Stuffed Bell Pepper Casserole (Easy Stove Top Recipe)
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Stuffed Bell Pepper Casserole is cheesy, saucy, and delicious! It’s an easy weeknight dinner recipe, giving you all the tasty flavor of stuffed peppers in a simple casserole. I’ll show you how to make this delicious casserole in under 30 minutes.
This delicious stuffed pepper casserole, or rather, unstuffed pepper casserole, has lean ground beef, flavorful seasoning, chopped peppers, rice, and melty cheese!
Read on to make this easy casserole for dinner tonight!
Why you’ll love this Unstuffed Pepper Casserole recipe!
Ingredient notes
- Ground beef | Find the most lean ground beef at your local grocery store.
- Onion | Add diced yellow onion for flavor.
- Garlic | Minced garlic cloves bring subtle spice and a delicious taste.
- Seasoning | Season the beef and peppers with Italian seasoning, oregano, cumin, paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper.
- Spinach | Add spinach for texture and a classic stuffed pepper ingredient.
- Peppers | For the delicious pepper element, add two red bell peppers, two yellow bell peppers, and one green pepper, all sliced and ready to go!
- Broth | Keep the recipe on the healthier side with low-sodium beef broth.
- Tomatoes | Add rich tomato flavor with a can of petite diced tomatoes with the juice.
- Rice | Bulk up the casserole with cooked white rice.
- Cheese | Add melty shredded pepper jack cheese or another favorite.
- Cilantro | Garnish with chopped cilantro.
How to make this Easy Stuffed Pepper Casserole Recipe
Enjoy this simple way of making your favorite meal in the form of a stuffed bell pepper casserole recipe!
STEP 1 | Get started with recipe prep
Begin by washing and chopping all of the recipe ingredients. Then, add the ground beef, onion, and garlic cloves to a large pot over medium heat.
STEP 2 | Cook the ground beef
Next, cook the ingredients for about 7 minutes until the meat is cooked through, draining the excess fat and grease from the pot.
STEP 3 | Add the seasonings
Now, add the tomato paste, Italian seasoning, oregano, cumin, paprika, salt, and black pepper, and cook for 3 minutes while constantly stirring.
tips
- If preferred, use a large skillet with high edges or a Dutch oven.
- To keep this recipe on the healthier side, eliminate the extra salt if you can’t find low-sodium ingredients.
STEP 4 | Cook with peppers, broth, and tomatoes
Then, mix in the spinach, red, yellow, and green bell peppers, beef broth, and tomatoes, turn the burner to medium-low, and simmer the ingredients for 8-10 minutes or until the peppers are softer, stirring occasionally.
STEP 5 | Add remaining ingredients and taste
Add the cooked rice and cheese to the pot, mixing until combined. Then, taste to see if more salt is needed.
STEP 6 | Garnish and serve!
Finally, remove the pot from the stovetop, sprinkle with cilantro, and enjoy!
For more easy casserole recipes try my Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole, Creamy Spinach Spaghetti Squash Casserole, and Easy Cheesy Ground Beef Enchilada Skillet Casserole– Yum!
Variations and substitutions
- Spicy Stuffed Pepper Casserole. Add red pepper flakes, chili powder, or your favorite hot sauce to kick up the heat in this recipe.
- More Tomato Flavor. Include tomato paste for a more robust tomato flavor.
- If preferred, replace the cilantro with fresh parsley.
- Instead of ground beef, feel free to use ground turkey or ground chicken.
- Use your preference of white or brown rice for this easy recipe.
- If you’re not a fan of either green, yellow, or red bell pepper, use whichever variety is your favorite.
- Instead of petite diced tomatoes, use regular diced tomatoes or a can of fire-roasted tomatoes.
- Monterey jack shredded cheese also works for this yummy casserole.
Storage and reheating tips
- Store the leftover casserole in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge.
- I don’t suggest freezing rice dishes because the consistency of the rice, when thawed out, is a bit too soft. If you left the rice out, you could freeze the dish and add the rice before serving.
Frequently asked questions
After about 7 minutes of cooking, slice peppers in a hot pan or pot, they should be soft and ready to eat unless you prefer them extra soft or overcooked.
Peppers are versatile, giving you many options when figuring out what to do with an excess. You can always stash some away in the fridge or freezer to make dishes later, like potato and pepper soup, Red Pepper and Bacon Bruschetta, Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Tapenade, or Pepper Steak Stir-Fry.
The red bell pepper contains more antioxidants because it has been ripened for longer. All are tasty, but the further from green, the more nutritional value.
Serving suggestions
This casserole recipe is a full meal on its own. However, you can add more vegetables by serving the dish with this Wedge Salad with Crispy Fried Shallots or my delicious Broccoli Bacon Salad.
Looking for more Stuffed Pepper Recipes?
Stuffed peppers are versatile dinner recipes, appetizers, and game-day foods that are always a hit! Check out more of my traditional stuffed pepper recipes, like these Keto Stuffed Peppers, easy Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers, and Saucy Turkey Stuffed Peppers.
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Stuffed Bell Pepper Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- ½ cup diced yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 5-6 ounces spinach
- 2 medium red bell peppers sliced
- 2 medium yellow bell peppers sliced
- 1 medium green bell pepper sliced
- 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
- 1 15-oz. can petite-diced tomatoes with juice
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 cup Pepper Jack cheese shredded
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat add the ground beef, onion, and garlic cloves.
- Cook for 7 minutes or until the meat is cooked through. Drain any fat from the pot.
- Add the tomato paste, Italian seasoning, oregano, cumin, paprika, salt*, and black pepper. Cook for 3 minutes. Mix continually.
- Add the spinach, peppers, beef broth, and tomatoes. Mix until combined. Turn the burner to low to medium and allow to simmer for 8-10 minutes or until the peppers are softer, stirring occasionally.
- Add the cooked rice and ½ cup of cheese to the pot. Mix until combined. Taste to see if more salt is needed.
- Remove the pot from the burner. Top with cilantro and enjoy.
Notes
- To keep this recipe on the healthier side, eliminate the extra salt if you can’t find low-sodium ingredients.
- If you do not love cilantro you can replace it with parsley.
- You can use ground beef, chicken, or turkey.
- For the rice, you can use white or brown rice.
- Store the leftover casserole in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge.
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Nutrition
Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
About Sheila Thigpen
Recipe Developer, Food Photographer, Food Writer
Sheila Thigpen is the publisher of Life, Love, and Good Food — a Southern food blog — and the author of Easy Chicken Cookbook and The 5-Ingredient Fresh and Easy Cookbook. After 20+ years in the publishing industry, she retired in 2018 to focus on her own creative endeavors full time. She and her husband live near the beautiful Smoky Mountains and have a precious little granddaughter who has stolen their hearts. As an influencer, Sheila has collaborated with brands like Creamette, Kroger, HERSHEY’S, Hamilton Beach, Garafalo Pasta, OXO, Smithfield, Valley Fig Growers, and more.
