These Mexican Stuffed Peppers are a cheesy, easy dinner of ground beef and rice stuffed into sweet bell peppers, baked, and topped with melted cheese. This is just the kind of family-friendly meal busy home cooks can get on the table without much fuss.
Hamburger recipes are a rarity on this blog. Other than ground turkey a few times a year, I don't eat ground meats. Dave on the other hand seems to be of the opinion that hamburger itself should be an entire food group. He loves the stuff. One day, I saw him lovingly arranging colorful and carefully cored yellow and orange bell peppers in a casserole dish. This caught my attention, because typically his idea of cooking is the one pot meal, unceremoniously scooped into a big bowl.
I snapped a shot of the stuffed peppers with my phone, when they came out of the oven. He seemed quite pleased with his creation as he happily chomped a couple of the rice and meat stuffed sweet peppers down, so I asked him for the recipe to share with my more carnivorous readers. It's pretty easy and doesn't have any of the weird ingredients, I'm so fond of. Top them with some salsa, seasoned sour cream or a simple splash of hot sauce if you like. Below, you'll find the full ingredient list, step-by-step instructions, serving ideas, and a few more easy comfort food recipes to try next.
Cheesy Southwest Stuffed Peppers Recipe (Hamburger)
Serving
The Mexican Stuffed Peppers should be allowed to cool a few minutes before serving. They will remain hot inside for quite some time. A sprinkle of chopped fresh cilantro or cotija cheese are nice toppings when serving. Alternately a dollop of sour cream (try my easy seasoned sour cream), some salsa or tomato sauce are tasty choices to serve with the meat and rice stuffed peppers.
While the recipe makes a complete meal itself and side dishes really aren't necessary, a salad with Avocado Lime Ranch dressing or some Southwest Egg Rolls (Chili's copycat) would make great starters.
Variations on the Recipe
Here are a few simple additions or swaps to put your own flair on these Mexican stuffed bell peppers.
- Add beans to the ground beef and rice filling. Drained and rinsed canned black beans or pinto beans are excellent choices.
- Fry diced onion along with the ground beef for extra flavor and moisture.
- Ground turkey or ground chicken can be swapped if you prefer. Keep in mind these are leaner and a little oil will be needed in the pan when frying.
- Frozen or canned sweet corn kernels are also a great way to add authentic Mexican flavor and texture to the meat mixture for stuffing the peppers.
- Use regular green peppers or Poblano peppers if you prefer. If using Poblanos they should be sliced lengthwise and stuffed like boats. This may result in a shorter baking time.
Storing
After cooling, leftover stuffed peppers can be covered with foil or plastic wrap in the baking dish or placed in an airtight container. They will last in the fridge for 3-4 days. For longer storage, freeze Mexican stuffed peppers for up to 3 months.
For more easy beefy Comfort Food Dinners check out my Baked Beans with Ground Beef, Mexican Lasagna with corn tortillas or Manwich Casserole. If you love spicy food and stuffed peppers be sure to try my Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers too. They are low carb and delicious!
Mexican Stuffed Peppers Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound hamburger ( used 80%)
- 1 box Spanish rice
- 10 oz diced tomatoes with chilis canned, hot or mild, your choice
- 8 oz. can tomato sauce
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbs butter or spread
- 6-8 large sweet peppers
- shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Fry hamburger in large skillet over medium-high heat, while breaking into crumbles. Once the ground beef is fully cooked drain excess fat from the pan.
- Add rice, seasoning packet, tomatoes, sauce, water and butter. Stir, once it starts to bubble, reduce to low and cover. Simmer approximately 20 minutes, until liquid is absorbed.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Core and deseed the peppers, then stuff with the meat filling. Arrange in baking dish or oven safe pan, and add ¼-1/2 cup of water to bottom of pan to create a shallow water bath, Cover the dish with foil.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Peel back an edge of the foil and test doneness of pepper with fork. If fork goes through easily uncover top with cheese and bake 5 more minutes, if peppers are still too firm, bake covered for 10 more minutes, then uncover the peppers, top with shredded cheese. and bake 5 more minutes.
- Serve as is, or with hot sauce or tomato sauce.
Notes
Variations
- Add beans to the ground beef and rice filling. Canned drained black beans or pinto beans are excellent choices.
- Include diced onion for extra flavor and moisture. Add onion while frying the ground beef.
- Ground turkey or ground chicken can be swapped if you prefer. Keep in mind these are leaner and a little oil will be needed in the pan when frying.
- Frozen or canned sweet corn kernels are also a great way to add authentic Mexican flavor and texture to the meat mixture for stuffing the peppers.
- Use green bell peppers or Poblano peppers if you prefer. If using Poblanos they should be sliced lengthwise and stuffed like boats. This may result in a shorter baking time.
Kelsey Apley says
It has been years since I have had a stuffed pepper like this! We used to eat them all the time growing up!
valmg @ From Val's Kitchen says
I like things on the milder side. My son loves things with a kick or a bite, I bet he'd like these. They look very colorful!
Tammy says
Oh now that's a Southwest dish I'd eat! I'm not much into the southwest flavors because I find them too spicy usually but this one sounds like I'd enjoy it (With the mild tomatoes!)
Nichol says
Yum! I need to get creative with stuffed peppers. I'm so traditional. These sound absolutely amazing!
Penelope Guzman (NYC Blogger) says
Yum! I recently made this, but without all that cheesy goodness…how could I forget that??
TerriAnn @ Cookies & Clogs says
Well, any excuse to have someone cooking yumminess in the kitchen is nice 🙂 Thanks for sharing this!
Jennifer @ Mom Spotted says
I've been looking for a good stuffed peppers recipe! Pined this for later, I definitely need to give it a try!
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
Oh my god this sounds amazing. I love stuffed peppers!!
Tiff @ Babes and Kids says
I love stuffed peppers and I haven't had them in forever because my kids won't touch them. Now I want them even more!
Donna says
My husband isn't a big fan of stuffed peppers, so I don't make them. But I bet he'd love these! Now I'm craving them!
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell says
Hey, those look pretty darn good. He ought to be proud for them!
Raijean says
Can you believe I've never had stuffed peppers! This looks good.
April Decheine says
I love stuffed peppers! There are so many different things you can stuff in them. Great recipe.
Anne - Mommy Has to Work says
You know I've never had stuffed peppers, but these look very good!
Brandy says
You had me at cheesy! I will have to give these a try for my son who loves peppers!
Kathleen says
These look so good. I love stuffed peppers and it would be nice to try them with a new twist.
Lucero @We Are Earthformed says
These look tasty and I do like the yellow and orange peppers much better than the green ones. Though they are essentially the same thing the green ones give me horrible heart burn. I would probably have to make these in Ancho chilies since my husband doesn't care for Bell Peppers of any color. I like what you did with the filling; looks flavorful and healthy.
Colleen says
These look so good I love the mixture of flavors.
Ty says
I LOVE stuffed bell peppers, yum! This looks amazing and I'm bookmarking this now, thanks!
Rachel @ Following In My Shoes says
I haven't had stuffed peppers in FOREVER!!!!! Gah -- this makes me want some. NOW.
HilLesha says
I absolutely love stuffed peppers!
Mickey says
Ooh, these look so good. I haven't had stuffed peppers in a while.
Maria G. says
My husband asks me to cook stuffed peppers for a long time but I refuse because it takes a lot of time and efforts to do it. Maybe I am doing something wrong. How much time does it take to cook this dish?
Shell Feis says
That sounds delicious! I use ground meats a lot, but almost always chicken or turkey. I could make this with those though, although the beef sounds better for this recipe!
vanessa: thequeenofswag says
I love any recipe that starts with the words Cheesy.