Stuffed Peppers (Ground Beef and Rice)

Easy baked stuffed peppers filled with ground beef, rice, marinara, and melty Italian cheese. A cozy, comforting dinner ready in under an hour.

Course dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian, Mediterranean

Diet Gluten Free

Keyword baked, comfort food, easy, Italian stuffed peppers, stuffed pepper casserole, stuffed peppers

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 35

Total Time 45

Servings (one half pepper, stuffed)

Calories 225

Preheat the oven to 375. Spray a high-sided 9x13 baking dish with olive oil cooking spray, then spread 1 cup of mariana evenly on the bottom of the pan. Cut each bell pepper in half from top to bottom. Remove the seeds and membranes, then arrange cut side up in the baking dish.
Heat a large high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil, diced onions and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook 3-5 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften, stirring occasionally.
Add the ground beef and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. Break into small pieces and cook until browned and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes.
Turn off the heat, then add the remaining 1 cup marinara, rice, parsley, parmesan, ½ cup Italian cheese, stirring until just combined.
Fill each pepper evenly with the beef rice mixture, about one heaping ½ cup for each pepper. Sprinkle over the remaining ½ cup cheese. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30-35 minutes, then uncovered for 5-10 minutes until the cheese is browned and bubbling.

Any color of bell pepper will work for this recipe. I used a mix of red and orange because it makes a prettier presentation and red, yellow, and orange bell peppers are sweeter than their green counterparts. However, if you prefer the taste (or price) of green bell peppers, those will work equally well.
Be sure to use cooked long grain rice for this recipe. Really any cooked grain will work, though, so feel free to swap in cooked brown rice, quinoa, barley or even wild rice.