Cheeseburger Stuffed Peppers

Reasons you’ll love this recipe

• Let’s start with delicious! These cheeseburger stuffed peppers are a family favorite – even the kids eat them without any bribing.
• Nutritious. Fiber-rich bell peppers packed with lean organic ground beef, brown rice, tomato sauce, and seasoning. This healthy gluten-free recipe will keep you full without feeling bloated.
• Easy to prepare. After cooking the beef and rice, stuff the peppers, and bake in the oven. If you have the brown rice ready ahead of time, this recipe comes together quickly.
• Make-ahead. Step up your meal prep game with this stuffed pepper recipe! You can either assemble the ingredients to cook later in the week or cook thoroughly to heat and eat. You can even freeze stuffed peppers for dinner later on.

Ingredients

• Lean ground beef. Use 95/5 or 5 97/3 organic grass-fed beef for healthiest option.
• Seasoning. Salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder start the flavor foundation for the ground beef.
• Worcestershire sauce. This sauce is a great staple to have in the pantry – it adds flavor and richness to ground beef recipes. It’s also a secret ingredient I use to add flavor in all of my ground turkey recipes.
• Ketchup and mustard. This duo gives the seasoned beef that burger flavor. To keep this recipe clean, make sure to read the ketchup and labels, so you don’t want to grab any that include hydrogenated oil or high fructose corn syrup. Also, I often use spicy or brown mustard in this recipe which adds a tasty flavor.
• Grated parmesan cheese. If possible, grate the parmesan cheese fresh for the best flavor.
• Shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Of course, what would cheeseburger stuffed peppers be without the cheese! I highly recommend using sharp cheddar cheese and shredding it fresh for the best flavor and to get that ooey-gooey cheesiness we all love.
• Cooked brown rice. Brown rice takes a while to cook, so I recommend cooking it ahead of time, so this recipe comes together quickly. I like to cook a batch every week (using my rice cooker) to have ready during the week to use in recipes. You can also freeze brown rice to use in future recipes.
• Canned tomato sauce. This adds flavor, adds moisture, and brings the rest of the ingredients together.
• Beef broth. This helps to steam the peppers as they cook in the oven. You can use chicken broth or even extra tomato sauce in place of the beef broth.
• Bell peppers. Depending on the size of your peppers, the filling will fill 5-6 bell peppers. I like to get medium-sized peppers with a flat bottom – this helps them stand upright in the baking dish. You can use any color of bell peppers.

FAQS

Cooking Tips

• Swap out the ground beef. If you want to lower the saturated fat in this recipe, you can use ground turkey or ground chicken in place of the beef. 
• Switch up the cheese. Pepper jack, Colby jack, mozzarella, and even swiss cheese are all delicious in these cheeseburger stuffed peppers.
• Bulk up the veggies. Mushrooms, onions, and peppers are all tasty. Whatever vegetable you enjoy with a burger, you’ll love these stuffed peppers. I recommend sauteing the veggies and draining any liquid before adding it to the pepper mixture.
• Use different grains. You can use quinoa, farro, bulgar or other grains in place of the brown rice. Or keep it low carb or keto-friendly by leaving the rice out or using cauliflower rice instead.

How to Make Cheeseburger Stuffed Peppers

• Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees.
• Cut the tops of the bell peppers and clean out seeds and membranes. Set aside.
• While the oven is heating up, get out a large skillet and cook the ground beef over medium-high heat, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks. After about 5-7 minutes, when the meat is almost done cooking and just a little pink, season it with salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, mustard, onion powder, granulated garlic, and parmesan cheese. Continue to cook until no longer pink, about 2-3 minutes.
• Add the ground beef mixture into a large mixing bowl with ¾ cup of the shredded cheese, rice, and tomato sauce. Stir until all of the ingredients are combined.
• Stuff each bell pepper with the ground beef mixture, top the peppers with the remaining cheese and line up in a casserole dish. **note I had just enough ground beef mixture to fill the peppers. Depending on the size of your peppers, you may have a little less or more.
• Last, pour the beef broth into the bottom of the casserole dish.
• Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 – 50 minutes or until cooked and hot all the way through. Serve hot.

These cheeseburger stuffed peppers are a meal in itself, but If you want different sides to serve along with them, here are some ideas.

See more healthy side dishes for stuffed peppers.

Storage Tips

There are a few different ways I like to prepare these cheeseburger stuffed peppers.

• Cook the stuffed peppers thoroughly; after they are cooled, store them in an airtight container and refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave for 1-3 minutes or until hot. There might be some extra liquid from the peppers; drain and enjoy. The great thing about stuffed peppers is that they taste better by the day, making them perfect for this meal prep method. You can also freeze cooked stuffed peppers.
• Cook beef and rice ahead of time. These peppers come together fast when you make both of those ingredients in advance.
• Assemble the stuffed peppers, cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Continue with the recipe. You may need to add on more cooking time since the stuffed peppers will be cold.