Southern Stuffed Peppers

Southern stuffed peppers- The key to a satisfying meal is variety. It’s essential to eat a mix of meat, vegetables, and grains for a well-balanced diet. 

So what could be more comforting and healthy than warm peppers stuffed with your favorite meat and vegetables, seasoned to suit your taste?

This Southern stuffed peppers recipe is so satisfying, and every bite is bursting with flavor!

What are stuffed peppers?

Stuffed peppers are a combination of hollowed bell peppers of any color, loaded on the inside with your favorite appetizing options like ground beef and rice seasoned to perfection. And then topped with shredded cheese.

This recipe uses the Instant Pot to quickly prepare the rice and ground beef. Then the Instant Pot Omni Plus oven is used for baking this savory treat. 

The mozzarella cheese is the perfect topping. While the rice inside each pepper gives them just enough body without feeling too heavy of a dish.

With the hearty ground beef, flavorful rice, and ooey-gooey mozzarella cheese, how could anyone resist? 

Perfect for a quick dinner or day-after office lunch, kids couldn’t even resist this colorful Southern recipe! 

Southern stuffed peppers can be served as an excellent side dish or main course option.

How do you make this stuffed peppers recipe?

It takes just a fraction of the time and effort to prepare these protein-filled stuffed bell peppers with Instant Pot. 

Instant Pot rice takes only 4 minutes to make. And Instant Pot ground beef is a quick 5-7 minute sauté.

You then place everything inside the hollowed peppers and bake for only 15 minutes in the Instant Pot Omni Plus oven (you can use a traditional oven, too). 

The result is an appetizing Southern comfort dish that evokes warmth without any excess fat or fussing around!

Stuffed peppers Instant Pot recipe

Fill up on these delicious Instant Pot stuffed peppers before you take your seat at your tailgate party. Or make fun jack-o-lantern stuffed peppers for Halloween!

These easy, flavorful stuffed peppers are the perfect dish to serve at Thanksgiving dinner or for family gatherings as an appetizer. 

Your guests will not have room for dessert after this hearty, satisfying recipe! 

A crowd favorite for sure, this Instant Pot ground beef recipe and rice stuffing is sure to please your family and friends!

My motto is Magical Meals In Minutes. So I use the Instant Pot pressure cooker as an alternative cooking method for traditional Southern meals with minimal prep time. 

Stuffed peppers in the Instant Pot take less than an hour from start to finish. 

You can’t get more instant than this!

Kitchen equipment for this stuffed peppers Instant Pot recipe

• Instant Pot electric pressure cooker
• Instant Pot Omni Plus oven

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Ingredients for the ground beef

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• ½ cup of yellow onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 pound of ground beef
• ¼ cup of your favorite all-purpose seasoning or taco seasoning (I used Famous Dave’s Steak & Burger Seasoning.)

Ingredients for the rice

• 1 cup of rice
• 1 cup of water
• 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
• ¼ teaspoon of olive oil
• ½ a teaspoon of salt
• 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme

Ingredients for the bell peppers

• 4 bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeds removed
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil 
• 1 cup of chopped tomatoes 
• ½ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• ½ tablespoon of Italian seasoning
• ½ cup of fresh parsley, finely chopped & divided
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• ¼ teaspoon of black pepper 
• 1 teaspoon mixture of ½ a teaspoon of salt & ½ a teaspoon of pepper

Instructions for the Instant Pot ground beef

1. Remove the Instant Pot lid and turn on the sauté setting for 20 minutes. (Although you will not use all of this time. I like to have the extra minutes for the time it takes for the sauté to become active.)
2. In the Instant Pot stainless steel inner pot, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and garlic and onions.
3. Sauté for about one minute until the onions are softened.
4. Add the water, tomato paste, ground beef, and all-purpose seasoning on top of the ground beef.
5. As the meat begins to cook, fold in the all-purpose seasoning and cook until the meat is browned, breaking it up with a spatula as needed. 
6. Sauté in the Instant Pot (with the lid off) until the ground beef is browned.
7. As the meat browns, continue to fold and stir all the ingredients.
8. Turn off the Instant Pot and drain the ground beef using a colander.
9. Set aside the cooked ground beef mixture.

Instructions for the Instant Pot rice

1. Add the rice, water, butter, olive oil, and salt to the Instant Pot stainless steel inner pot.
2. Stir to mix the ingredients and make sure the rice is covered in the liquid.
3. Add the fresh sprigs of thyme on top.
4. Close the Instant Pot lid (make sure the valve is in the sealing position – up) and pressure cook on high for 4 minutes.
5. When the cooking time is finished, allow a natural release of pressure for at least 2 minutes.
6. To open the Instant Pot lid, move the valve to ‘venting’ and manually release any remaining pressure, if applicable.
7. Fluff the rice with a fork.
8. Remove the rice from the Instant Pot and set it aside.

Instructions for the stuffed peppers

1. Preheat your oven to bake at 350 degrees F. 
2. Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds and membrane. 
3. Drizzle each pepper with olive oil and rub both the inside and outside to coat. 
4. Sprinkle the salt and pepper mixture on the inside of each oil-coated pepper.
5. Arrange the bell peppers on a casserole dish or baking sheet with the cut-out side facing down.
6. Pre-bake for about 10 minutes in the Instant Pot Omni Plus oven or 15 minutes in a conventional oven.
7. While the peppers are baking, combine the drained ground beef, tomatoes, ¼ cup of parsley, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and the cooked rice, mixing thoroughly.
8. Set aside the ground beef mixture.
9. Remove the bell peppers from the oven and use tongs to flip them over. 
10. Fill the peppers with the ground beef mixture and top by sprinkling on the mozzarella cheese. 
11. Place the stuffed peppers back in the oven and bake for 15 minutes in the Instant Pot Omni Plus oven, or 20 minutes in a conventional oven, or until the peppers have softened.
12. Remove the stuffed peppers from the oven and top with the remaining fresh parsley.
13. Serve these Southern stuffed bell peppers warm, and enjoy!

Pro tips:

• Each serving is one-half of a bell pepper stuffed.
• You can bake these stuffed bell peppers in two casserole pans or one larger sheet pan.
• Carve easy Jack-O-lantern faces into your bell peppers for a festive Halloween stuffed peppers recipe!

What do you serve with Southern stuffed peppers?

Stuffed bell peppers are a dish that holds their own.

However, you can serve these delicious Southern stuffed peppers on a bed of lettuce or alongside your favorite vegetables, including:

brown sugar-glazed carrots, Southern green beans, Southern creamed corn, Southern cornbread dressing, and Southern cornbread with corn.

Why an Instant Pot for stuffed peppers?

I love this Instant Pot because it’s so easy and convenient for making seemingly complex Southern home-cooked meals simple and with ease!

Especially for mamas like me who are always on the go with work or kids! 

What might surprise you about Instant Pot is how well-stuffed peppers turn out with this electric pressure cooker instead of the traditional stovetop method. 

This multi-cooker is exceptional for sautéing ground beef and pressure-cooking rice in only a matter of minutes. And the Instant Pot Omni Plus oven bakes in a fraction of the conventional oven time.

If you’re looking for a quick and easy meal that is hearty, delicious, and healthy, then this Instant Pot stuffed peppers recipe will be perfect for you. In about 40 minutes from start to finish, they make an excellent home-cooked dinner!

The best part of these stuffed peppers? You can use any protein or vegetables that you want – the possibilities are endless!

What is the trick to keeping stuffed peppers from falling over? 

1. If the bottom of the pepper is uneven after it’s cut lengthwise, try cutting a small flat piece off of it.
2. Avoid cutting through the peppers though; otherwise, the stuffing will leak out the pepper and onto the pan.

Southern stuffed bell peppers FAQs

Can you freeze stuffed peppers?

I wouldn’t recommend freezing. Stuffed peppers will likely turn watery and soggy when thawed.

Is it possible to make these stuffed bell peppers vegetarian?

Certainly! This dish can be made healthier by substituting vegetables and beans for ground meat. Add whatever vegetables you like!

Is cauliflower rice an alternative to regular rice for this recipe?

I’d say yes! Cauliflower rice can be used as an alternative to regular rice or brown rice for this recipe. Cauliflower rice is low in carbohydrates, keto-friendly, and can be substituted for regular rice in many dishes.

Should you boil peppers before stuffing them?

Instead, it’s easier to pre-bake the peppers before stuffing them. A drizzle of olive oil keeps them from drying out in the oven.

Should you cook the meat first before stuffing peppers?

To make stuffed peppers, you need to cook the meat first. You can use any meat, but ground beef or ground turkey are probably the most popular options. To make it easy, brown the beef in the Instant Pot.

How do you choose the best peppers?

The first step is to pick healthy bell peppers with a firm base (in others words, they should stand up by themselves). Next, make sure each pepper is large enough to fit the stuffing mixture inside.

Do the different color bell peppers taste different?

Peppers come in a variety of colors, so I like to mix things up! 

In addition to their beautiful appearance, red, yellow, green, and orange peppers taste different and delicious! A green one, for example, tastes a bit zestier and less sweet. 

Any color bell pepper is acceptable for this recipe. However, I prefer the red, orange, and yellow varieties for a fall aesthetic.

Can this be made in a Crockpot slow cooker?

I’m not familiar with the Crockpot version of this recipe. But I am aware that a slow cooker method will take a lot more time (up to hours more) than the Instant Pot cooking methods I share in this recipe!

What did you think about this Southern stuffed bell peppers recipe?

There’s a lot to love about stuffed peppers! 

The soft-baked vegetable outside helps it absorb a flavorful tomato-based profile, and a protein-loaded filling complements the taste of the pepper in every bite! 

Stuffed peppers may seem like a fancy dish at first glance – but take another look… 

They’re an old-fashioned Southern meal homemade with ingredients you can easily find in your pantry. So you can make them anytime you want!

And if you like this recipe, you’ll love these best Instant Pot Southern recipes HERE.

Have you had it?

Would you make it? 

Comment below and lemme know. 

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