Stuffed Pepper Casserole
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This Stuffed Pepper Casserole recipe makes it even easier to enjoy the flavor of a cheesy stuffed pepper. Mix all of your ingredients and bake in the oven for a delicious weeknight dinner.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Great for meal prep – Make this stuffed bell pepper casserole in advance and enjoy it all week long. You can even change up the toppings all week so that you don’t get bored.
- Easy weeknight eating – This casserole comes together with little prep time in one pan! Brown your beef, add the rest of the ingredients, and bake. It is SO simple. You can even prepare it in the morning and place it in the oven when you are ready for dinner.
- Perfect freezer meal – You can freeze this casserole before baking and bake from frozen at a later date. You can also make this stuffed pepper casserole recipe and freeze the leftovers for an easy reheat meal in the future.
Serving suggestions
This stuffed pepper casserole is a full meal on its own with the beef, rice, and vegetables all packed in the dish. If you’re looking to add a little more green on the side, this Lemon Kale Caesar Salad or Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts could be a great simple addition to your meal.
Add different toppings to change up the flavor of this dish. I like to use fresh herbs, a dollop of sour cream or greek yogurt and a dash of hot sauce for a little spice.
If you are looking for more ground beef recipes, try my Ground Beef Baked Tacos or Cheeseburger Breakfast Casserole.
For more one pot meals, you can make this Creamy Meat Sauce One Pot Pasta or Easy Baked Gnocchi Recipe.
Ingredients
- Ground Beef – I use ground beef as the protein for a classic stuffed pepper feel, but you can also use ground chicken or ground turkey.
- Salt, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder, Cumin, Oregano, Smoked Paprika – This blend of spices creates an amazing flavor for your stuffed pepper casserole. If you prefer an Italian style stuffed pepper, you could use Italian seasoning.
- Bell Peppers – Rather than stuffing the peppers for this recipe, you will dice them up to get a bit of tender pepper in every bite. You could use a mixed of red and green bell peppers for this dish.
- Diced Tomatoes – Using a can of diced tomatoes keeps this recipe easy, and it’s the best way to get a great tomato taste out of season. The extra tomato sauce from the can will also help keep your casserole moist.
- White Rice – Make sure to thoroughly rinse your rice. It makes a big difference so your rice does not get sticky.
- Beef Broth – The beef broth keeps your casserole moist and adds even more flavor to your meal. A dash of worcestershire sauce would also be a great addition.
- Cheddar Cheese – The cheddar cheese on top makes this stuffed pepper casserole creamy, gooey and so delicious.
Ingredient Substitutions
I used 93% lean ground beef. If you prefer not to use ground beef, ground chicken or ground turkey would also be delicious in this casserole.
I used white rice, but you can also use brown rice if you prefer. Because we are using rice, this recipe is already gluten free!
For extra fiber, you could add black beans to this recipe.
If you need this recipe to be low carb, you could try this recipe with cauliflower rice. Strain your tomatoes and make sure the liquid is cooked off in the pan before adding the rice.
For an even more vegetable packed meal, you could add onion, mushrooms, or zucchini. Just be cautious with the amount of liquid in the casserole.
If you want to experiment with a different flavor, you could do an Italian twist on this dish with Italian sausage and Italian seasoning.
I love the taste of cheddar on top, but this stuffed pepper casserole would be delicious with pepper jack or Monterey jack. Mozzarella cheese would also work for a much milder flavor.
How to make
Step 1: Brown Your beef and Add Peppers
Preheat oven to 350F. Heat a large oven safe skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
Add the ground beef to the pan. Break into crumbles as you brother it for about 8 minutes. Drain off any excess oil and season with the salt, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika (Image 1).
Pour the diced peppers and stir. (Image 2).
Step 2: Add tomatoes, broth and rice
Add the diced tomatoes, rice, and beef broth into the pan (Images 3 and 4). Stir together and continue heating on the stove until the mixture just begins to simmer.
Step 3: Bake and add cheese
Remove from heat and cover with foil. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes covered (Image 5).
Remove foil, add the shredded cheese and bake for another 10 minutes (Image 6) for a total time of about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly and enjoy! If you’d like, garnish your finished meal with a bit of parsley.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you do not have a cast iron, you could brown the meat and add all ingredients in a pan, then transfer to a baking dish, top with cheese and bake.
You don’t have to thaw it. You can bake directly from frozen. Bake at 325F for 1 hour covered. Then, uncover to cook the cheese on top.
Because we are chopping the peppers rather than baking them whole, they will soften enough while cooking and you do not need to boil them.
Storage, reheating and Freezing
Store this casserole in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can reheat a serving in the microwave or toaster oven. If you have a larger portion to reheat, you can place in the oven at 350F for 15-20 minutes until warmed through.
I recommend freezing this casserole just before baking. Store a freezer safe dish and cover with plastic wrap and foil. To bake from frozen, bake covered at 325F for 1 hour.
You can also freeze your leftovers after cooking this meal. Store in a freezer safe dish for up to 4 months. When ready to eat, defrost and warm in the a 350F oven for 15-20 minutes.
Check out these other Casserole Recipes
- Chicken Pot Pie Casserole
- Croissant Breakfast Casserole
- Stuffed Shells with Meat
- Baked Tortellini with Chicken
If you love this stuffed pepper casserole recipe, this Baked Ziti with Ricotta next!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Stuffed Pepper Casserole
This stuffed pepper casserole is a great weeknight, one pan meal.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- 2 bell peppers – diced
- 1 (15oz) can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup long grain white rice – thoroughly rinsed
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Heat a large oven safe skillet over medium heat.
- Add the ground beef to the pan. Break into crumbles as you brown it for about 8 minutes. Drain off any excess oil and season with the salt, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika.
- Pour the diced peppers, diced tomatoes, rice, and beef broth into the pan. Stir together and continue heating on the stove until the mixture just begins to simmer.
- Remove from heat and cover with foil. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes covered.
- Remove foil, add cheese and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly and enjoy!
Notes
- You can substitute ground chicken or ground turkey for the ground beef.
- You can use brown rice instead of white rice.
- Freezer instructions: freeze before baking. To bake from frozen, bake covered at 325F for 1 hour.
- Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Amanda says
This sounds great! I’ve got a maybe silly question…are you adding cooked or uncooked rice?
Madeline says
Not silly! It us uncooked and will cook with everything else – I just recommend rinsing it before adding it.
Chelsea leeper says
Have been searching forever for an alternative stuffed peppers one skillet recipe, went out in the snow for all the ingredients and made it last night for the family. Was a huge hit!!!
Madeline says
Yay!! It is a great snow day meal! So glad you like it.
Shannon says
I am making this week- yum!
Madeline says
Yay! Let me know what you think!
Holly says
So good!!! Made it for the whole extended family tonight and everyone loved it.
Madeline says
So happy to hear that! Thanks, Holly!
Gina says
Looks like a pretty good recipe, but you might want to edit the 2nd step. Feel free to delete my comment. Just here to help.
Madeline says
Good catch. Thank you!!
Mary P says
Made it for dinner last night and it was delicious! Totally tasted like stuffed peppers and so easy.
Madeline says
Yay! Thanks, Mary!
Jaci says
This may be the easiest and most delicious meal I’ve made in such a long time! Will now be a staple weeknight meal! Highly recommend.
Madeline says
Thanks so much, Jaci!
Emma says
So easy and yummy! Used quick white rice since it’s what I had and still came out great. Will definitely make again!
Madeline says
Awesome. Thanks, Emma!
Katie says
super easy and delicious recipe!! lots of hands off time. I used crushed tomatoes instead of diced and it came out great. I will definitely be making again!
Madeline says
Wonderful!! Glad to hear it!
Whitney says
Delicious and so easy! This will be a repeat for sure.
Madeline says
Awesome. Thanks, Whitney!!
Lana says
My kids asked for seconds! They never liked stuffed peppers, but this casserole was a huge success. I’ve added chickpeas for extra protein. Definitely a keeper!
Madeline says
Fantastic!! And adding chickpeas is a great idea.
Gerry says
It was a big hit, I loved it. My daughter said I could fix it anytime
Madeline says
Wonderful! Glad you and your daughter loved it!
Karah says
This was a great spin on a stuffed pepper. My whole family (including a toddler and infant loved it). We are adding this dish into our rotation!!
Madeline says
Yay! Always a win when the whole family approves. Thanks, Karah!