meal, we’ll also stir in some cooked rice and tomato sauce. Yum!

Again, I choose to cut the bell peppers horizontally. Remember to remove all the membranes and seeds. Next up, the stuffing we prepared earlier goes into the peppers, and baked to perfection.

Lastly, serve them warm with a side of raita and pappadums. Just because no Indian meal is complete without these goodies!

Last updated on May 8th, 2019

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Stuffed capsicum recipe- very delicious and attractive holiday meal with colorful bell peppers. Stuffed capsicums come in many forms. Mine has spicy potato filling!

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Stuffed capsicum recipe with step by step photos. Flavorful potato stuffed bell peppers, perfect for holiday meals. Punjabi stuffed capsicum is made by stuffing a tasty spiced mashed potatoes inside capsicum and cooking it further. These delicious potato stuffed bell peppers goes very well as a side dish to roti or naan. These stuffed capsicum are also a wonderful snack with tea. To make it more special you can add cheese and serve as starter in parties. Few more popular punjabi recipes from the blog are palak paneer, aloo paratha, gobi paratha, chole .

To make stuffing for capsicum I have used a mix of potatoes and paneer. For making Indian style stuffed capsicum recipe you can use any kind of thick masala as stuffing for bell peppers. I sometimes use a mix of vegetables like potato, carrot and green peas. You can even use mushrooms, punjabi samosa filling, gram flour (besan) in this recipe. The popular stuffing for capsicum are baked beans, ricotta cheese with bread crumbs etc.

To make stuffed capsicum recipe select fresh firm bell peppers. If the peppers are small you can use it as whole. If they are bigger then cut into two before stuffing. I like to use colorful bell peppers in this recipe. Especially if you are making for parties they are more attractive.

These stuffed capsicums are healthy as they are pan fried with less oil. I use around 1 tablespoon oil and slow cook them for 20 minutes. The capsicums will turn shiny and wilt in the edges. Since the potato stuffing is already cooked, you can cook the capsicums as briefly as you like.

I bake the stuffed capsicums sometimes. I like to bake the capsicums if I am using continental filling with cheese. Here I am sharing the detailed recipe for how to make stuffed capsicum without oven. I have also mentioned notes for how to make baked stuffed capsicum.

Bharwan shimla mirch tastes best with hot phulka. You can also serve stuffed capsicum with jeera rice. As I have mentioned above these make for a wonderful party snack.

If you are looking for more capsicum recipes do check besanwali shimla mirch, capsicum curry, capsicum chutney recipes.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. There may be affiliate links within the post.

Make a delicious dinner in the Air Fryer with Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers!

Stuffed Peppers are a favorite in our household, especially during the summer. Why?

Because our garden is full of fresh bell peppers, perfect for making stuffed peppers.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

If you prefer to make these in the oven, be sure to check out this post on How to Make Stuffed Peppers.

Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers

They are even easier to make when you make these Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers in minutes in the air fryer.

During the summer months, I try to utilize as many meals as possible with fresh produce, do you?

Our garden is just starting to produce some tasty produce, which led me to these Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers.

We have plenty of foods coming up and I’m anxious for more to come in as we head into July and August. Hopefully, we can keep it from drying out.

That’s the downside of Oklahoma summers, it gets so HOT, so quickly sometimes it just scorches the veggies!

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

This summer has been full for sure. We are now into a month in our summer with just about 8 weeks left to go. Honestly, it’s going by so quickly.

We’ve had so many activities.

It’s usually in July when things slow down for us, which is nice because then we have about a month to recover before school starts back up.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

This year we are doing a staycation in July, so I’m still trying to figure out what we are going to do; however, staying at home and just swimming and relaxing it sounding like the best option.

Do you ever have times when as much as you’d love to go travel, you just want to stay home?

That’s basically how I feel right now.

I’d love to go to a beach…but honestly, I want to stay home and relax without having to do anything.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Although, even if we stay home I’m sure we will come up with a ton of projects to do because that’s just how we are! We can’t just sit still, I wish we could sometimes but it seems impossible.

Now, maybe being home will allow us some time to really work in the garden too.

I’m sure by the time our vacation rolls around we’ll have plenty growing, which means grilling all week long and lots of fresh veggies.

I am now using a Ninja Foodi Air Fryer; however, you can check out a variety of different air fryers in my post on, How to Choose the Right Air Fryer.

Let’s get to these Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers!

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

What do you need to make Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers?

  • Air Fryer
  • Green Bell Peppers
  • Lean Ground Beef
  • Olive Oil
  • Green Onion, Diced
  • Fresh Parsley
  • Ground Sage
  • Garlic Salt
  • Cooked Rice
  • Marinara Sauce
  • Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Now, let’s get right to making these Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers!

We may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more information go to Privacy Policy & Disclosure.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Stuffed Capsicum

This stuffed bell peppers with rice dish is a simple one, where you can use leftovers of vegetables and meat and combine with rice to produce a healthy and nutritious meal.

The filling is really up to you what you put in it – you can, of course, leave out the meat and make a vegan or vegetarian dish if you prefer.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Peppers, sweet peppers, bell peppers, or capsicum as it is officially known is a great ingredient for all sorts of meals.

These peppers come in all sorts of colours, but green, red and yellow seem to be the most common here.

You can use whichever you wish for this recipe.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

I use it in a lot of dishes and especially my favourite curry dish, which I link to at the end of this post.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

This is a simple stuffed capsicum recipe using meat, rice and vegetables, that is easy to make and tasty.

Stuffed peppers can be found in different types of cuisine all over the world. It is a doddle to make and also pretty quick to get on the table.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

The nice thing about this dish is that you can stuff the peppers with whatever you want.

So if you want Italian stuffed peppers, chili stuffed peppers, chorizo stuffed peppers or keto stuffed peppers you just change the recipe to suit.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell PeppersStuffed Bell Peppers with Rice

I hope you enjoy this and let me know how you get on.

How to make stuffed bell peppers with Rice

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Rice

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

These stuffed bell peppers with rice and meat make up a good part of a balanced and healthy diet. Keep a nicely balanced diet to ensure you live a healthy lifestyle

Sharing is caring!

Stuffed Bell Peppers are a fantastic low carb meal idea for anyone looking for a meat free, low carb, Keto or bariatric friendly meal.

Instant Pot Bell Peppers are super healthy and full of nutrition. Add an egg, a sprinkle of cheese and some flavour and you get a delicious and easy stuffed bell pepper recipe.

You can use any colour Bell Pepper, the more colour, the more nutrients and vitamins.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

*I use affiliate links in this post. If you buy anything from my links I will earn a small commission*

Health Benefits of Bell Peppers

Depending where you live in the world, these fantastic healthy vegetables are either called Bell Peppers, Sweet Peppers or Capsicums. There are a variety of different colours including yellow, red, orange and green capsicums and they are all good for the body.

Bell Peppers are primarily made from water and sugar. There is approximately 9g of carbs contained in one cup of chopped Bell Peppers.

Some of the health benefits of bell peppers include:

  • Vitamin C: One medium-sized red bell pepper contains 169% of the RDA of vitamin C.
  • Vitamin B6: Bell Peppers are a great source of Vitamin B6 which is important for creating red blood cells.
  • Vitamin K1: Vitamin K1 is an essential nutrient for blood clotting and bone health and there is plenty of Vitamin K1 found in Bell Peppers.
  • Potassium: This is an essential mineral that can improve heart health.
  • Folate: Also known as folic acid, folacin, or vitamin B9, folate has a variety of functions in the body as is an important nutrient for the both the body.
  • Vitamin E: This is an antioxidant that helps keep the nerves and muscles healthy.
  • Vitamin A: Red bell peppers are high in pro-vitamin A (beta-carotene), which is converted into vitamin A, another essential nutrient for the body.

Bell Peppers are also a great for those suffering from Anaemia.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Ingredients For Stuffed Bell Peppers

  • 3 bell peppers (any colour)
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 cup of water
  • Optional: ½ cup of shredded cheese
  • Optional: Salt & pepper

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

How To Make Stuffed Bell Peppers Using Your Instant Pot

Cut all of the bell peppers in half, lengthwise. Remove the stems, seeds, and white inner ribs. Rinse each half and dry with a paper towel.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Crack 1 egg into each pepper half. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the water into the bottom of the Instant Pot and place the rack in the pot.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Arrange the pepper halves on the rack and loosely cover the peppers with a piece of aluminum foil.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Pressure cook on low for 4 minutes. When done, manually release the pressure.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Using tongs, remove the peppers from the Instant Pot, sprinkle with cheese, and enjoy while hot.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

This is a fantastic healthy recipe, great for Instant pot lovers, those following the Keto or Weight Watchers diet as well as those looking for low carb, high protein meal ideas.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 4 minutes

Number of servings: 6

Note: As it goes with the Instant Pot it takes for the pressure to build up. Mine typically takes about 10-15 minutes, but I know it varies between models.

IP Egg-Stuffed Bell Peppers

A easy and simple recipe for cooking bell peppers in the Instant Pot.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell PeppersBy Dassana Amit
Last Updated: December 8, 2019

6 min read • North Indian, Punjabi
55 mins

4.67 from 24 votes • 108 Comments

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Stuffed capsicum recipe With step by step photos – this is a Punjabi style delicious bharwa shimla mirch recipe. In this recipe, capsicum (bharwa shimla) are stuffed with spiced mashed potatoes. A vegan dish.

This Punjabi bharwa shimla mirch recipe is how I make this dish at home and is liked by everyone. sometimes I also add green peas to the potato stuffing. There are many variations of making the stuffing and even with different ingredients like paneer (cottage cheese) or besan (gram flour).

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Stuffed vegetable dishes are quite popular in India. Few more bharwa (meaning stuffed) recipes on the blog Are:

Most of the times I bake the stuffed capsicum. but in this post, I have mentioned on how to cook the capsicum in a pan, as I do get a lot of requests for making stuff without an oven. However, if you do have an oven, then bake the capsicum. Baking is easy and effortless, than sauteing & cooking them in a pan.

The bharwa shimla mirch goes best with rotis accompanied by raita. You can also serve these stuffed capsicum as a side dish. This dish also makes for a good tiffin box lunch.

How to make stuffed capsicum

1. First, boil the potatoes till they completely tender and cooked thoroughly. Peel and grate the potatoes. Keep aside.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

2. Slice off the tops of the capsicum. Remove the seeds. Rinse them in water and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Keep aside.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

3. In a small frying pan, heat oil. Fry the cumin first and then add chopped onions.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

4. Saute the onions till translucent. Add chopped green chilies.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

5. Stir and then add turmeric powder, red chili powder, asafoetida. Stir again.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

6. Add the potatoes and mix everything.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

7. Saute the potatoes for 2 mins and then add garam masala powder, dry mango powder and salt.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

8. Stir well and then add chopped coriander leaves. Mix again and let this spiced potato stuffing become warm or cool down.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

9. With a spoon or with your hands, stuff the potato mixture in the capsicum.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Cooking stuffed capsicum

10. Now you can bake them or saute in a pan. I have mentioned the baking instructions in the recipe details above. Heat oil in a pan or kadai/wok and place the stuffed capsicum in the pan.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

11. Cover the pan and allow the stuffed capsicum to cook on a low flame.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

12. You will have to check often after every 5 to 6 mins and keep on changing the sides of the capsicum so that all sides are cooked well. Check, turn the sides and cover the pan again. You also have to place the open potato side touching the pan. In the below pic, you will see the various sides getting cooked. The capsicum will get golden and wrinkled. I usually cook the bell peppers thoroughly.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

13. Continue to check, change the sides and then cover again till the capsicum are cooked well. It took me about 25 minutes to cook these on a low flame.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

14. Garnish with coriander or mint leaves and Serve these potato stuffed capsicum hot or warm with rotis, bread or as a side dish.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers
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Recipes developed by Vered DeLeeuw, CNC
Nutritionally reviewed by Rachel Benight MS, RD, CPT

These delicious stuffed peppers are made without rice. Instead, I use cauliflower in the very flavorful, well-seasoned mixture. You can make them keto too!

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

These peppers are wonderful. It’s one of those hearty dishes that are truly a pleasure to eat. It’s also pretty and colorful.

But I love making this recipe not just because it is so delicious. This recipe also evokes strong childhood memories for me.

Grandma’s peppers

My late grandma Chava used to make amazing stuffed peppers and stuffed cabbage leaves (I make cabbage casserole instead).

Sadly, she passed away way too young when I was only twelve years old, so my memories of her are dull and scattered. But some of the sharpest memories are food memories.

Grandma was an amazing cook. She stuffed her vegetables with a mixture of rice, tomatoes, and seasonings. Just like all her dishes, something about the way she seasoned food made it taste wonderful.

Grandma belonged to a different generation. A generation of women who worked hard in the kitchen, cooked without recipes and created masterpieces out of the simplest ingredients.

There were no blogs back then, no fancy grains and high-end oils, yet her food tasted so good, that some flavors linger even after 30 long years.

These days I make my own version of her recipe. It’s nothing like grandma’s, but it is very good.

The ingredients needed for this recipe

Traditionally, you fill the peppers with a mixture of ground beef, rice, and seasonings.

I make these stuffed peppers without rice, using cauliflower rice instead. It’s a delicious and low-carb option that works well to absorb the juices and flavors as the peppers bake in the oven.

Here’s an overview of the ingredients you’ll need (the exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below):

Tomato paste: You can omit this for a keto version.

Minced garlic: Mince it yourself, or use the stuff that comes in a jar. Both work.

Kosher salt and black pepper: If using fine salt, you should reduce the amount you use, or the dish could end up too salty.

Spices: Chili powder, cumin, and paprika. Make sure they are fresh! A stale spice can easily ruin a dish.

Bell peppers: It’s fun to use different colors. But try to ensure they are all about the same size.

Riced cauliflower (uncooked): You can rice it yourself in the food processor, or buy it pre-riced.

Olive oil: I love cooking with this wonderful oil. But if you’d rather use an oil with a higher smoke point, you can use avocado oil instead.

Chopped onion: I’m lazy, so I tend to use the food processor for chopping onions.

Lean ground beef: I use an 85/15 mix. Leaner than that will work, but won’t be as flavorful.

Chopped cilantro: If you don’t like cilantro, you can use parsley instead.

Shredded cheese: I like to use sharp cheddar.

What seasonings to use?

I like to give this dish Mexican-inspired flavors and warmth by using chili powder, cumin, paprika, and cilantro.

I also add onion, garlic and tomato paste. The cheese adds wonderful flavor and creaminess. Be sure to use sharp cheddar cheese – it does make a difference.

How to make stuffed peppers without rice

Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps:

1. Start by mixing the tomato paste with the garlic and the spices.

2. Cook the riced cauliflower, the onion, and the ground beef in olive oil. Stir in the seasoning mixture.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cilantro and the cheese.

4. Stuff the bell peppers with the mixture. Spray them with olive oil.

5. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Keto stuffed peppers

This recipe as originally written is not a low carb dish, mostly because of the tomato paste.

So if you’re on a keto or very low carb diet, I suggest you omit the tomato paste. In addition, use six medium bell peppers instead of four large ones, dividing this recipe into six servings instead of four. This will considerably lower the carb content. A serving of this keto version has 14 grams of carbs and 4 grams of fiber.

Do you need to blanch the peppers?

I don’t think it’s necessary. I bake them in the oven for 30 minutes, which gives them plenty of time to soften without becoming mushy.

If you feel that your peppers are not tender enough after 30 minutes, add 5-10 more minutes to the baking time. Loosely cover the top with foil to prevent the filling from drying out.

What to serve with them?

You don’t really need to serve them with a side dish. They make a complete meal of meat and cheese plus lots of vegetables.

However, if you wish, you can add a simple side such as sauteed kale or roasted vegetables. You can roast the vegetables in the same oven as the peppers, slightly increasing the cooking time.

What about leftovers?

Keep leftovers in the fridge, in a sealed container, for up to 4 days. Reheat them gently, in the microwave on 50% power, or in a 350F oven for 15 minutes.

As long as you reheat them properly so that they are heated through, leftovers taste good. In fact, this is one of those dishes that taste even better the next day.

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Stuffed peppers are what dinner dreams are made of. They can be filled with any combination of starches, meat, beans, and sauces, making them the ultimate leftover vehicle. The peppers steam and bake in the oven into supple submission, making them a mostly hands-off dish.

All Leftovers Welcome

Stuffed peppers were clearly born from a need to use up leftovers. Most recipes call for at least cooked rice and often cooked beans. Frozen rice and canned beans are welcome to be used as needed to fill these peppers. The beauty is that you can easily substitute leftover quinoa or couscous for the rice, or use leftover roast chicken in place of the ground beef. The canned tomatoes can be replaced with salsa — just don’t skip the tomatoes all together, and make sure to drain them first.

Tops Are Tops

Some recipes call for saving the pepper tops and using them as a lid for the peppers. This recipe calls for dicing them and tossing them into the filling — both to bulk up the filling and add a touch of sweetness. Plus, who doesn’t love to see melty cheese on the top of the open-faced peppers?

Tester’s Notes

To ensure soft and tender peppers, we’ve updated this recipe to just cook and steam the peppers all in one go under a blanket of aluminum foil in the oven once they’re stuffed. It takes more baking time than the original recipe, but it’s all hands-off time. We’ve also bumped up the seasonings to make sure every bite is flavorful and makes you want to go back for more. These stuffed peppers are the perfect one-dish meal!

How To Make Stuffed Peppers

Prep time 20 minutes

Cook time 1 hour 10 minutes

  • alcohol-free
  • egg-free
  • fish-free
  • peanut-free
  • shellfish-free
  • pork-free
  • gluten-free
  • wheat-free
  • tree-nut-free
  • Calories 356
  • Fat 23.4 g (36.0%)
  • Saturated 7.6 g (37.8%)
  • Carbs 20.2 g (6.7%)
  • Fiber 4.0 g (16.0%)
  • Sugars 7.0 g
  • Protein 15.8 g (31.6%)
  • Sodium 377.5 mg (15.7%)

Ingredients

medium red, yellow, or orange bell peppers (about 4 pounds total)

olive or vegetable oil

medium yellow onion, diced

dried Italian seasoning

lean ground beef

kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

diced tomatoes, drained

shredded Italian blend cheese (4 ounces)

Thinly sliced scallions, for garnish (optional)

Equipment

9×13-inch baking dish

Wooden spoon or spatula

Canning funnel (optional)

Instructions

Heat the oven and prepare the baking dish. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F. Meanwhile, prepare the peppers and filling.

Prepare the peppers. Use a small knife to cut a wide circle around each bell pepper stem (like when carving a jack-o’-lantern) to remove the tops. Chop the tops and set aside (you’ll use them in the filling). Season the inside of each pepper generously with salt and pepper. Place the peppers in 9×13-inch baking dish, wedging them together as needed to fit in one layer; set aside.

Cook the filling. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the Italian seasoning and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add the ground beef, diced pepper tops, and 1 teaspoon salt and cook on medium-high heat, breaking the meat up with a spatula as it cooks, until cooked through, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the rice and drained tomatoes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Stuff the peppers. Evenly divide the mixture among the peppers (use a canning funnel if you have one). Sprinkle the cheese over the peppers. Carefully pour 1 cup of water between the peppers into the baking dish.

Cover and bake until tender. Spray one side of a large sheet with aluminum foil with cooking spray. Place it sprayed-side down over the peppers and cover the baking dish tightly. Bake until the peppers are softened but not mushy and the filling is heated through, about 1 hour. Sprinkle with scallions if desired before serving.

Recipe Notes

Make ahead: The peppers can be stuffed and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead. Add 10 minutes baking time.

Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

December 15, 2016 by admin 3 Comments

Potato Stuffed Capsicum Recipe: Potato stuffed capsicum is one of many other recipes of capsicum. It tastes great along with rice and goes great with roti’s as well.

Required Ingredients for Potato Stuffed Capsicum:

  • Boiled potatoes: 2 medium size
  • Onions: 3 Nicely chopped
  • Coriander leaves: One cup
  • Green chilies: 3
  • Cumin: Half a teaspoon
  • Turmeric: 1/4 of a teaspoon
  • salt: to taste
  1. Take a bowl and mash the boiled potatoes
  2. Add the chopped onions and other ingredients to the mashed potato.
  3. Cut the bottoms of the bell pepper, make slits and deseed them.
  4. Stuff the capsicums with the mix and saute with a lid on till they are soft.

How to make potato stuffed capsicum:

1.Keep all the ingredients together and mix them well.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

2. Add mashed potato to the mixture.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

3. Stuff the slit, bottom cut capsicums with it.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

4. Take a pan, heat some oil and saute the capsicums till they are soft and translucent.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

5. Take them out and serve hot with rice or roti for a good experience.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

For more recipes of Capsicum check out Besan Stuffed Capsicum Recipe.

Best Authentic Italian Recipes written by a real 100% italian!

Maybe not everybody knows that bell peppers, also known as sweet peppers or capsicum, are not very digestible, so even if they’re really good, contain high quantities of vitamin C and add great taste to dishes they can mess you up a nice evening! After a short explanation, I’ll tell you my secret tips to avoid this forever… yes, forever!

All these problems are due to bell peppers skin and two substances contained in them: Solanine and Flavin.

Solanine is a poison contained in all the members of the Solanaceae family (bell peppers, eggplants, potatoes, tomatoes…) and if ingested in big quantities can be really toxic to the body, but this substance tends to disappear gradually as the fruit arrives to the full maturity.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Flavin is contained in the white inner part of the bell pepper and in the seeds, and once ingested it attaches to the stomach wall causing pain or heaviness.

The bell peppers skin is another reason that doesn’t make them very digestible because the intestine struggles to expel it, giving us a sense of puffiness, even for several days.

So the first things you need to do are:

– buy organic and well ripe fruits;
– cut off the white inner part and seeds of the fruit as well as the stem.

Now many of you would say: “yes, I always do this, she invented the wheel…”.
And then come the interesting part!

If you want to eat bell peppers raw, like in salads (mmmm I like them so much!) the only things to do are to cut off the skin and then wash the fruit (in that case you would need a thick bell pepper).
Many people boil the bell pepper for a minute and then plunge it into an ice bath to easily remove the skin. I tried this but the bell pepper taste came up again after 1 hour, so I cannot recommend this to you.

Otherwise, if you prefer bell peppers cooked, you shouldn’t remove the skin because as they cook they will shrink and above all you would remove all the flavors and vitamins that are mainly concentrated under the skin.

I read somewhere (I’m sorry but this happened years ago and I really don’t remember the source) that a secret for a digestible bell pepper is……….. a PEAR!

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Yes, just a little sweet pear. So when you start cooking you peppers, add a finely chopped pear (peeled and seeds cleaned).

To cook 3 bell peppers I use just half of a pear and it works as well!
This little amount of pear doesn’t make your dish too sweet, you would not even notice it at the end.

So let me know if this works for you too!

Related posts:

11 thoughts on “ How to make Bell Peppers (Capsicum) digestible to everybody ”

The reason nobody makes videos of scalding green pepper skins to peel them is that doesn’t work. To peel a pepper, char quickly over an open flame, then scrape off the skin!

I haven’t tried your recipe yet but will definitely do! It makes a lot of sense as I have problems after eating cooked bell peppers, eggplants and tomatoes; I could find a correlation between having tomatoes and eggplants with skins and my stomach problem but never thought it’s the same issue with bell peppers too…

Thanks a lot… will try it…

I once cut up about 5 green sweet peppers and sauted them in oil. They tasted great, and then, for about 24 hours I had severe aching in every joint of my body…felt like a flu, but with only that symptom. I am sure now that this was a toxic reaction. I haven’t done this since.

Hi Bobbie, yes you’re right. Now you know you shouldn’t eat them anymore 😉

I just found your blog and I like it very much. I have a question – I am always sick after eating eggplants. How can I avoid that? Can I try pears? And peeling and salting them doesn’t help.

Hi Mojca,
have you read this post about eggplant?
It explains how to get rid of Solanine that causes digestion problems.

You can even try to boil them (sliced) for two minutes in boiling water plus a cup of white wine, one tbsp vinegar, one tbsp sugar and a pinch of salt. Then drain and cook as desired.

If you feel a kind of stomach acidity after eating them you may have gastritis seeing that eggplants like bell peppers are acidic vegetables.

Thanks for stopping by!

Our old Italian grandmother panel said salt them overnight. Theory is the salt denatures the nightshade poison. If you’re really allergic like numbness in the mouth or trouble breathing don’t try it.

It’s like what I do with aubergines/eggplants before cooking them.
Never heard of that for bell peppers, thank you Rhys for your suggestion!

Hmm, I still like to have it fresh, but perhaps can remove the white part properly.

Hmmm … can’t say I have ever noticed that I had any problems digesting bell peppers. I don’t prefer green bells in any form (even if they are organic), and this trick unfortunately can’t help that.

I don’t like green bell peppers either.
Last time I bought them the greengrocer put one green among the yellow and red bell peppers.
Well, I couldn’t throw it away so I cooked the green one too with this trick and it came out good anyway.
So when you cook bell peppers the pear works with all the kind of peppers (on the basis of my tests).

Comments are closed.

Ilaria’s Perfect Recipes

I’m Ilaria, a foodie addict, proudly born in the so-called “Food Valley” (Emilia-Romagna, Italy).
I grew up among the deeply-rooted traditions of my beautiful country and am now passionate about giving people a pleasing state of mind by searching for the most authentic and therefore perfect Italian recipes. I love embracing life with a smile, a big slice of happiness and a tablespoon of craziness.
Here you can find BEST AUTHENTIC ITALIAN RECIPES!
Emilia-Romagna, Italy / Brighton, UK

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb Ground Beef (80% Lean / 20% Fat)
  • 1 cup Ricotta Cheese (Whole Milk)
  • 1 cup, shredded Whole Milk Mozzarella Cheese
  • 1 cup Tomato Sauce (Canned)
  • 3/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
  • 4 medium (approx 2-3/4″ long, 2-1/2″ dia) Green Peppers

DIRECTIONS

  1. Heat oven to 350°F.
  2. In large bowl, mix ground beef, ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella, half the tomato sauce, salt and pepper until well combined.
  3. Slice the tops off peppers and remove seeds and ribs. With a small knife, cut a few small slits in the bottom of each pepper (to drain liquid released by the beef as it cooks).
  4. Stuff the peppers with the meat mixture and place, open side up, in a baking dish that holds the peppers snugly; pour remaining sauce in bottom of the dish. Top with remaining mozzarella.
  5. Mist a large piece of aluminum foil with olive oil cooking spray. Place sprayed side down over peppers. Bake, covered, 30 minutes. Uncover, and bake 50 minutes more, or until meat is cooked through and cheese has browned. Allow to cool a few minutes before serving.

Cooking Tip

Try using red, yellow, or orange bell peppers along with the green for a more colorful presentation!

These easy stuffed peppers are loaded with tender chunks of marinated pork roast and rice for a dinner fit for busy weeknights or special guests! Thank you to Smithfield for sponsoring this simple dinner recipe.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Are stuffed peppers a regular dinner at your house? I have to say this is the first time I’ve ever made them! I remember having them a couple times as a kid and not being a fan (sorry, mom!), so I guess I was never inclined to make them myself.

Just like I tell my kids though, our tastes change, so we need to try things again every so often. Maybe stuffed peppers weren’t my favorite food as a little girl, but I’ve sure changed my tune now. These are so delicious and easy!

When I say easy, I mean e-a-s-y. The filling only needs four little ingredients, starting with a Smithfield Homestyle Pork Roast. If you are cooking for a crowd, you can cook up the roast just for this recipe and make a LOT of peppers. It’s also a great way to enjoy leftover roast if you enjoyed it on its own the night before.

The other filling ingredients are cooked rice, green peas, and cream of mushroom soup. I like to use an organic brand of soup that has all-natural ingredients, but of course the regular kind will work well too! Either way, it’s best to get a reduced-sodium soup if you can find it for a perfectly seasoned result.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

The hardest part about this pork stuffed pepper recipe is figuring out how to eat them! How do you enjoy your stuffed peppers? Do you cut bites of the pepper and eat it along with the filling, or do you eat the filling and then the pepper. OR do you *gasp* not eat the pepper at all? I want to know all about it, so tell me in the comments!

If you answered that you don’t eat the pepper, or if you are thinking you won’t make this recipe because you don’t like bell peppers, I have a suggestion! Try stuffing tomatoes instead 🙂 I have a recipe for mac and cheese stuffed tomatoes, and that post includes a video for how to scoop tomatoes for stuffing. It’s a cinch and a great alternative for pepper haters 🙂

I hope you can find a Smithfield Homestyle Pork Roast to try in this recipe, but if you can’t, pick up one of their marinated fresh pork tenderloins to use instead. You could even use leftover pork rib meat like I did in this Pork Mac and Cheese!

These keto stuffed peppers are an easy, delicious keto dinner recipe that will help you stay satisfied — and won’t kick you out of ketosis. Your whole family will love this keto stuffed pepper recipe. It has everything you want for dinner – meat, lots of veggies, and cheese – wrapped up in a neat little package. And of course, it’s a stuffed pepper recipe without rice.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Easy Keto Stuffed Peppers Recipe

These Keto Stuffed Peppers are so tasty, you won’t miss the rice one bit. The ground beef and veggie filling is cooked up on the stovetop, and then stuffed into bell peppers. The bell peppers steam and soften in the oven – totally hands off.

This is one of those keto casserole dishes that are perfect for meal prep and batch cooking, too. These low carb stuffed peppers can be prepped ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to cook. Or, you can prepare the dish all the way through, and refrigerate the leftovers to serve the next day.

Ingredients for Keto Stuffed Peppers

This 9-ingredient keto dinner recipe starts off with sweet bell peppers. Green, red, yellow, or orange — it’s your choice! But, if you are watching your carb count extra carefully, you should know that the red peppers have 1 gram more carbs per cup than the green peppers. It’s not enough to make a big difference — but I thought I’d point that out!

In any color, bell peppers are good sources of vitamins A and C, potassium, folic acid, and fiber. One half red bell pepper has about 2.5 net carbs.

Here’s what else you’ll need to make this yummy keto dinner:

  • Ground Beef. I used 80% lean in this recipe. You could use whatever blend you like. I think it would also be delicious with a mixture of beef and Italian sausage — yum!
  • Onion and garlic.
  • Zucchini. Since we aren’t using rice in this recipe, I add grated zucchini for moisture, flavor, and fiber.
  • Tomatoes. I used plain, crushed, San Marzano tomatoes. You can use your favorite tomato sauce instead — a lot of people recommend Rao’s brand — just make sure to check the carb count. Or, make my quick and easy keto tomato sauce.
  • Cheese. A mix of shredded cheddar and mozzarella worked really well in this recipe.

Stuffed Peppers – Keto and Gluten Free

How to Make Keto Stuffed Peppers

To start, cut each of your bell peppers in half, and clean out the seeds and membranes. Season the inside of each pepper half with salt and pepper. Place the halved bell peppers in a greased baking dish in one layer. Set the dish aside while you make the filling.

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Cook the ground beef until browned. Add the vegetables and seasonings and cook until they are soft and translucent.

Stuff the peppers with the ground beef mixture. Do your best to evenly divide the mixture among the peppers. Carefully pour 1/2 cup of water between the peppers into the baking dish and cover with foil. The water and the foil will create steam in the oven, which will soften the bell peppers as they cook.

Bake until the peppers are tender and the filling is heated through — about 45 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle the peppers with shredded cheese. Return to the oven until the cheese is melted — about 5 more minutes. And you’re done!

So what does it taste like?

  • Cheesy
  • Flavorful
  • Comfort Food(!)
  • Warm and satisfying
  • Easy to make
  • & Super delicious

What to serve with Keto Stuffed Peppers

This would make the perfect entrée when served with something like keto cauliflower rice. Need something green on the side? Try out roasted broccoli.

If you like these keto comfort food dishes, be sure to check out our other keto dinner recipes.

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #greenandketo on Instagram. Cheers, friends!

By Ela on March 3, 2018 | 41 Comments As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

These vegan stuffed bell peppers are filled with healthy ingredients such as curry rice, tomatoes, peppers, vegan cheese, and plant-based protein. The recipe is gluten-free, plant-based, easy to make, and very tasty. Stuffed capsicums are perfect for a vegan dinner or lunch.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell PeppersHealthy Vegan Stuffed Capsicum

Is there something more amazing than stuffed veggies?! Probably yes, however, I seriously LOVE stuffed peppers. My parents often made this dish when I was a kid and it was one of my favorites. Now I make my own vegan stuffed peppers and always get very excited when I prepare them because I think of the good old times.

These stuffed capsicums contain rice, veggies, fragrant spices and vegan cheese. This meal is flavorful, rich in taste and perfect for lunch or dinner. It is furthermore plant-based, gluten-free, healthy, and super easy to make. Are you hungry already? Ok, so let’s start!

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell PeppersIngredients Of The Vegan Stuffed Bell Peppers

I stuffed the capsicums with the following ingredients:

*Use chickpeas instead of the textured soy protein if you can’t eat soy!

You can also add more veggies like mushrooms, zucchini, or any other veggies which you love.

Top your stuffed bell peppers with any plant-based cheese of choice or make my easy vegan cheese sauce which is done in 3 minutes only. I simply poured some of the cheese sauce over the peppers before I cooked them in the oven. And later I decided to pour a little bit more on top because it’s so delicious lol.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell PeppersThese Vegan Stuffed Bell Peppers Are:

  • Gluten-free
  • Flavorful
  • Rich
  • A great comfort food
  • Protein-rich
  • Low-fat
  • Dairy-free
  • Plant-based
  • Easy to make

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell PeppersSubstitute For Textured Soy Protein

I have included textured soy protein because it adds a great texture, and of course, plant-based protein to the dish. However, if you want to avoid soy, you can also use chickpeas or beans instead. Chickpeas are delicious with every savory meal and I love to add them to various dishes, like this VEGAN CHICKPEA CURRY for example.

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

Should you recreate these vegan stuffed bell peppers, please leave a comment below and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan because I love to see your recreations.

If you love stuffed vegan meals, definitely also check out the following recipes:

Stuffed peppers with ground meat, rice and tomato sauce are a classic of Austrian cuisine. This version is a bit faster and easier to prepare than the traditional version. [Directly to recipe]

How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

What sets this recipe apart from the traditional recipes for stuffed peppers?

So much for the traditional Austrian stuffed peppers recipes:

In most traditional recipes for Stuffed Peppers, the peppers are left in hot water for 10-20 minutes to soften them. Then they are stuffed with the still raw ground meat and baked in the oven. Only then is the tomato sauce added.

That’s how my grandma does it:

An alternative version from my granny is the preparation in the oven, without pouring hot water over the peppers in the first time. The peppers are stuffed with the raw ground meat mix and baked in the oven until the meat is through. Only then comes the tomato sauce. By roasting in the oven, the peppers get a very good taste, but it also takes longer to finish.

My quick version of the recipe:

My version of the recipe is for the impatient among us. The meat is fried in a pan beforehand, which shortens the cooking time. The stuffed peppers are then cooked in the tomato sauce on the stove top.

For the sauce I use ready-made plain tomato sauce. Because especially in the wintertime, the Austrian tomatoes taste like nothing anyway and therefore the effort to make it from scratch is not worth it.

Instructions for preparation:

  • Whether the specified amount of meat and rice fits exactly into the peppers depends strongly on their size. Who wants to play it safe, can buy 1-2 peppers extra.
  • If you have leftover rice that is already cooked, you can count on about 2 US cups

400 g> of rice. This corresponds approximately to the amount of 2/3 US cups

125 g> of raw rice.

  • I use a lot of parsley for my stuffing mix because I like it when traditional comfort food gets a fresh touch with more greens.
  • I also like it when the vegetables stay crisp. That’s why I do not cook the peppers that long. Typically “Austrian” would be to cook your veggies veeeery soft, until they have nothing in common with veggies anymore… ; D
    So, if you prefer it softer, just let the peppers cook longer. The “lid” of the peppers stays a little crisper, but will also be steamed in the pot.
  • Stuffed bell peppers is a dish common all over the world. Hollowed or halved peppers filled with a myriad of mixtures, including meat and vegetables, rice and cheese can be found everywhere around the world.

    It is a delicious classic dish that usually doesn’t cost an arm and leg to prepare.

    It delivers big flavor, it’s easy to prepare and it will leave your wallet in one piece.

    For us, this is what makes a great recipe to have handy. It’s good, it’s easy, and it’s inexpensive. Perfect!

    Our recipe is very similar to the classic stuffed bell pepper recipe. Ours calls for cheese but other than that, it’s how they would have been doing this recipe eons ago. I guess if it’s good, don’t mess with it.

    You can, of course, mix up the recipe to incorporate other types of peppers, variations on the mixture. It’s all up to you. We incorporated different colored peppers for a splash of color and a more mild flavor of the pepper itself. We even used Pepper Jack cheese vs the standard Monterey Jack.

    How To Prepare Stuffed Bell Peppers

    Put a pot on and prepare your rice, as instructed on the package.

    While the rice is cooking, remove the tops of your peppers and remove the cores. Place them in a 9″13″ baking dish and set to the side.

    Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

    Take a large skillet and heat it to medium heat and add the oil. Add the chopped onions to the skillet and saute until tender, about 4 to 5 minutes.

    Add the tomato paste and continue to cook for about 1 more minute until it begins to become fragrant.

    Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up the meat until it is minced up.

    Continue to cook until almost all the pink is gone. Drain the fat and return to the heat, adding the garlic.

    Cook for an additional minute or so, until no pink remains in the ground beef.

    Add the fire-roasted tomatoes and cooked rice. Add your spices as well (the salt, pepper, and oregano).

    Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook. Allow the liquid to reduce a bit, about 5 minutes

    Check out our Sausage Balls recipe!

    At this point, give it a taste. Add any additional salt and pepper to the rice and beef mixture to your individual tastes.

    Remove from the heat and add 1/2 cup of the cheese and add it to the mixture. Mix it around until combined well.

    Next, spoon your beef and rice mixture into each pepper. You will probably be like us and start to short-change some peppers. Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of the mixture to top all your peppers off nicely.

    Tear off a sheet of aluminum foil to cover. Before you cover though, you might want to spray the foil with a non-stick spray to keep the foil from sticking to the peppers and the mixture.

    Cover and put into the oven and cook for approx. 30 minutes until the peppers are tender.

    Pull out the peppers and remove the foil. Add the remaining cheese to the tops of the peppers and return to the oven.

    Cook until the cheese is nice and bubbly, about 10 more minutes.

    Remove from the oven and allow to rest a few minutes.

    Garnish and serve!

    It’s A Perfect Dish

    We have prepared this dish uncounted times over the years. We have mixed it up here and there, trying different combinations, to see if there is a way to improve the dish.

    The fact is, you can mix this up any way you like using whatever spices you like. It’s good in so many ways.

    While my wife is not a giant fan of bell peppers she thoroughly enjoys this dish. She might not eat the entire pepper but she’s happy. I, on the other hand, eat it ALL!

    The seasoned beef with the rice and fire-roasted tomatoes with a bite-sized portion of roasted pepper … yeah, I’m on board.

    Give this recipe a try and let us know what you think? Did you change things up and had great success? We’d love to hear from you!

    • Total Time 40m
    • Prep Time 15 m
    • Calories 605

    Mexican Stuffed Peppers is a delicious and easy-to-make Mexican recipe. The main ingredients used to prepare this are capsicums, beef, red kidney beans, fresh herbs and spices. The freshness of herbs and spicy taste of this dish caters to your pangs of hunger. Try this lip-smacking appetizer are ideal to be made on occasions like game nights, kitty parties, pot luck and buffets. Serve this delicacy with Mexican dip to your loved ones. You can replace beef with minced mutton or chicken if you wish in this recipe. To try a vegetarian twist of this recipe, replace the beef with more vegetables of your choice like broccoli. Enjoy!

    Ingredients of Mexican Stuffed Peppers

    • 2 red bell pepper
    • 1 teaspoon black pepper
    • 1 tablespoon chilli powder
    • 1/3 teaspoon salt
    • 2/3 cup celery
    • 1 onion
    • 1/2 cup water
    • 1/3 teaspoon oregano
    • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
    • 350 ml tomato puree
    • 3 cloves garlic
    • 1 yellow bell pepper

    For Filling

    • 350 gm red kidney beans
    • 350 gm lean ground beef

    For Garnishing

    • 1 handful coriander leaves

    How to make Mexican Stuffed Peppers

    Step 1

    Preheat the oven at 350F. Meanwhile, chop the onions, mince the garlic cloves, dice the celery, Keep them aside in separate bowls.

    Step 2

    Slice the top of capsicums, remove the seeds and keep them aside.

    Step 3

    Place a frying pan over medium flame and pour oil in it. Once the oil is heated, add beef, onion and garlic and cook until the beef is brown in colour. Make sure that the onions are tender. Whisk the mixture to crumble the beef.

    Step 4

    Now drain the excess fat from the pan. Add celery, tomato sauce, kidney beans, salt, paprika, black pepper, oregano and chili powder to the beef mixture. Mix them well.

    Step 5

    Stir the mixture for 6-7 minutes and cook it well. Turn off the flame and let the mixture cool for 6-7 minutes.

    Step 6

    Next, stuff the capsicums with the beef mixture. Now, prepare a baking dish by arranging the stuffed capsicums on it.

    Step 7

    Take a bowl and pour water and tomato sauce into it. Mix them well and pour this mixture around capsicums. Bake the dish for 30-40 minutes until capsicums are tender. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot!

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    A few weeks ago, I drove Jack’s mother (our beloved Nanny) to a family baby shower. During our ride, Nanny mentioned that she had recently given her Italian Stuffed Peppers recipe to my nephew Kevin, who had moved across the country to live in California.

    Anytime there is talk about family recipes being shared – my ears perk up! And in this case – for years – I’ve heard my husband Jack talk very fondly about Nanny’s Italian Stuffed Peppers. So of course, I asked for the recipe too! Jack grew up with this wonderful recipe, and anytime he walked in the door and smelled the aroma of green bell peppers frying in the kitchen – he knew he was home, and he knew what was going to be served for dinner.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    This Italian Stuffed Peppers recipe was passed down to Nanny by her Italian mother-in-law. (Jack jokes that his grandmother probably said something to Nanny along the lines of, “You wanna marry my son, then you gotta to learn how to cook my stuffed peppers for him!”) 😉

    Nanny’s Italian Stuffed Peppers are unlike most other stuffed peppers recipes, where instead of a rice and beef mixture inside the bell pepper – the peppers are filled with a super flavorful bread stuffing as well as a little tomato sauce! The flavors are unique and incredibly delicious, with a slightly sweet, moist bread stuffing that has golden raisins in the mix as well as Italian bread crumbs, Romano cheese and other seasonings. The bell peppers are caramelized – first from frying them on top of the stove, then even more as they bake until soft and tender.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    Even now, when these Italian Stuffed Peppers came out of the oven, Jack said to me, “Smells like home!”

    But – here’s proof that you’re never too old to learn from your Mom. And like many family recipes, sometimes you need a few extra pointers from the expert! After our first attempt at recreating Nanny’s Italian Stuffed Peppers and following her recipe, Jack brought some of the peppers over to his parents’ house so Nanny could critique them. She told Jack that his peppers were too big (you want to select smaller bell peppers) and stuffed too densely (don’t over pack the stuffing in the peppers). She also told him that he didn’t fry them long enough, and gave him a few additional pointers which we’ve included in the recipe below. (But she did tell Jack, “Good first effort!”) 🙂

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    So taking all of the constructive criticism, Jack made batch two (photographed here in this post) which was much closer to Nanny’s version of Italian Stuffed Peppers – and it got thumbs up. Yeah!

    As you may have noticed from my Monday Harvest posts I’m growing a fair few peppers this year. Whilst the capsicums have been horrendously slow – I still haven’t harvested a capsicum from any of the plants planted this season (all my harvest has been from overwintered plants). I really need to change variety as I should have had crops by now. The chillies on the other hand have been wonderful, producing endless harvests with the varieties staggering themselves nicely so that when one finishes another starts.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    I recently acquired another capsicum plant from Mum & Dad who are hoping I can overwinter it for them, as they get frost but I don’t. Called Mini Mama (capsicum annuum) it produces small sweet red fruits which are about 2cm in diameter. I have found the fruits the perfect size to be stuffed with cheese. The plant was purchased as a seedling at the large green superstore and I’d love to know if anyone grows anything similar and where they get seed as although we have saved seed it was in an area with a lot of other capsicums and chillies so may have crossed.

    The Mini Mama fruits are the round ones pictured below:

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    As the plant had a few decent sized fruit on it I decided to stuff them, and some chillies, for lunch. I used a few jalapenos and some of the Scotch Bonnet chillies for stuffing. I really must find out the Latin name for what I am calling Scotch Bonnet as that isn’t what they are know as internationally but it is what they were called on the seed packet. They are far, far milder than what I would normally call Scotch Bonnet – more like a jalapeno in temperature.

    Peppers stuffed with Cheese

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    • 200g mild chillies or baby sized capsicums
    • 150g feta
    • 2 tblspns cream cheese or ricotta (optional – if you are using a mild smooth feta you won’t need it)
    • 1.5 tblspns soft herbs finely chopped (I used basil, parsley & chervil today)
    • Olive oil from drizzling

    Heat the oven to 200. Slice the top off the peppers and remove seeds.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    Mix together the cheeses and herbs. Season. Fill the peppers with the cheese mixture (if you have some left over it makes a lovely omelette filling). Place in a baking dish. Drizzle over some olive oil. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the peppers have softened.

    Serve either hot or cold as a canape or with other salads/mezze.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    To see what others are eating this week head over to the Gardener of Eden’s place for Thursday’s Kitchen Cupboard, or to Greenish Thumb for the Garden to Table Challenge.

    Published: Mar 31, 2016 · Modified: Dec 9, 2019 by Aena · This post may contain affiliate links · 5 Comments

    These stuffed bell peppers have the most creamy mushroom sauce in them and trust us its to die for! Super quick to make and it’ll instantly become a hit around the dinner table!

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    These stuffed bell peppers will make you fall in love with them! Each bite has massive, delicious flavors – trust us people will be asking you for the recipe for this one when you make it!

    Topped off with some mozzarella and cheddar cheese – and this is going to be the best stuffed bell peppers you’ve ever had! The perfect touch of mushroom and if you follow the recipe, the chicken will be cooked to perfection!

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    Hello everyone! We’re back, yet again, with a new recipe! And this one had me licking the sauce off the pan – LITERALLY! The stuffing is so good that for a good 10 minutes I was just sitting in the chicken licking it off the sauce pan before I remembered I had to take the pictures for this post!

    It’s extremely easy to make and, as always, you won’t be needing a full army of ingredients! Follow our tips and recipe, and in about 30 minutes you’ll have the best stuffed bell peppers of your life!

    Chef Tips ?

    1. If you cook the mushrooms on medium-low heat, more water comes out of it. And vice versa. So when adding the mushrooms to the pan, lower the heat for 2 minutes and then bring it back up. The water from the mushrooms will come out and the flavor will go more into the sauce and chicken. After that you can bring the heat back up to medium like before.
    2. Since all the stuffing will already be cooked, you don’t need to leave the bell peppers in the oven for a long time – just enough to cook them a bit and for the cheese to melt.

    Today we are sharing How to make Stuffed Bell Peppers. Do you enjoy eating stuffed peppers? It ticks all the boxes for dinner. The filling is easy to make, you can bake them in the oven and you can make so many variations. But, best of all they are delicious! Bonus, At the end of the post, find more recipes with bell peppers that you can make. Make this stuffed bell peppers recipe!

    Winner, winner bell peppers for dinner.

    If this recipe isn’t what you are looking for be sure to check out our other recipes. They are perfect for your meal planning and adding to your dinner ideas for the week.

    Stuffed Bell Peppers
    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    This recipe for bell peppers can be made vegetarian by omitting the lean ground beef. Use our pasta sauce recipe below and add mushrooms. Or just use tomato sauce.

    How To Make Stuffed Bell Peppers

    Ingredients

    • 4 Bell Peppers – Pick out the wide ones, a bit bigger. (Green or Red)
    • Rice
    • Tomato sauce (or) 1 Jar of Pasta Sauce
    • Onion
    • Garlic
    • Italian Parsely
    • Italian Spices
    • Red Pepper Flakesoptional
    • 1-1/2 lb. Ground Beef (lean)

    If you don’t have time to make homemade tomato sauce, you can use a premade pasta sauce (jar sauce) to make this recipe. Get it on the table even faster! We love this (Pasta sauce – it’s spicy) or this (Pasta sauce ) that isn’t spicy. Until I share my new pasta sauce recipe, you can use this easy homemade 30 minute pasta sauce recipe. You can use it as is or omit the zucchini that is in the sauce. Or use your favorite recipe for the sauce.

    Directions

    1. Pre-make your rice according to the package directions. Set aside until needed. (for up to 4 stuffed bell peppers – use about 1-2 cups cooked rice)
      How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers
    2. Pre-make your pasta sauce or use store-bought. If you are using store-bought one jar will be plenty.
    3. Wash, Cut and remove the seeds, and veins inside of the bell peppers.
      How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers
    4. If you are using ground beef, add it to the pan with minced garlic, chopped peppers (the tops or other bell peppers), and peeled, chopped onion. Add salt, pepper and cook on a medium/low heat. (Prior to adding sauce!)
      How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers
    5. Then add your pasta sauce to the cooked ground beef, plus 1 tsp. Italian spices, plus 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (or store-bought sauce) and simmer for 20 minutes.
    6. Prepare your baking dish by spraying with a non-stick spray and adding sauce to the bottom.
    7. Mix in a bowl – rice, pasta sauce (with or without ground beef). Add this a little at a time to get a bowl of saucy rice but not overly saucy about 60-40 ratio rice-sauce.
      How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers
    8. Stuff the peppers and add them into your prepared baking dish.
  • Add sauce to the top of the stuffed peppers.
    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers
  • Bake in the oven on 350 until hot and peppers are able to be forked into. About 30 minutes. (See notes)
  • When peppers are done, (by forking into them and they are soft) add sprinkled Parmesan cheese and chopped Italian Parsely for garnish.
    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers
  • Recipe Notes:

    • If you want your bell pepper really cooked through you can pre-cook them in the oven a bit before stuffing to cut down the cooking time. Pre-spray your dish and place the prepared bell peppers in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
    • You can use red, green or yellow bell peppers. My favorite is red, but, Mr. loves green, so I make it both ways.
    • You can omit the Parmesan cheese and use shredded Mozzarella cheese . Add the shredded cheese to the stuffed bell peppers in tomato sauce 10 minutes prior to the finished cooking time to melt it.

    Enjoy your stuffed bell peppers any night of the week! This makes healthy stuffed bell peppers, they are so good and easy to make. If your kids don’t like stuffed bell peppers you can always make this recipe – The Best Meatloaf – it has bell peppers in it and other good things all hidden in the recipe.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    My mum used to make these stuffed capsicums back home. A simple filling of tuna and potatoes. Its usually served as a side with rice but i like these even as a snack. Even thought I make pasta or roshi or other main course dinners I make something to snack on during the night, during the fasting month.

    I rarely find the kind of light green capsicums here, until recently. It has started popping every where from supermarkets to farmers markets. They are very mild, with just a hint of heat.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    You will need:
    9 capsicums or baby bell peppers
    1 small onion or a shallot.
    100 g potato ( peeled, boiled and mashed)
    1 can tuna
    Juice of 1/2 a lime
    Salt and pepper
    oil

    1. Cut around the stem of the pepper/ capsicum and remove the stem. Using the end of a teaspoon, scoop out the seeds and the white membrane. Try not to break the skin.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    2. To make the filling, mix onions and lime juice and salt and scrunch up till soft. Add tuna . Heat a little oil a frying pan and cook the fish mixture till it you get a nice aroma , taste season with a generous pinch of pepper and add more salt if needed. Mix in the mashed potato. Leave to cool.

    3. Using your fingers fill the peppers with the filling , dont fill up till they burst , leave a tiny space at the top as the filling sometimes tend to come out while roasting.

    4. Preheat oven to somewhere between 200- 250 degree celcius, moderately hot oven. Place the capsicums or peppers in a lightly greased try and bake till soft and slightly brown as shown above. Make sure to turn them once.

    Serve as a side dish with rice or as a snack with some tomato ketchup or chilli sauce.

    Today we are sharing How to make Stuffed Bell Peppers. Do you enjoy eating stuffed peppers? It ticks all the boxes for dinner. The filling is easy to make, you can bake them in the oven and you can make so many variations. But, best of all they are delicious! Bonus, At the end of the post, find more recipes with bell peppers that you can make. Make this stuffed bell peppers recipe!

    Winner, winner bell peppers for dinner.

    If this recipe isn’t what you are looking for be sure to check out our other recipes. They are perfect for your meal planning and adding to your dinner ideas for the week.

    Stuffed Bell Peppers
    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    This recipe for bell peppers can be made vegetarian by omitting the lean ground beef. Use our pasta sauce recipe below and add mushrooms. Or just use tomato sauce.

    How To Make Stuffed Bell Peppers

    Ingredients

    • 4 Bell Peppers – Pick out the wide ones, a bit bigger. (Green or Red)
    • Rice
    • Tomato sauce (or) 1 Jar of Pasta Sauce
    • Onion
    • Garlic
    • Italian Parsely
    • Italian Spices
    • Red Pepper Flakesoptional
    • 1-1/2 lb. Ground Beef (lean)

    If you don’t have time to make homemade tomato sauce, you can use a premade pasta sauce (jar sauce) to make this recipe. Get it on the table even faster! We love this (Pasta sauce – it’s spicy) or this (Pasta sauce ) that isn’t spicy. Until I share my new pasta sauce recipe, you can use this easy homemade 30 minute pasta sauce recipe. You can use it as is or omit the zucchini that is in the sauce. Or use your favorite recipe for the sauce.

    Directions

    1. Pre-make your rice according to the package directions. Set aside until needed. (for up to 4 stuffed bell peppers – use about 1-2 cups cooked rice)
      How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers
    2. Pre-make your pasta sauce or use store-bought. If you are using store-bought one jar will be plenty.
    3. Wash, Cut and remove the seeds, and veins inside of the bell peppers.
      How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers
    4. If you are using ground beef, add it to the pan with minced garlic, chopped peppers (the tops or other bell peppers), and peeled, chopped onion. Add salt, pepper and cook on a medium/low heat. (Prior to adding sauce!)
      How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers
    5. Then add your pasta sauce to the cooked ground beef, plus 1 tsp. Italian spices, plus 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (or store-bought sauce) and simmer for 20 minutes.
    6. Prepare your baking dish by spraying with a non-stick spray and adding sauce to the bottom.
    7. Mix in a bowl – rice, pasta sauce (with or without ground beef). Add this a little at a time to get a bowl of saucy rice but not overly saucy about 60-40 ratio rice-sauce.
      How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers
    8. Stuff the peppers and add them into your prepared baking dish.
  • Add sauce to the top of the stuffed peppers.
    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers
  • Bake in the oven on 350 until hot and peppers are able to be forked into. About 30 minutes. (See notes)
  • When peppers are done, (by forking into them and they are soft) add sprinkled Parmesan cheese and chopped Italian Parsely for garnish.
    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers
  • Recipe Notes:

    • If you want your bell pepper really cooked through you can pre-cook them in the oven a bit before stuffing to cut down the cooking time. Pre-spray your dish and place the prepared bell peppers in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
    • You can use red, green or yellow bell peppers. My favorite is red, but, Mr. loves green, so I make it both ways.
    • You can omit the Parmesan cheese and use shredded Mozzarella cheese . Add the shredded cheese to the stuffed bell peppers in tomato sauce 10 minutes prior to the finished cooking time to melt it.

    Enjoy your stuffed bell peppers any night of the week! This makes healthy stuffed bell peppers, they are so good and easy to make. If your kids don’t like stuffed bell peppers you can always make this recipe – The Best Meatloaf – it has bell peppers in it and other good things all hidden in the recipe.

    Full of your favorite food topics

    Stuffed Bell Peppers

    More on this topic:
    Do you do it? Do you pre-boil your peppers before stuffing them? If not, we bet you will next time!

    There are hundreds of different ways to make Stuffed Peppers. Creating different fillings, slicing the pepper in half or leaving it whole, and the most debated, to pre-cook or to not pre-cook. To blanch or not to blanch.

    Note first off that pre-cooking is not the same as blanching. To blanch you get the water boiling first. Then add your veg. It goes in for a short short time and then is transferred to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Blanching helps vegetables retain a nice bright color but it doesn’t really cook the vegetable.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    You can absolutely blanch your bell peppers before stuffing them. It would result in a nicer color for the finished product but it wouldn’t help you in terms of cooking time or any other thing a busy person might need. We don’t blanch our peppers but we won’t make a big deal about it if you do. We just don’t know why you’d bother.

    Pre-cooking, on the other hand. That’s where it’s at!

    Pre-cooking is different. Pre-cooking is the idea of quick-starting the cooking process of your stuffed pepper. Since stuffed peppers can take as long as 45 minutes to bake, shortening that down with a quick boil really helps me out.

    How to do it? Cut the tops off of your peppers and get them ready for stuffing (using one of the methods from here). Then follow the instructions below.

    Persian Stuffed Bell Peppers

    Dolmeh Felfel

    Persian Stuffed Bell Peppers

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    Oh how I love Dolmeh! I really really do!! Let’s see so far I have posted Squash, Eggplant, and Grape Leaves Dolmeh around here!! Traditionally, in Iran they use green peppers for stuffing bell peppers, but since I love colors, I like to mix them up! Besides, green bell peppers are my least favorite taste while. My favorites are the yellow and orange ones!

    4 bell peppers
    1/2 lb ground beef
    1/2 cup rice
    1 medium onion
    2 cloves garlic
    1 cup parsley, packed
    1 cup chopped chives
    1/2 cup mint
    2 tbsp dried tarragon
    1 1/2 tbsp advieh
    2 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
    2 tbsp lemon juice
    salt & pepper
    oil

    First on the agenda. Cook rice in two cups of salted water. This should take about 20 minutes.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    Look at these bell peppers! I love their bright color!! Take a pairing knife slightly cut the stems. Then cut the top portion of each pepper.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    Carefully remove seeds and membranes with the help of the pairing knife and a teaspoon.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    Place the peppers in a pot along with a cup of water and boil for 5 minutes. Remover peppers and rinse with cold water. Set aside top side down to drain.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    Small dice onion and mince garlic. Saute in some oil until translucent. Add ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Saute until most of the juices evaporate.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    In the mean time clean and wash herbs. Rough chop parsley and mint.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    Once the meat is ready add 1 1/2 tablespoons of tomato paste and mix well.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    First add cooked rice and mix well. Add fresh herbs, tarragon, and advieh. Mix well until all nicely incorporated. Taste seasoning and add more if needed.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    Stuff each pepper and place the top back on each corresponding pepper.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    Bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, salt, lemon juice and brewed saffron. Mix well then add peppers. Cook covered for 30 to 45 minutes on medium low until peppers are cooked.

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    Nutrition and extra info

      Easily doubled / halved Vegetarian

    Nutrition: per serving

    • kcal 378
    • fat 21g
    • saturates 8g
    • carbs 31g
    • sugars 0g
    • fibre 3g
    • protein 16.7g
    • salt 1.4g

    Ingredients

    Olive oil

    Probably the most widely-used oil in cooking, olive oil is pressed from fresh olives. It’s…

    Spring onion

    Also known as scallions or green onions, spring onions are in fact very young onions, harvested…

    Gorgonzola

    A blue-veined cheese originating from a small town near Milan in Italy and now made by more than…

    Basil

    Most closely associated with Mediterranean cooking but also very prevalent in Asian food, the…

    Pepper

    Also known as capsicums, bell peppers, sweet peppers or by their colours, for example red and…

    Method

    Make the stuffing: heat the oil in a medium pan with a lid and fry the pine nuts until lightly toasted, then add the rice and fry until the grains are glossy. Stir in the garlic, then add the stock and bring to the boil. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, until the rice is tender.Remove from the heat, cool slightly and stir in the spring onions, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, gorgonzola and fresh herbs. Season well and leave to cool.

    Stuff the peppers: cut around the stalk from one pepper, remove and set aside. Make one slit down the length of the pepper and open out gently. Remove the seeds and membrane.

    Spoon some filling into the pepper cavity, taking care not to overfill.

    Take about a metre length of kitchen string and wrap the centre point several times around the pepper stalk, tying it firmly.

    Top with the stalk and wrap the ends of the string several times around the pepper to secure the filling. Tie the ends in a knot.Repeat with the other peppers.

    Barbecue the stuffed peppers over moderate heat for 15-20 minutes, turning gently until the peppers are evenly browned. Don’t worry if the string chars and if the peppers split too much – wrap them in a piece of foil and finish cooking in the foil wrappers.

    September 13, 2018

    This simple dish combines ground beef, white rice, and peppers to make a mouthwatering meal. Making stuffed peppers is easy and is a quick weeknight dinner idea.

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    If you would have asked me to try stuffed peppers when I was a kid, I would have turned up my nose at you. But, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve expanded my horizons to try new foods. One Sunday night, I was trying to decide what to add to my weekly meal plan and stumbled upon a recipe for stuffed peppers.

    I read through the list of ingredients for things I liked. Rice? Check! Ground Beef? Check! Cheese? Check! Tomato Sauce? Check! Peppers? Um, maybe? Since I liked the other items used to make them, I thought I’d give it a try. And do you know what happened? I FELL IN LOVE. Seriously. This is one of my absolute favorite dishes.

    Since the first time I made this, I’ve slightly modified the recipe so it is more what my family will love. And, I’ve shared it with my family members who have raved just as much about it as I have!

    Now, when it is time to figure out what to eat for the week, stuffed peppers are at the top of our family favorite meals list. Not only are they delicious, but they are a healthier dish too. And, you can make these peppers even better by swapping ground beef for ground turkey. We do this all of the time and there is zero difference in the taste.

    HOW TO MAKE EASY STUFFED PEPPERS

    Making peppers for dinner is pretty easy, but you might still run into some snags or have a few questions. This may help!

    Problem: The peppers will not stand up in the pan

    Solution: If you find your peppers will not stand up so you can fill them, there are a few things you can try:

    1. Slice off the bottom bumps so that it is level (don’t cut off too much as you don’t want to have the filling run out).
    2. Create an aluminum foil bowl. Shape some foil and set the pepper inside and then place in the pan.
    3. Use the right pan. I always use an 8×8 Pyrex pan to make these as that pan is a perfect size!

    Problem: I don’t know what to do with the tops.

    Solution: The tops — or the lids as my kids call them — can be placed on top after cooking if you want to have a more finished style. However, there is no need. You can just toss them.

    Problem: My family does not like rice.

    Solution: There are many things you can use rather instead of rice. You can try cauliflower rice, corn, mushrooms, more beef, and cheese. The ideas are endless. You may have to try a few different ideas until you find the perfect addition to your stuffed bell peppers.

    Find other great dinner ideas on our Entrees page!

    CAN YOU FREEZE STUFFED PEPPERS?

    Yes! Yes you can! All you need to do is make a double batch, and then you can freeze the stuffed peppers individually or as an entire meal for the family. When you are ready to reheat, you will want to let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight if possible. Then place them in the oven until thoroughly reheated and enjoy!

    Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe

    How to Make Stuffed Capsicums or Bell Peppers

    3 from 1 reviews

    This stuffed peppers recipe is not only easy to make but is made with real ingredients you will actually have on hand (and can pronounce)!

    • Author: Tracie
    • Prep Time: 20 mins
    • Cook Time: 50 mins
    • Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
    • Yield: 4 1 x
    • Category: Entree

    Ingredients

    • 4 large green bell peppers (can use red if you prefer)
    • 1 lb of ground beef or turkey
    • 1 Tbs. chopped onion
    • 1 cup of cooked rice (Minute Rice is what I use)
    • 1 tsp . salt
    • 1/8 tsp . garlic salt
    • 1 can tomato sauce ( 15 oz )
    • 1 – 1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    2. Cut a circle around the top of the pepper so you can remove the top. This is the “lid”, which you can discard.
    3. Use a spoon and scoop out all of the seeds and membranes inside of the pepper.
    4. Add the peppers to a pot of water. Heat to boiling and cook for 5-7 minutes and then drain.
    5. While peppers are boiling, brown the ground beef (or turkey) until cooked through.
    6. Add in onion and cook until softened.
    7. Drain and return to the skillet.
    8. Mix in 1/4 – 1/3 cup of cheese.
    9. Add the rice, salt, garlic salt and 1 cup of tomato sauce to the beef. Cook until all is hot.
    10. Spoon the beef mixture into the peppers.
    11. Stand upright in a small baking dish (recommended size is 8×8).
    12. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the peppers.
    13. Cover with foil and bake for 45 min.
    14. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese.
    15. Bake until cheese is melted.

    Keywords: stuffed peppers, stuffed bell peppers, stuffed pepppers recipe, how to make stuffed peppers