Stuffed Pepper Casserole

5 from 5 votes

Ground beef, three bell peppers and long grain rice cooked in one oven-safe skillet and finished under browned cheddar-jack cheese.

Prep Time10

Cook Time45

Total Time55

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: Stuffed Pepper Casserole Recipe

Servings: servings

Calories: 453kcal

Equipment

12-inch oven-safe skillet with a tight-fitting lid

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium yellow bell pepper, diced into ½-inch pieces (yields about 1 cup)
1 medium red bell pepper, diced into ½-inch pieces (yields about 1 cup)
1 medium green bell pepper, diced into ½-inch pieces (yields about 1 cup)
1 cup yellow onion, peeled and diced (from half a large sweet yellow onion)
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
15 ounces crushed tomatoes (one 15-ounce can)
1½ to 1¾ cups low-sodium beef broth (start with 1½ cups of broth, adding the additional ¼ cup if needed to finish cooking the rice)
1 cup long grain white rice, rinsed under cool water (Mahatma brand used)
8 ounces block cheddar-jack cheese, shredded (one 8-ounce block)
1 to 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley, garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a large (12-inch wide x 3-inch deep) oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil, then add the ground beef. Cook the ground beef for 5-6 minutes or until no pink remains.
Add the yellow bell pepper, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper to the skillet. Stir to combine and cook for 5-6 minutes or just until the peppers are softened, the onions are translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
Stir in the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce until well combined.
Add the crushed tomatoes and beef broth to the skillet, stirring to combine.
Bring the liquid to a boil, stir in the rice, being sure that all the rice is well distributed and fully submerged in the liquid.
Turn off the heat to the skillet. Cover the skillet with a tight-fitting lid and transfer to the center rack of the preheated oven.
Cook for 20 minutes, remove the lid and give the mixture a stir. Check whether the rice is tender or needs a few more minutes to finish cooking. If needed, stir in the additional ¼ cup beef broth, return the lid to the skillet and cook for another 5-8 minutes or just until the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid.
Remove the skillet from the oven, and set the oven to broil.
Remove the lid from the skillet, sprinkle the shredded cheddar-jack cheese evenly over the casserole and place back into the oven to melt and lightly brown the cheese for 3-4 minutes.
Remove the skillet from the oven, garnish the stuffed pepper casserole with chopped fresh parsley and serve immediately.

Notes

To make this casserole ahead of time, or to freeze, prepare the recipe through step 5. Let the beef and pepper mixture cool completely, transfer to a lidded container (be sure to use a freezer-safe container if planning to freeze) and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. If frozen, thaw completely in the refrigerator. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350°F, then complete steps 6 through 11.
You can use any combination of bell peppers that you prefer. You just want a total of about 3 cups of chopped bell peppers.
Colby-jack cheese makes a wonderful substitute for the cheddar-jack blend for this casserole.
If using lean ground beef (either a 90/10% or 93/7% blend) you should not need to drain the skillet as the peppers and onions will need the small amount of fat left in the skillet from the cooked ground beef. However, if using a higher fat blend (such as 80/20%), you will want to drain all but about 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat from the skillet before adding the peppers, onions, and spices.
Rinsing the long grain white rice under cool water removes the excess starches to allow the rice to cook up light and fluffy.
If you'd rather give everyone their own pepper, my stuffed peppers bake the beef and rice filling right inside the peppers.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When reheating, if the rice has absorbed too much of the liquid, you can stir in about 2-3 tablespoons additional beef broth.

Nutrition