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Stuffed Pepper Rice Bake

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Have you ever had stuffed peppers? That delicious recipe is the inspiration for today’s Stuffed Pepper Rice Bake, which takes the classic “scoop out some peppers and fill them with meat, rice, and cheese” and transforms it into something so delicious and simple to make, you’ll wonder why you’ve never made it before!

Stuffed Pepper Casserole is just as tasty as stuffed peppers, but it takes away the guesswork of trying to figure out how to scoop all the goodness into one bite by mixing all the ingredients together in a casserole dish! We’re obsessed with this recipe, and hope you’ll love it as much as we do!

spoonful or rice pepper bake

What makes Stuffed Pepper Casserole special

Stuffed Pepper Casserole is a casserole-version of a super fun dish that involves stuffing peppers full of delicious goodies and baking them. In this recipe, we’re taking all the ingredients and mixing them together in a casserole dish, which we think makes it so much easier to prep and then cook.

It’s a super-simple, super-delicious recipe that is chock-full of vegetables and other nutrient-rich ingredients. We think your whole family is going to love it as much as we do!

baking dish of tomatoes peppers and ground beef

How Stuffed Pepper Casserole got its name

To answer this question, we’ve got to go back to the original! Stuffed peppers got their name pretty simply — it’s a description of what you’re eating. Then we added “casserole” because that’s what type of dish this recipe is!

A casserole is a common dish that colloquially just means something baked slowly in an oven. But the name itself apparently comes from the name of the dish itself. Kyathos is a Greek word for “cup” while casse is an old French word for “ladle.” And there’s the history of the word casserole!

stuffed pepper rice bake in a baking dish

How to make Stuffed Pepper Casserole

  1. Cook ground beef and season with your favorite seasonings. (We use 3 cloves fresh garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp oregano, and 1/2 tsp paprika.)
  2. Chop the red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and red onion.  
  3. Rinse the rice until the water is clear.
  4. In a 12×8 baking dish add the  rice, diced tomatoes with chilis, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and onions.
  5. Mix in paprika, chili powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, olive oil, low sodium broth, and garlic.
  6. Give everything a good mix to make sure it is combined.
  7. Cover and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.
  8. Remove dish, add shredded cheese, and bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted.
  9. Garnish with fresh cilantro or Italian parsley. Serve immediately or cover and let sit until ready to serve.
rice closeup
a spoonful of stuffed pepper rice bake being lifted from a casserole dish

Stuffed Pepper Rice Bake

Food Dolls
This easy rice bake is a spin on making stuffed peppers. It’s all made in one baking dish and topped with cheese! So easy!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course dinner
Cuisine American
Servings 8 people
Calories 423 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 cup washed long grain or jasmine rice
  • 10 oz diced tomatoes with chilis
  • 1/2 cup red bell pepper (chopped)
  • 1/2 cup yellow bell pepper (chopped)
  • 1/2 small red onion (chopped)
  • 2 teaspoons paprika (divided)
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt (divided, to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper (divided, to taste)
  • 1 1/2 cups low sodium broth
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 cloves grated garlic, divided
  • 10 oz shredded Colby jack cheese
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro or Italian flat leaf parsley (for garnish)

Instructions
 

  • In a pan on medium-high heat cook ground beef until no longer pink. Drain the fat and add 2 cloves minced fresh garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon paprika.
  • Chop the red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and red onion.  
  • Rinse the rice until the water is clear.
  • In a 12×8 baking dish add the  rice, diced tomatoes with chilis, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and onions.
  • Mix in paprika, chili powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, olive oil, low sodium broth, and garlic.
  • Give everything a good mix to make sure it is combined.
  • Cover and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.
  • Remove dish, add shredded cheese, and bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted.
  • Garnish with fresh cilantro or Italian parsley. Serve immediately or cover and let sit until ready to serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 423kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 566mg | Potassium: 398mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 866IU | Vitamin C: 34mg | Calcium: 280mg | Iron: 2mg
Keyword easy rice bake, healthy rice bake, healthy stuffed peppers, rice casserole, stuffed pepper casserole, stuffed peppers
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Recipe Rating




54 Comments

  1. 4 stars
    Excellent recipe! However, you may want to make it clear in the steps at what point to add the meat mixture to the baking dish, as It’s not even mentioned in the recipe, as it could be confusing for some people.

  2. 4 stars
    This was so delicious and full of flavor. Definitely a keeper! I will point out however, that in the recipe there is a part that is skipped out–you don’t mention when to add the meat to the mixture of the the rice, diced tomatoes with chilis, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, onions, paprika, chili powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, olive oil, low sodium broth, and garlic in the 12×8 dish.

  3. Hi, there! If I wanted to prep this ahead of time and freeze, would I bake it according to your recipe then let it cool before freezing? And how long would I reheat it for once thawed?

  4. 5 stars
    If I wanted to make the meat and pepper mixture separate from the rice so I can just spoon the mixture over the rice for serving, how should I adjust the broth in the meat mixture and cook time in the oven? Thank you.

    1. We have not tried this recipe without the meat/pepper mixture. If you’d like to give it a try, try reducing the broth to 1 cup! Let us know how it turns out!

    1. Yes, you definitely can, you may have to adjust the baking time and/or liquid quantity. If you do try it with brown rice, we recommend long grain brown rice. Let us know how it turns out!