It's Saturday afternoon, and I'm testing Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers, a favorite comfort food from my youth. But, as I mix meat and stuff peppers, I keep thinking: "There's no way the kids are going to touch these."
Much to my surprise, the vultures start circling. "That smells great. What are you cooking?"
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"Stuffed peppers," I say, waving a bell pepper cap at them, sure it will be the final straw. But, no, they still seem interested. Dinnertime rolls around, and I start the hard sell: "Suppertime - and everyone has to take at least a bite…" Before I can even finish, they scoop peppers onto their plates without hesitation. My kids, eating food stuffed in a vegetable? I'm pleasantly surprised…mostly surprised. But these peppers are that good.
Ingredients
Bell peppers
Lean ground beef (90/10 or leaner)
Onion
Garlic
Dried Italian seasoning
Fine sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Tomato paste
Diced tomatoes with green chilies
Cooked white rice
Fresh parsley (optional garnish)
Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers - Step-by-Step Instructions
Stuff the peppers: Cut the top from the peppers by slicing across the pepper just below the "shoulders" and below the stem. Mince the tops of the peppers (discarding the stem), and scrape seeds and white veins out of the body of the peppers with a spoon. In a large bowl, break up the ground beef into small pieces. Scatter the minced pepper tops, onions, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper across the top of the beef. Stir gently until everything is evenly mixed. Spread the tomato paste, diced tomatoes with chilies, and rice over the top, then mix again, working everything together without packing it tight. (Overworking the meat results in tough peppers.) Stuff the peppers with the meat mixture.
Pressure Cook for 10 minutes with a quick pressure release: Put a rack in the Instant Pot and pour in 1 cup of water. Set the peppers on the rack in the pot. Lock the lid and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes ("manual" or "pressure cook" mode in an Instant Pot), then quick release the pressure. (Timing is the same for both stovetop and electric pressure cookers.)
Serve: Carefully remove the peppers, sprinkle the tops with minced parsley, and serve. (The peppers are fall-apart tender; it helps to have a pressure cooker rack with handles, so you can lift the whole rack out to get at the peppers.)
Recipe Tips
Should the meat and rice be uncooked or cooked before stuffing?
The meat should be raw, and the rice should be cooked. I got better results with uncooked meat; cooked meat was a little tougher after pressure cooking. (But you can use cooked meat if you have it.)
As for the rice - it should be cooked. It doesn't cook in the stuffing, resulting in crunchy rice. I usually have leftover rice, but if I don't, I Cook a single-serving package of minute rice to get just enough for this recipe.
Add some cheese
Want extra flavor? Sprinkle shredded cheese over the tops of the peppers after they're done cooking. I prefer a strong-flavored cheese, like cheddar or parmesan.
Pepper size
Get large peppers for this recipe; medium-sized peppers take up the same amount of space in the pot but don't hold as much delicious stuffing.
Equipment
A 6-quart pressure cooker
Pressure cooker rack (The Oxo silicone Pressure Cooker Bakeware Sling works great for this.)
Scaling
Unfortunately, because of the size of the peppers, this recipe doesn't scale well. I thought I could add a couple of extra peppers with my 8-quart Instant Pot, but I could barely squeeze in one more for a total of five peppers. You can cook this recipe as-is with an 8-quart Instant Pot or add an extra pepper (and increase all the other ingredients by about 20%)
Storing Leftovers
Leftover Instant Pot stuffed bell peppers don't store well - the peppers get too soft, especially if frozen. You can store them for a day, maybe two, in the refrigerator; make sure to reheat them all the way through.
Print
Instant Pot Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 peppers 1x
Description
Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers. Peppers stuffed with beef, onions, rice, and tomatoes, cooked in under a half an hour in the pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 4 large red, yellow or green bell peppers, caps removed, seeds and veins removed
- 1 pound lean ground beef (90/10 or leaner)
- Caps from the 4 bell peppers, minced
- 1 small onion, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning (or dried oregano or thyme)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (10- to 14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilies
- ½ cup cooked white or brown rice
- Minced fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Stuff the peppers: Cut the top from the peppers by slicing across the pepper just below the "shoulders" and below the stem. Mince the tops of the peppers (discarding the stem), and scrape seeds and white veins out of the body of the peppers with a spoon. In a large bowl, break up the ground beef into small pieces. Scatter the minced pepper tops, onions, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper across the top of the beef. Stir gently until everything is evenly mixed. Spread the tomato paste, diced tomatoes with chilies, and rice over the top, then mix again, working everything together without packing it tight. (Overworking the meat results in tough peppers.) Stuff the peppers with the meat mixture.
- Pressure Cook for 10 minutes with a quick pressure release: Put a rack in the pressure cooker and pour in 1 cup of water. Set the peppers on the rack in the pot. Lock the lid and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes ("manual" or "pressure cook" mode in an Instant Pot), then quick release the pressure. (Timing is the same for both stovetop and electric pressure cookers.)
- Serve: Carefully remove the peppers, sprinkle the tops with minced parsley, and serve. (The peppers are fall-apart tender; it helps to have a pressure cooker rack with handles, so you can lift the whole rack to get at the peppers.)
Notes
From a question in the comments: Yes, I'm stuffing the peppers with raw meat. I compared peppers with raw meat and cooked meat; the raw meat version was much better.
Don't have leftover rice? Cook a single-serving package of minute rice. Done!
Want a little extra something? Sprinkle the cooked peppers with shredded cheddar or parmesan cheese.
I thought I could add a couple of extra peppers with my 8-quart Instant Pot, but I could barely squeeze in one more, for a total of five peppers. Turns out the bigger pot isn't that much wider when it comes to peppers.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pepper
- Calories: 295
- Sugar: 16.1 g
- Sodium: 726 mg
- Fat: 4.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 32.1 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 67.8 mg
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
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My other Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Recipes
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Di says
Delicious!!! I will be making these again soon!
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed them
Susie says
For timing …how long to come to pressure before the 10 minutes countdown?
Mike Vrobel says
It depends on how long it takes your pressure cooker to get to high pressure. Start the 10 minute countdown once your cooker is at high pressure. I’m In an Instant Pot (or other electric pressure cooker), set it to pressure cook on high for 10 minutes, and it will start the countdown for you when it reaches high pressure. For stovetop cookers, you need to check your manual for how to tell you are at high pressure.
HS says
We certainly enjoyed making and eating this stuffed pepper recipe. I appreciate that your recipes are always delicious and that your posts are straightforward and not unnecessarily bloated with fluff and/or repetition. Thank you for your effort!
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
Bambi says
Hi
New to insta potting. Tried this an so far ive had to make this 4 times! Everyone loves this. It is very good an so easy to make. No more pepper blanching! lol Thanks for great receipe.
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!