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
Scale
- 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