Classic Stuffed Bell Pepper Recipe

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Stuffed Bell Peppers

Back in the 70’s when making stuffed bell peppers there was only one type, stuffed green peppers. My mom used to made them with beef and rice. They were so yummy!

Although the colored bell peppers like yellow, orange or red make a beautiful presentation the green bell pepper is best for cooking as it is less sweet than the others. But I have to admit, I do like making stuffed bell peppers with all the colors.

The Rule of Bell Peppers

Did you know bell peppers have a gender? There are male peppers and female peppers. I will share with you the difference between male, female and the different colors. Hopefully when you get to the store to pick out the bell peppers for this dish you will remember the difference between them all. If it should matter to you.

Ladies First!

Female peppers are full of seeds inside. They have 4 bumps at the base, are rounder, sweeter and better for eating raw. A way to remember the female peppers is that “women” (I am not being sexist just trying to help you remember the difference between the two peppers), most women have two bumps in the front and two bumps in the back and are usually sweeter than males.

Male Bell Peppers

The male peppers have 3 bumps. The end! 🙂

The Difference Between Colored Bell Peppers

As a rule, the more colorful the bell pepper, the sweeter it is and those are much better for eating raw. Although the green bell pepper is much better for cooking it doesn’t mean the other peppers can’t be used for this dish.

Bell Pepper Colors

The most common peppers seen in grocery stores include green, yellow, orange, and red. Some other bell peppers available include brown, white, lavender and dark purple. Those are vary rare and almost never seen. I will only discuss the most common peppers as noted above.

Green Peppers

The green bell pepper is most commonly used when making stuffed bell peppers. It is actually considered the “unripe” pepper. Some say the green pepper is bitter in taste.

The green pepper is cheaper in price compared to the other three peppers.

Even though its mentioned “most commonly” above in reference to making stuffed bell peppers the other peppers can be used as well. Yes, more and more people have been incorporating the other colored peppers like: yellow, orange and red into stuffed bell pepper recipes. And why not!? Matter-of-fact, they do look very striking wouldn’t you say?

As the green pepper is left on the vine for and extended period of time the color will change from green to yellow, then orange and finally red.

Yellow Peppers

Yellow bell peppers follow the green peppers in color. They are not as bitter as the green pepper and have a slight sweetness in flavor.

This is the in-between stage of sweet and bitter.

Orange Peppers

There is not much difference in taste between the yellow and orange bell pepper. Both are not bitter nor are they as sweet as the red bell pepper.

Red Peppers

Amazingly so, the above photo is a prime example of the various stages the red bell pepper goes through. All of the colors can be identified on this pepper from green, to yellow, to orange and even some red.

Red bell peppers are the sweetest pepper of them all because they are the most ripe and kept on the vine the longest. It also has the most nutritional value compared to the others.

Let’s Get To Cooking Stuffed Bell Peppers!

Hopefully, the information above will help you in being able to tell the difference between bell peppers while shopping at the store. Not just for this recipe but for any recipe you are planning whether it be for a special dish or just for eating raw.

Ingredients:

• 4-6 Bell peppers any color of your choice (green, yellow, orange or red). I try to use the largest sizes possible.
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 cup Instant Rice or 2 servings uncooked
• 1 large yellow onion diced
• 1 14.5 ounce can Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
• 2 15 ounce cans tomato sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut tops off of peppers removing seeds and soft membrane inside and discard. Keep the tops to nibble on for later.

Combine in a large bowl the ground beef, salt, pepper, diced onion, dry rice and fire roasted tomatoes and stir until well incorporated.

Stuff beef mixture into cavity of bell peppers. It should be like a meatloaf filling.

In a 3 inch tall baking pan place a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan. Place peppers on top of sauce.

In a medium bowl add the rest of the tomato sauce and Italian seasoning. Stir until well combined. Spoon mixture over peppers. Cover baking dish with a lid or foil and bake for 1 hour 45 minutes.

When removing lid or foil from baking pan be careful as it will be very steamy under there. Serve warm and refrigerate leftovers for up to 2-3 days.

Enjoy!

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Home Grown Peppers

I had to share with you my bell peppers from my own little garden. These guys started out green and eventually turned red. I did pick both green and red peppers for this recipe. Interested in growing your own peppers? Why not try these California Wonder Sweet Peppers.

If you like gardening you may want to check out all the vegetable seeds .

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