When I hear stuffed peppers I think about the nostalgic meal I ate as a kid. Green bell peppers with the tops cut off and stuffed with a mixture of ground beef, rice, and tomatoes. They were one of my favorites, probably because we didn’t have them often. Now when I think about stuffed peppers, I think about this Mexican Stuffed Peppers Recipe. It’s still familiar, but has a new flair.
What’s Wrong With the Classic Stuffed Peppers?
Okay, It’s not that anything is wrong with the classic stuffed peppers I grew up with. I still like them. In fact, Stouffer’s makes them as a frozen dinner. I can’t say the frozen variety wouldn’t be an easy meal option at some point. What I can say about the classic style recipe is that making a few tweaks bring more color and flavor to the recipe.
From Classic to Mexican Stuffed Peppers – The Changes
The Peppers
The classic recipe uses green peppers. Green peppers were what was available most often years ago. Today, red, orange, and yellow peppers are readily available and affordable. They are sweeter and more colorful than green peppers so I choose these for the recipe.
Getting the Peppers Cooked Through
In keeping with the pepper conversation, one of the challenging things is getting the peppers cooked through. You don’t want a hot filling with a half cooked, crunchy pepper. Microwave the peppers covered with a little water in the bowl. This allows the peppers to par cook by steaming them. This solves the undercooked crunchy stuffed pepper problem.
The Filling
Stuffed pepper filling always seems rice heavy. With the Mexican Stuffed Peppers recipe, I added black beans and corn while keeping the rice to a minimum. The fire roasted tomatoes and store bought taco seasoning (or your favorite homemade recipe), gives the peppers great flavor.
The Toppings
Toppings make the peppers fun. Sour cream, salsa, and additional cheese for mild spice lovers. Hot sauce and spicy jalapeños for those wanting heat. The whole family makes the pepper their own like with their tacos on Taco Tuesday.
How is it Mostly Make Ahead?
It’s mostly make ahead because the filling freezes really well. This recipe makes enough filling for 12 pepper halves leaving you enough for another full meal later. The next time peppers are on sale, pick up a few. Thaw the filling that’s ready in your freezer and par cook the peppers. Dinner will be on the table in no time.
Freezing the Filling
We use Deli Containers constantly at home for freezing foods. In addition to the containers being freezer safe, they are microwave and top rack dishwasher safe. The lids fit tight, and the containers stack together when not being used.
A Couple Other Things You Need to Know
Cutting the peppers from top to bottom in half instead of just cutting the tops off stretches the servings out. You get two peppers instead of one for feeding larger families or leftover stuffed peppers for lunches.
The filling isn’t just for peppers. Wrap it in a tortilla, put it over tortilla chips as nachos, or eat it by itself.
If you like this recipe and are looking for other Mexican Inspired recipes, check out these favorites.
- Instant Pot Pork Carnitas
- Easy Instant Pot Refried Beans
- Restaurant Style Salsa
- Roasted Salsa Verde
- Pickled Jalapeños
Mexican Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
- 3 Bell Peppers, any color
- 1 Small Onion, chopped
- 1 15 oz. Can Black Beans,Drained and Rinsed
- 1 15 oz. Can Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes or Mexican Seasoned Diced Tomatoes
- 1 Cup of Cooked Rice
- 1 Cup Frozen Corn,Thawed or 1 Cup Canned Corn
- 1 1 oz. Packet Taco Seasoning
- 2 Cups Shredded Cheddar or Mexican Cheese Blend
- Toppings for the Stuffed Peppers: Sour Cream, Salsa, Jalapeños
Instructions
- Prepare the peppers.
- Cut the peppers in half from top to bottom and remove ribs and seeds.
- Place peppers in a microwave safe bowl or baking dish.
- Add about ¼-½ cup of water to the bowl.
- Microwave covered, on high, for 6 to 7 minutes on high to steam and soften the peppers.
- Once peppers are done, remove from microwave and drain, cut side down on a paper towel lined plate.
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Prepare the filling:
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat.
- Add ground beef, crumbling up the beef as it cooks.
- When the beef is almost completely browned, drain off the fat, if needed.
- Add onion to the beef and sauté until the onion begins to soften, 3-4 minutes.
- Add Beans, Tomatoes, Rice, Corn, and Taco Seasoning. Mix well.
- Once the filling has warmed through, stir in 1 cup of cheese.
- Taste and season with additional salt, if needed.
- Fill each pepper half with ½ cup of the filling and place in an ungreased casserole dish.
- Cook peppers, uncovered for 10 minutes.
- Top peppers with additional cup of cheese and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
- Serve Peppers with Sour Cream, Salsa, Guacamole, and Pickled Jalapeños.
Notes
The filling is also good over tortilla chips, in a flour tortilla, or by itself.
