Stuffed Peppers Recipe (2024)

4.10 from 10 votes

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April 28, 2019

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An amazingly savory and sweet stuffed peppers recipe, filled with pork, beef, and rice served with a tasty tomato sauce. A hearty, delicious dinner. Enjoy as is, or mop up with bread.

I grew up eating this sweet and savory version of stuffed peppers. There are so many different kinds and ways to make stuffed peppers and I’m thrilled to share this saucy recipe with you today!

Stuffed Peppers Recipe (1)

These stuffed peppers fall under the ‘make it until it tastes right’ family recipe category. Meaning there are no measurements–just ingredients. So, after a few days of trial and error, I got the measurements DOWN so you too can make my Mom’s stuffed peppers… It’s just a delicious, stick to your ribs kind of recipe. Good food for the upcoming months.

How to Make Stuffed Peppers

{For full recipe with measurements and cook time, see the printable recipe card below}

  1. Prepare bell peppers by cutting the tops off and removing the seeds and the ribs. Wash and set aside.

  2. Make the meat mixture by mixing ground beef, pork, onion, rice, salt, and pepper together.

  3. Stuff bell peppers and place into a large pot.

  4. Top stuffed peppers with tomato juice. Try to submerge them as best as possible.
  5. Cook several hours until peppers are tender and rice is completely cooked.
  6. Make a roux using vegetable shortening and flour. Cook roux to be a medium brown color.

  7. Thicken the tomato sauce using the prepared roux. It will bubble and that is totally normal! Sweeten sauce with sugar.

  8. Serve stuffed peppers hot with rye bread–or any other bread you have around, but really, rye is the best.

Stuffed Peppers Recipe (2)

Ingredients for Stuffed Peppers

This list is quite minimal, based on how much flavor you get out of this stuffed pepper recipe! The longer you cook these, the better they taste! And be sure to not skip browning the roux. It’s the secret ingredient.

  • Green Bell Peppers – I like using green peppers because that is how my mom made this recipe, but red or yellow work well too!
  • Ground beef and pork – The combination of these two meats makes for a moist and flavorful filling.
  • Rice – I use uncooked long grain white rice. Uncle Ben’s is my go-to.
  • Onions – diced up and added for flavor
  • S&P – seasonings!
  • Tomato juice – this is the cooking liquid for our stuffed peppers.
  • Vegetable Shortening or lard – part of the roux.
  • Flour – thickening agent for the tomato sauce
  • Sugar – I love a sweet tomato sauce to accompany the savory stuffed peppers! Add as much or as little sugar as you’d like.

Hope you all are in the mood for some German food tonight! Or maybe it’s Hungarian. (My ancestors are from both places, so we eat food from both places and things get confusing!) Either way, these stuffed peppers are mighty tasty.

Printable recipe card below! Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers Recipe (3)

Recipes similar to Stuffed Peppers you will love:

  • Grandma’s Cucumber Salad Recipe
  • Goulash Recipe with Nookedli
  • Broccoli Salad Recipe with Bacon
  • Hungarian Chicken Paprikash Recipe

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4.10 from 10 votes

Hungarian Stuffed Peppers Recipe

An amazingly savory and sweet stuffed peppers recipe, filled with pork, beef, and rice served with a tasty tomato sauce. A hearty, delicious dinner.

servings 6 servings

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. ground beef 80/20
  • 1 lb. ground pork
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 1/2 cup long grain white rice
  • salt & pepper
  • 6 green bell peppers*
  • 46 oz tomato juice 1 can
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup lard or shortening
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Prepare bell peppers by cutting the tops off and removing the seeds and the ribs. Wash and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together beef, pork, onion, rice, salt, and pepper. Stuff bell peppers with meat mixture.

  • *If you do not have enough green peppers, then form meatballs with the remaining stuffing--this is a great way to get your kids to eat this meal, too!*

  • In a large pot, pour in the entire can of tomato juice. Rinse can out with 1/2 cup water. Place stuffed peppers and any meatballs into the pot. Try to submerge them as best as possible. Cover with lid and heat pot over medium-high heat. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer lightly for 1-2 hours.

  • In a large skillet, melt shortening over medium heat. Sprinkle in flour and whisk until smooth. Cook roux until it deepens in color to be a medium brown. Stir frequently to make sure it doesn't burn.

  • Using a slotted spoon, remove stuffed peppers and meatballs from the pot leaving the hot cooking liquid. Pour the browned roux into remaining tomato juice (it will bubble violently for a few seconds at first, so just be aware that it is totally normal). Stir well. After a few minutes, the tomato juice should thicken and become more of a sauce. Stir in sugar and more salt and pepper. It will be sweet--as it should be 🙂 Serve with rye bread--or any other bread you have around, but really, rye is the best.

Notes

You can use all ground beef if you don't have/can't find ground pork.

Nutrition

Calories: 599kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 108mg | Sodium: 121mg | Potassium: 1171mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 1495IU | Vitamin C: 137.9mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 3.9mg

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: German

Keyword: beef, cooking, german food, meatballs, pork, rice, stuffed peppers, stuffed peppers recipe

Stuffed Peppers Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Do peppers need to be cooked before stuffing? ›

The peppers need to be par-cooked before filling so that they cook through. Many recipes call for boiling the peppers first, but I prefer to roast them – more flavor and less cleanup!

What are the ingredients for stuffed peppers? ›

Should I cover my stuffed peppers when I bake them? ›

Pour a small amount of water into the bottom of the baking dish and drizzle the peppers with a little olive oil. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until the peppers are soft and the cheese is melted and lightly browned, another 15 to 20 minutes.

What are the best peppers for stuffing? ›

Here's what you'll need to make these easy stuffed peppers: Red bell peppers – Red bell peppers will always be my #1 pick. If you want to try a different color, use yellow or orange peppers, as they're sweeter than their green counterparts. Black beans – Use canned, or cook your own.

Do you have to precook peppers for stuffed peppers? ›

I definitely suggest par-cooking the bell peppers first, just a little bit before stuffing them. Not only does this help to soften the bell peppers, but it also cuts down on your cook time. As the bell peppers are cooking you can make the filling, shaving off about 20 minutes from your total cook time.

Does rice need to be cooked for stuffed peppers? ›

Most of the stuffed bell pepper recipes I come across follow a similar format. Cook the rice, then brown the meat, then mix those together with spices, stuff the pepper, then cook the stuffed peppers.

Why do my stuffed peppers taste bland? ›

The thing about most stuffed bell pepper recipes is 3that they call for salt in the filling, not for the peppers themselves. Without salt, the peppers are flabby and bland, merely a filling case. With a sprinkle of salt, they transform into a sweet and powerfully savory part of the dish.

Why are my stuffed peppers watery? ›

Bell peppers contain more than 90% water, much of which is released during the cooking process. If you cook your stuffed peppers in one fell swoop, that moisture will release and end up in the final dish. Give them a jump start and prevent them from falling apart by roasting them for a short time in a hot oven.

How do you keep stuffed peppers from falling apart? ›

Another way to pre-cook peppers for a less damp result is to roast them for a bit before stuffing. Once you've halved them and removed the seeds, lightly oil a baking sheet and place them open-side down. Let them cook on high heat for a tight ten or so minutes, then flip them over and roast for another five.

Why do stuffed peppers take so long to cook? ›

For Uncooked Fillings in Whole Peppers:

It's possible to stuff peppers with a raw filling. If you're stuffing a whole pepper, it takes awhile to cook because the filling needs to reach a safe temperature. Out of all the stuffed peppers, this one takes the longest to cook because of its size.

Should peppers be boiled before stuffing? ›

Pre-cooking is the idea of quick-starting the cooking process of your stuffed pepper. Since stuffed peppers can take as long as 45 minutes to bake, shortening that down with a quick boil really helps me out.

What is a fancy name for stuffed peppers? ›

The chile relleno, literally "stuffed pepper", consists of a roasted and peeled/skinned green pasilla or poblano pepper stuffed with cheese (traditionally queso fresco) and, occasionally, minced meat, covered in an egg batter, and fried.

Why are stuffed peppers bitter? ›

If your supposedly “sweet” peppers taste bitter, the most likely culprit is lack of water.

Do you have to cook peppers before canning? ›

Instructions for Canning Sweet Peppers: The skins of bell peppers or sweet peppers are more tender, so they generally do not need to be blistered and peeled (thank goodness). Simple quarter or roughly chop bell peppers and cover them with water in a pot. Boil for 3 minutes, then transfer to pint or half-pint jars.

Do peppers need to be cooked? ›

Once ripe and red, peppers are gentler and sweeter in flavour and far more use raw or cooked, although it's common to use red and green peppers together. Yellow and orange peppers are individual varieties rather than stages between green and red peppers, and both of these were specially bred to be sweet and gentle.

Do you have to cook bell peppers before eating them? ›

Do You Need to Cook Bell Peppers? Bell peppers are safe to eat cooked or raw. They are crunchy and crisp with a very mild spicy bite when raw. Cooking tends to enhance the pepper's natural sweetness.

Should you cook or raw bell peppers? ›

Bell peppers, whether raw or cooked, are packed with vitamin C and various antioxidants. Eating them raw provides maximum vitamin C content, but cooking bell peppers can increase the availability of other nutrients. Roasting or grilling bell peppers enhances their natural sweetness and offers a delightful flavor.

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