Cheesy Ground Beef Stuffed Peppers
By Sammi Brondo — February 23, 2026
Easy meals are the secret to happiness. Extreme? Yes. But true? Also yes.
Trying to figure out what to make and eat every day is a lot. And I don’t know about you, but if I don’t have a rough idea of meals planned ahead of time, they simply don’t happen.
I’m not much of a meal prep person, but I do like to list out meal options at the start of each week. That way, when lunch or dinner rolls around, I’m not scrambling.
Along with those options I’ll typically include 1-2 recipes. And I kid you not, when I first made these stuffed peppers, I happily ate them every single day.
There’s something just so satisfying about them. The peppers are stuffed a rice, beef, and vegetable mixture, giving you all those amazing nutrients that you need to feel good and full: protein, carbs, fiber, and antioxidants.
The mixture gets stuffed in peppers, topped generously with cheese, and baked in the oven. The result is so incredibly delicious and satisfying – you can’t ask for a better meal.
It’s also just really easy. The stuffed part of the peppers all comes together in one pan. You’ll add the mixture to scooped out peppers and bake them in the oven.
And the best part: these make amazing leftovers too. You can simply roast them in the oven and then broil them for a few minutes to warm them up and re-crisp the cheese.
I also like to store some of the inside mixture on its own in the fridge. When I’m ready to eat, I’ll quickly prepare my peppers and stuff them with the beef and rice mixture. It makes a pre-made meal feel totally new and fresh!
No matter how you do it, you truly can’t go wrong with this one.
Prep ingredients
Preheat the oven to 425 F and prepare ingredients.
Cut peppers
Slice the bell peppers in half lengthwise from the stem to the bottom. Remove the core and inner seeds.
Bake the peppers
Place the peppers facing up in a baking dish. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
Prepare the beef mixture
While the peppers are in the oven, prepare the beef mixture. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet over medium high heat. Sauté for a few minutes, until fragrant. Add the ground beef, using a spoon or meat chopper to break it apart into small pieces.
Cook the beef
Cook the ground beef for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown and almost cooked through. Add the crushed tomatoes, spices, salt, and pepper and stir to combine. Add the cooked rice and 3/4 cup of the cheese to the skillet and mix to combine. Set aside.
Scoop into peppers
Once the peppers are done cooking, let them cool slightly. Remove any excess liquid that accumulated. Scoop the beef mixture into each pepper, filling them up fully until they’re stuffed, but not overflowing (you will have extra left over of the beef mixture. See cooking notes).
Top with cheese
Top each pepper with the remaining cheese.
Bake and broil
Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, and then broil for an additional 2-3 minutes, until the cheese is melted and golden, but not burnt.
Garnish
Let cool and top with fresh herbs, avocado, and/or sour cream.
Serve
Enjoy!
Notes
- Bell pepper: Use any color bell pepper. Red peppers are the sweetest and green are the least sweet! Orange and yellow peppers are right in the middle.
- Onion: Use a white or yellow onion. Dice it very small so that it adds flavor and seamlessly blends into the beef mixture.
- Ground beef: I used 92% lean beef for this recipe. You can also use ground turkey, although I recommend using one with more fat so that it’s not too try.
- Crushed tomatoes: These add delicious flavor and moisture to the mixture.
- Wild rice: Any type of rice can be used in place of wild rice: white rice or brown rice would both work well.
- Cheese: I love a Mexican blend to complement the flavors of the peppers.
- Make ahead/storage: If making these ahead of time, you can either make the peppers as is. If you want to warm them up before eating, you can bake them in the oven on 300 F for a few minutes to warm up and then broil them for another few minutes. You can also store the peppers and ground beef mixture separately in airtight containers in the fridge. Before eating, start with step 7 of the recipe — stuff the peppers and bake.
Ingredients
- 3 bell peppers any color *see notes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1/2 white onion finely diced
- 1 pound lean ground beef I used 92% lean
- 15- ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 cup wild rice cooked
- 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese divided
- Salt
- Pepper
- Parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F.
- Slice the bell peppers in half lengthwise from the stem to the bottom. Remove the core and inner seeds and place the peppers facing up in a baking dish. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- While the peppers are in the oven, prepare the beef mixture. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet over medium high heat. Sauté for a few minutes, until fragrant. Add the ground beef, using a spoon or meat chopper to break it apart into small pieces.
- Cook the ground beef for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown and almost cooked through. Add the crushed tomatoes, spices, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.
- Add the cooked rice and 3/4 cup of the cheese to the skillet and mix to combine. Set aside.
- Once the peppers are done cooking, let them cool slightly. Remove any excess liquid that accumulated. Scoop the beef mixture into each pepper, filling them up fully until they’re stuffed, but not overflowing (you will have extra left over of th beef mixture. See cooking notes).
- Top each pepper with the remaining cheese. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, and then broil for an additional 2-3 minutes, until the cheese is melted and golden, but not burnt.
- Let cool, garnish, and serve.
