3 Ideas For Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers are a compact, versatile way to pack dinner with flavor and a dash of spice. If you’re learning to cook, explore a few simple recipes to turn the ingredients and leftovers you have on hand into a satisfying meal.

Keep it classic
The key to delicious stuffed peppers is filling them with the perfect combination of ingredients. One classic duo is ground beef and shredded Monterey Jack cheese, as in directions provided by The Kitchn. Start by heating the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit while removing the tops, seeds and membranes from bell peppers.

Pour a cup of water into a baking dish. Add kosher salt to the peppers, cover them in foil and place in the dish to bake for 10 minutes. Then, uncover the peppers to cool while preparing the filling.

Saute onions and the tops of the peppers, chopped with the stems removed, in olive oil over a medium heat for eight minutes. Add two cloves of garlic and cook another minute before mixing in ground beef. After about eight minutes, turn off the heat  and throw in cooked rice and canned tomatoes. Scoop the filling into the peppers, top with cheese and bake for 20 minutes

Add a little heat
If you prefer your peppers with a bit more spice, Serious Eats offered a recipe featuring Italian sausage. Mix bread crumbs, pecorino cheese, parsley and olive oil. Heat another tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and remove the sausage from its casing.

Brown the sausage before stirring in tomato paste and water. Take the skillet off the burner, adding Calabrian peppers in oil, raisins, pine nuts, parsley, salt, ground pepper and more of the cheese and bread crumbs. Set bell peppers, cut into halves, in a baking dish and distribute the filling. Top with the bread crumb mixture before baking for 12 to 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Head Southwest
Add Southwestern flair to the peppers by making a version suggested by Real Simple. Cook ground beef and the whites from scallions in olive oil. Mix in green chilies, corn, cumin, cooked rice, salt, black pepper and grated Monterey Jack.

Place halved bell peppers in a baking dish, fill and add water. Cover the dish with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle on more cheese and bake another five minutes. Top the peppers with the scallion greens, salsa and a mixture of Greek yogurt and water.

Once you’ve made stuffed peppers by the book, try customizing the recipe with your favorite flavors. There are endless possibilities for making this dish your own by using different kinds of meat, cheese and toppings.