Stuffed Peppers Recipes {with beef and zucchini}

5 from 1 vote

Stuffed Peppers Recipes {with beef and zucchini}

Delicious stuffed peppers filled with ground beef and vegetables can be either baked or cooked in the slow cooker.

Prep Time15

Active Time30

Total Time45

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Yield: servings

Calories: 446cal

Author: Melissa

Cost: $10

Materials

6-8 Green Peppers Cored inside flesh scooped out
2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion chopped
1 large tomato like a beefsteak
1 zucchini peeled and chopped
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
2 dashes ground black pepper a couple of twists on the pepper grinder - or - a couple of dashes
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
16 oz. tomato sauce - divided
2 cups Cooked Rice white
6 Tbsp. Butter divided - unsalted or salted
optional: shredded cheese for topping

Instructions

In a large pot, place cored peppers (and optional cored onions) in about an inch of water
Boil the cored peppers until tender (about 10 minutes)
In a large, nonstick skillet, cook the hamburger
*I like to drain the hamburger meat (if necessary) and then use a blender to make the hamburger texture super fine
In the same skillet with the hamburger added back to it, Add the onion, zucchini, tomato, garlic, salt, pepper, 8 oz. of the tomato sauce, and Worcestershire sauce
Continue to cook until all of the vegetables are tender
Mix the rice into the beef mixture
When peppers are tender, drain the water from the peppers and let them cool off a bit
In another large ovenproof pot - or - crock pot,
add half of the tomato sauce to the bottom of the pot
start filling each pepper to the top with the rice mixture
Place the peppers, standing up in the oven-proof pot, - or a crock pot (over the tomato sauce)
Add a little more tomato sauce to the top of each pepper
Cover the pot, and if you're using the oven (bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes) if you're using a crockpot, place it on low for the day
Just before serving, add some tomato sauce from the bottom of the pot to the tops of the pepper, and about 1 Tbsp. of butter to the top of each cooked stuffed pepper
while the peppers are still warm you can add (optional) shredded cheese

Notes

nutrition facts are only an estimate

optional - 2 Red onions with middle layers scooped out by spoon

Can I Make Stuffed Peppers in Advance?

Yes! This is one of those dishes that tastes better the next day. It has ample time to really blend the flavors while sitting overnight. I would do everything except add the tomato sauce to the top. Cover with foil and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. When you are ready, add the tomato sauce to the top and bake as directed

Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator

Reheating: If you still have tomato sauce, add some fresh sauce to the top of the peppers. Reheat stuffed peppers by placing non-stick foil over the top and baking for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.

Can I Freeze Stuffed Peppers?

Yes! You can freeze cooked or uncooked stuffed peppers. They can be frozen for a few months.

To make it easy, grab an aluminum foil baking dish for storing stuffed peppers in the freezer. Make sure you wrap tightly with foil and consider placing the dish in a large freezer bag for storage.

Thawing and Baking Frozen Stuffed Peppers:

Baking Cooked Frozen Stuffed Peppers - Cooked stuffed peppers will require less time than uncooked ones. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until heated through

Baking Uncooked Frozen Stuffed Peppers - Add an additional 20 minutes to your baking time

Do you have to cook the ground beef before stuffing the peppers?

You do not technically have to cook the ground beef before stuffing the peppers, but I find that it flavors the vegetables and rice nicely when cooked together before stuffing the peppers

What are some good vegetables that I can stuff with a beef mixture?

You can use this beef mixture to stuff all sorts of vegetables, like:

tomatoes
eggplant
zucchini
butternut squash
acorn squash
cabbage rolls
onions

What can you serve with Stuffed Peppers?

Salad
Green Beans
Toasted Bread

Tips and Tricks:

I've seen a lot of frozen pepper images with cheese melted on top. You can easily add cheese to the top of these peppers. Just sprinkle some shredded cheese like Colby Jack cheese, Cheddar cheese, or Mozzarella cheese directly over the tomato sauce
Other vegetables that you can stuff with this beef mixture include, tomatoes, eggplant, rolled-up cabbage, and most squash like acorn or butternut squash
When reheating, try adding more tomato sauce to the bottom and over the vegetables as it tends to dry up or soak into the dish

Nutrition