One Pot Unstuffed Peppers
Come dinnertime I have three missions: 1) Feed the family a meal they all enjoy 2) Eat more fruits and veggies 3) Spend less time cooking and doing dishes. If this describes you too, stop what you are doing and add the ingredients for this Unstuffed Peppers recipe to your grocery list!
- Mission #1: The hearty beef and rice is out-of-this-world-delicious.
- Mission #2: It includes a generous amount of bell peppers “stuffed” into this one-pot meal.
- Mission #3: One pot means: less dishes!
Read on to find out how to pull all three missions off like it was effortless!
Why We Love Deconstructed Stuffed Peppers
Around here we specialize in seasonal veggies and weeknight meals. This Unstuffed Peppers recipe combines both of these areas of expertise. So if you are on the hunt for a great recipe for deconstructed stuffed bell peppers, you are in good hands. This kind of recipe is our bread and butter! If you love recipes like this, make sure to opt in to our weekly menu plans. I’ll email you more recipes like this every Saturday morning to help plan your weeknight dinner menu.
Do you love this one pan meal? Try our One Pot Chicken Broccoli Rice and browse all our One Pot and One Pan Recipes too!
Table of contents
Ingredients For This Unstuffed Pepper Skillet
- Ground Beef: You’ll need a pound of ground beef. Look for lean to make it lower in fat and calories. It also works with ground turkey.
- Onion: I added in a large diced onion to up the veggie servings and give great flavor. For a refresher, check out on our culinary school at home lesson on how to dice an onion.
- Bell peppers: You can use green bell peppers for classic taste or a blend of one or more colors of bell peppers. Cut them into large dice- They’re the star of the show after all! When cooked they get nice and soft, so if you cut them too small they will sort of melt into the rice and beef.
- Beef Broth: You’ll need 3 cups low sodium or reduced sodium beef broth. Feel free to sub in chicken broth or even vegetable broth if you don’t have beef broth.
- Rice: For the perfect texture you’ll need 1 ¼ cup long grain white rice, such as jasmine or basmati.
- Canned Tomato Sauce: My grandmother’s stuffed peppers always had canned tomato sauce (not marinara or jarred pasta sauce.) The thin texture and mild flavor are ideal for topping the cheesy beef, pepper, and rice stuffing. Look for a small 8-ounce can of tomato sauce. Note: you’ll need to heat it up! I do this in the microwave in a glass measuring cup. You can heat it in a saucepan on the stove if need be.
- Cheese: For great flavor, we liked it best with cheddar cheese. My family loves the tangy flavor, but a milder cheese like Jack or mozzarella works too. And Fontina is a great option for melt-ability.
- Kitchen Staples and Seasoning: You will also need olive oil (or another cooking oil of your choice), Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and ground pepper to give this the flavors of traditional stuffed peppers. I also tried this with dried oregano and basil instead of the Italian seasoning so if you do not have that on hand, feel free to sub them in. Another herb mix like Herbs de Provence or Poultry Seasoning would work in a pinch.
Chef Katie’s Tip On Seasonality: Bell peppers are in season in summer and fall, but imported peppers (and those grown in green houses) are widely available year-round. If left on the plant to continue ripening green bell peppers will turn red. The peppers become sweeter in this process and unfortunately they rot more easily. This is why red bell peppers are more expensive!
How To Make Unstuffed Bell Peppers
Step 1: Brown the Beef
Start by heating the oil in a nice heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook it while stirring frequently to break it up. Let it cook for about 3 to 5 minutes until it’s starting to brown. Don’t worry if it’s still pink in some spots at this stage—that’s completely fine. If your beef lets off a lot of fat, it is okay to drain the beef to remove excess fat.
Step 2: Sautee the Peppers
Next, add the onion, green peppers (or blend of bell peppers), Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Continue cooking and stirring often until the beef is fully cooked through and the onions and peppers are just beginning to soften; this should take another 3 to 5 minutes.
Step 3: Add Broth and Rice and Cook with a Cover
Pour in the broth and increase the heat to high, bringing it to a simmer. Make sure to scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan—they add a lot of flavor! Add the uncooked rice, give everything a good stir, then cover the skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let it cook for 15 minutes at a gentle simmer, adjusting the heat as needed to keep it low.
Step 4: Rest the Rice and Heat the Sauce
After the 15 minutes are up, take the skillet off the heat and let it sit, covered, for 5 minutes. While the rice cooks, heat the tomato sauce in the microwave in a glass measuring cup until it’s steaming hot; this should take about 1 minute on high power. If you have a microwave-free household, a stovetop works great too!
Step 5: Add Sauce and Cheese and Let it Melt
When the rice has rested for 5 minutes, spoon the hot tomato sauce over the rice, beef, and pepper mixture, then sprinkle cheese over the top. Cover the skillet again and let it sit off the heat for about 3 minutes so the cheese can melt. Scoop onto plates, add a little fresh parsley on top if desired and enjoy!
Prep Ahead, Leftovers, Storing and Reheating
- Meal Prep and Make Ahead: You can chop your veggies, measure the spices and even brown the beef in advance. Store each separately in a resealable container. Then to make the recipe for an easy weeknight meal, add the cold browned beef, chopped veggies and spices to the skillet (you’ll need extra oil) and sautee until the mixture is hot and the veggies are softening (about 10 minutes.) Then continue with step 3.
- Storing Leftovers: The leftovers can be cooled and transferred to an airtight container. Keep refrigerated up to four days.
- To reheat in the microwave: place a single serving on a microwave-safe plate, cover with parchment and microwave for 2 minutes or until heated through and steaming hot.
- To reheat in the oven: I also tested reheating this in the oven. To do so I transferred the leftovers to a casserole dish, covered with additional sauce and covered with a layer of parchment and then foil. Next bake the casserole for 25 minutes or until hot in the center, remove the foil and parchment, add on more cheese and bake until melted, about 5 minutes longer.
Substitutions and Variations To Try
- Make It Meatless: Instead of browned ground beef mince, you can use a meatless ground meat (like Impossible or Beyond.) Follow package instructions to brown the beef alternative. Alternatively, chopped portobello mushrooms can make this a delicious dinner that’s perfect for Meatless Monday!
- Alternative To Ground Meat: You can sub in ground chicken, turkey or even leftover chopped roasted chicken in place of the browned beef. If using leftover chicken, simply add it in with the rice.
- Sauce: Instead of canned tomato sauce you can use pasta sauce. When in season you can even use finely chopped fresh tomatoes, however if you are going to use them, add them on top of the rice before letting it rest in step 4. This will heat them through so that the cheese will melt in step 5.
- Make It Low Carb: You can totally go off script here and make this a lower-carb skillet meal by using frozen cauliflower rice. It is more watery than the rice, but a great option if you are following a reduced carbohydrate diet. It is important that you reduce the heat in step 2, cover and let the peppers and onions fully soften for an additional 5 minutes. Then add in the frozen cauliflower rice and 3/4 cup broth. I also add in a couple tablespoons of tomato paste to thicken the broth. Bring to a simmer, then cover and let it heat through on low heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Add on the sauce and cheese, cover and let sit off the heat to let the cheese melt. Serve with a slotted spoon if there is excess moisture in the bottom of the skillet.
- Brown Rice: If you want to use brown rice, add 1/2 cup extra broth and cook for 35 minutes in step 3.
- Unstuffed Peppers Casserole: After step 3, transfer to a large casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Add on sauce and cheese and finish in the oven. I’ve done this for a make ahead and it came out awesome! After placing it in the casserole dish I covered it and refrigerated it. Then I heated it through, topped it off and baked to melt the cheese.
Serving Suggestions For Unstuffed Peppers
This meal is has about 500 calories per serving. It has veggies, starch and protein, so it an all-in-one meal that’s hearty enough on its own. If you want to extend it a bit, try one of these suggestions below all of which are 100 to 125 calories:
- 15-minute Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar
- Green Salad with our Low Cal Ranch Dressing
- Mixed sheet pan Roasted Vegetables with dried herbs
- Steamed Broccoli with garlic and lemon (my daughter’s personal favorite)
- Our famous Green Bean Recipe!
More healthy Side Dishes can be found here!
More Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipes
Stuffed bell peppers make a great dinner and we know you’ll love these too!
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
Unstuffed Bell Peppers Recipe
Enjoy the flavors of stuffed peppers in one pan! This quickUnstuffed Peppers Skillet with beef, rice, and cheese makes a comforting familymeal.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbl olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey)
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 bell peppers large dice
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 3 cups reduced sodium beef broth or low sodium
- 1 1/4 cups long grain white rice
- 1 small can tomato sauce 8 ounces
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 6 ounces
Instructions
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Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook, stirring often until broken up and browning, 3 to 5 minutes. It is okay if it is still pink in spots.
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Add onion, pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper and cook, stirring often until the beef iscooked through and the onions and peppers are starting to soften, 3 to 5minutes.
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Add broth, increase heat to high and bring to a simmer while scraping up any browned bits from the skillet. Add rice, stir well, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 15 minutes at a gentle simmer, adjusting heat as necessary to keep a low simmer.
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Remove from the heat and let sit 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the tomato sauce in the microwave in a glass measuring cup until steaming hot, about 1 minute on high power.
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When the rice has set for 5 minutes, remove the lid and pour the sauce over the rice mixture. Sprinkle cheese on top and cover the skillet. Let it sit off heat for about 3 minutes to melt the cheese. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
- Meal Prep and Make Ahead: You can chop your veggies, measure the spices and even brown the beef in advance. Then to make the recipe, add the cold browned beef, chopped veggies and spices to the skillet (you’ll need extra oil) and sautee until the mixture is hot and the veggies are softening (about 10 minutes.) Then continue with step 3.
- Storing Leftovers: The leftovers can be cooled and transferred to an air-tight storage container. Keep refrigerated up to four days.
- To reheat in the microwave: place a single serving on a microwave-safe plate, cover with parchment and microwave for 2 minutes or until heated through and steaming hot.
- To reheat in the oven: I also tested reheating this in the oven. To do so I transferred the leftovers to a casserole dish, covered with additional sauce and covered with a layer of parchment and then foil. Next bake the casserole for 25 minutes or until hot in the center, remove the foil and parchment, add on more cheese and bake until melted, about 5 minutes longer.
I’m cooking this right now and it smells divine. I thought I’d let you know though that there’s no mention of adding the rice and broth in the directions. However it is described in the narrative so I followed that. Just thought I’d bring it to your attention.Â
I love you recipes btw!
Thanks for letting me know that part of the instructions were missing and I am glad the post above had the details you needed to find success. I have updated the card and it should be all set now if you try refreshing. So sorry about that!
Hi Katie! Excited to make this tonight — but, FYI, the recipe steps don’t seem to include Step 3 (the broth/rice step).
Thanks so much for letting me know.