Easy Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe (For the Air Fryer or Oven!)

Name: Easy Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe (For the Air Fryer or Oven!)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 80 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds ground beef; 4 medium russet potatoes; 5 medium green bell peppers; 2 12-ounce small bags frozen corn; 2 28-ounce cans tomato sauce

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Bell peppers are in season, so it’s time to get our best bell pepper recipes out! Easy stuffed bell peppers recipe (for the air fryer or oven!) is a family favorite and a delicious dinner. Not only is this dish super easy to make, it’s super easy to reheat in the oven or air fryer. And the leftovers only get better with time!

Stuffed Peppers recipe baked and ready to eat in a glass casserole dish

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I love a good air fryer recipe for dinner! I’m a big fan of putting dinner for the whole family in the oven and then walking away and taking care of other things that need my attention! Add to that you can take one of my favorite dinners of all time and make it a smidge quicker with an air fryer, and I’m loving it! I love air fryer stuffed peppers, it’s such a healthy comfort food! And I also love oven-baked stuffed peppers. I just love stuffed peppers. And, as a bonus, in the air fryer, they cook just a little more quickly and they are delicious! And even better, stuffed peppers make an amazing freezer meal! Let’s dive into this recipe and all the different ways to prepare it!

Why I Love This Recipe

Dietary Restriction Friendly

First and foremost – this recipe is already gluten-free and dairy-free all on it’s own!

Nostalgia

Secondly, stuffed peppers are one of my favorite meals of all time. I had them all the time growing up and it’s just one of my favorite recipes, and it’s nostalgic for me. This air fryer peppers dish is especially good in the peak of summer when the green bell peppers are fresh and coming in from the gardens (and are super cheap to boot!). A good green pepper makes all the difference in an awesome stuffed bell pepper recipe. Additionally, this is also a super budget-friendly meal, coming in at just under $15 for the entire dinner, serving at least 4 people! Even if green bell peppers aren’t in season, they aren’t ever too expensive and they are now available year-round at the grocery store.

Ingredients

Stuffed peppers have only 5 simple ingredients and I love that! It’s super diet-friendly for all kinds of dietary restrictions as well!

Lean ground beef
Medium-sized potatoes (I use russet)
Green Bell Peppers (fresh bell peppers) You can use sweet peppers (colored bell peppers that are yellow, red, and orange) and they are good! But the recipe just doesn’t get the same flavor to it as when you use the green peppers. They are a little more bitter and it just WORKS in this recipe.
Frozen Corn (or canned corn)
Tomato Sauce

Dietary Restrictions:

This recipe is completely gluten-free. You can also modify it with different vegetables and it would be extremely keto-friendly as well. Instead of potatoes and corn, think more like onions, carrots, zucchini and squash! You can also add rice (It’s a great way to use up leftover rice!) to this dish too! Or cauliflower rice, if you prefer!

Recommended Equipment

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9×13 baking casserole dish – I have this dish and I adore it because it comes with the lid that fits it. No more fooling with aluminum foil or plastic wrap! Plus it keeps the smells of your dish inside the dish and not in your refrigerator as foil and plastic wrap do!
Large non-stick skillet – I like this one because it comes with a lid. If I’m going to buy a pan or pot I like to have as many options to use it as possible!
Oven Mitts – This is a heavy and hot dish! Make sure you have good oven mitts to protect your hands!
Santoku Knife – You don’t have to go out and buy a nice knife. BUT, if you were in the market for a knife, this is the one I couldn’t do without, and the one I go for time and time again. It’s wonderfully and beautifully made. I’ve had this knife for over 10 years and it’s my favorite thing in my entire kitchen. You truly do get what you pay for in knives. These are made in Germany but are widely sold in the United States now. You can go way higher in quality as well, this is just a starting point.
Cutting Board – I’ve had these for years and I love them. Mine are red! They are the perfect sizes, easy to store, and have a little groove around the edges to stop juices from flowing all over. This is the cutting board I go to time and time again when I’m cooking.
Stock Pot – I love this pot for pastas and sauces. It’s tall enough that it fits all kinds of pasta noodles!
Airtight Food Storage Containers – These are fantastic. They keep food air-tight and fresh so well!

Cooking Instructions

A lot of things happen at once during this recipe – so while you are heating up water to boil you are peeling potatoes and dicing them up, browning ground beef, and trimming the peppers – read the entire recipe before you start for the complete picture. Lots of parts of the recipe are moving forward at one time, and I just love that! It makes everything come together smoothly and quickly.

Step 1

Heat water for potatoes and peppers to boil.

Step 2

Raw ground beef in a pot on the stove beginning to brown

Start browning the ground beef over medium-high heat in a separate pan (I use a large skillet so I can add all the other filling ingredients to the skillet later!)

Step 3

Green bell peppers cut and cleaned and prepped to be stuffed in the stuffed pepper recipe

Cut off the tops of the peppers and then hollow out the inside and remove all seeds. Cut a tiny bit off the bottom too to make the peppers sit flat in the pan. I discard the top of the peppers and don’t put them back on to bake. If you want, you could absolutely chop up the top of the peppers and add them to the filling!

Step 4

Peel and dice potatoes into small pieces.

Step 5

Bell peppers par-boiling in a pot of boiling water

Once water is boiling in a large pot, add in the empty bell peppers and let them cook for 4-5 minutes.

Step 6

Green peppers that have been pre-cooked and are in a glass baking dish ready to be "stuffed!"

Pull the semi-cooked peppers out of the water. DO NOT DRAIN WATER.

Step 7

Place the peppers and place them in your baking dish or air fryer basket.

Step 8

Pot of water with diced potatoes in it starting to boil

Dump the potatoes into the boiling water that cooked the bell peppers. Let the potatoes cook for about 10-12 minutes until just not quite done.

Step 9

Ground beef cooking on the stove in a pot with a wooden spoon

Drain the browned ground meat and return to the pot.

Step 10

Frozen corn added to the ground beef mixture in a pot

Add in frozen corn and tomato sauce to the meat mixture and bring up to a slow simmer over medium heat.

Step 11

Stuffed pepper filling in a pot simmering, with beef, corn and tomato sauce.

Add in potatoes into the meat mixture and let all the stuffing mixture simmer together for 15-20 minutes.

Step 12

Dish of stuffed peppers that have been filled and are in the process of being made for the easy stuffed bell peppers recipe

Stuffed peppers ready to go into the oven in a glass casserole dish

If baking in the oven, stuff peppers with the beef mixture in your baking dish and put extra filling around the peppers in the bottom of the baking dish to hold them in place. Bake at 350* for 35-45 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes then serve.

Step 13

If baking the stuffed peppers in the air fryer, stuff your peppers with filling and place them in your air fryer basket, not the air fryer tray. We don’t want leaks! Do not put extra filling around the peppers like in the oven-baked dish. Bake at 350* for about 25 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes and then serve.

Cook’s Notes

Air Fryer Cooking TIme versus Oven Cooking Times and Temperatures

For the air fryer folks, you’ll want to take the temperature down to 325-350* and cook in the air fryer for 20-25 minutes. For the oven using people, use 350* and bake for about 35-45 minutes.

Serving Suggestions

So, you might be wondering, how do you eat stuffed peppers?

All you need to do is cut the pepper into bite-sized pieces and make sure you get some filling with the pepper in each bite.

For me, I don’t love the actual bell pepper, especially once it’s all baked and soft. But the flavor that the green pepper gives the filling is just amazing. So most of the time I eat the filling out of the peppers and leave the pepper behind, or I”ll just dump the filling into a bowl to make and have the filling with some crackers. If I’m only making this dish for myself, I just make an Unstuffed Peppers Recipe with large pieces of green pepper throughout the filling that I’ll just pick out later.

Side Dish Suggestions

So, what’s the perfect side dish for stuffed peppers? This is a great dish that pretty much has all you need in one dish, it’s a complete meal all on it’s own. But I always serve it with crackers or crusty bread and for me it’s the perfect meal. It’s a main course and a side dish all in one! You could always add in some green beans. My recipe already has sweet corn in the filling! Some people like to serve the stuffed peppers over rice, and I agree it’s delicious that way. I usually just get regular white rice or instant rice and cook it while the peppers are baking

Storing Stuffed Peppers and leftovers

Store the leftover peppers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. I prefer to use this baking dish and then I just use the lid that came with it to store the dish in the refrigerator. Leftovers will last for up to three days in the fridge, and I would say they get even better the next day.

Reheating Stuffed Peppers

So, how do you reheat stuffed peppers? In order to reheat stuffed peppers, I’d say first decide how much you are reheating. If it’s just enough for one person, I’d say just microwave it on a microwave-safe plate or a microwave-safe dish for a couple of minutes. But if you are reheating leftovers for several people, I’d put the leftover stuffed peppers in an oven-proof dish that fits how many peppers you are reheating, and cover it with aluminum foil. From there stick it in the oven at 350* for 30ish minutes and you should be nice and reheated, hot throughout, and ready to go. I think the oven is the best method because it can heat up slowly while you work on other things in the kitchen.

To reheat stuffed peppers in the air fryer, it’s really not any different on the procedure. I’d still cover it in aluminum foil and it might take a little less time to reheat. I’d start checking it at the 20-minute mark and gauge how far you have to go from there. The peppers and filling are quite thick, so it could take a little bit to reheat all the way through.

Freezing Stuffed Peppers

So, you might be wondering, can you freeze stuffed peppers? You sure can!! A stuffed peppers freezer meal is so easy and so delicious. Here’s how to freeze stuffed peppers.

I put them in an aluminum foil pan so that I don’t tie up any of my big bakeware.
Then I cover the peppers well with foil.
Then I freeze them until I’m ready for them!

Bell Pepper Surplus

Do you have a ton of fresh green bell peppers from the garden? You might be wondering how to freeze bell peppers for stuffed peppers, or for any other easy meal. No Problem! I want to have the peppers to use later, but I don’t want to necessarily go through the cooking process to make large quantities of stuffed peppers all at once. I like to make them as I go in small quantities.

So how do you freeze them? As whole peppers? Or should you freeze the peppers individually? Do you slice them up? So many questions! Let’s get down to it!

Freezing Instructions

You can cut the bell peppers up into diced pieces, slices, or leave them as whole bell peppers. But if you are leaving them whole, do slice the top off and take the seeds off before you wrap them up and freeze them. They will thaw well and maintain their structure and crunch *pretty* well. The peppers would be perfect for any dish you want to use them for, but they are PERFECT for stuffed peppers and don’t lose any crunch in the reheating process. But they don’t lose their integrity and crispy crunch, so feel free to use them for stir fry or quick fajitas or whatever you need a pepper for in your next recipe!

I usually leave my peppers whole and freeze them in a freezer bag. If you want to slice them up, do so, then put them on a baking tray or baking sheet in a single layer and freeze them in the freezer, and then put them in a freezer bag (I like heavy-duty freezer bags for extra protection against freezer burn) so they don’t stick together. Make sure to wrap them up well so you don’t get any freezer burn.

Thawing Frozen Peppers

I just let the peppers sit out at room temperature on a paper towel while I cook the rest of the stuffed pepper filling. You can always zap them in the microwave or toss them in some boiling water if you are in a rush.

Cooking Frozen Stuffed Peppers

So, now you have frozen stuffed peppers. How do you cook frozen stuffed peppers?!

Let the frozen stuffed peppers thaw in the fridge overnight, then put them in a 350* oven for about 35-45 minutes. I think that’s the best way to cook your frozen stuffed peppers! However, if you happen to forget to thaw your frozen stuffed pepper… it’s not the end of the world! Just wrap it tightly in foil and stick the pan in the oven at 325* and let it thaw and then begin to cook – it will just take a longer time in the oven. I’m thinking 90-ish minutes for a big casserole dish. You’ll just have to check as you go and adjust baking time as you progress.

Substitutions, Modifications, and Variations

Substitutions

Bell Peppers

Feel free to substitute any color of bell pepper you like! I love the green peppers, but it’s all personal preferences. Also, you can use the mini bell peppers if you like. Just cut them in half and take the seeds out. But those wouldn’t be big enough for stuffing, just to have throughout your mixture. And that’s delicious that way too!

Tomato Sauce

What is a substitute for the tomato sauce in stuffed peppers? Some people prefer to use a homemade tomato sauce instead of a canned sauce. Some people like to use more of a spaghetti sauce with more of a marinara sauce flavor.

For some people, they don’t want the tomato flavor at all. Some people just don’t like tomato sauce in their stuffed peppers. For whatever reason, be it dietary restrictions or just personal tastes, you can go one of two ways (In my opinion!) for a tomato sauce substitute.

First, the easy way is you replace the tomato sauce with brown gravy instead, and it’s a delight. I use 2 packets of McCormick Brown Gravy mix with 2 cups of water and it makes a delicious brown gravy instead of a tomato sauce. The other alternative is to make your mixture of meat and vegetables into a thicker mixture, then add some bread crumbs, and the consistency will be more like meatballs stuffed down into the peppers. I find these to be a little dry, but if you don’t overcook the peppers, it’s a very tasty alternative with no tomatoes in sight!

Modifications

Great news for dietary modifications on this recipe! This recipe is already gluten-free and dairy-free! As always, watch your ingredients, but fundamentally, it’s both gluten-free and dairy-free.

Variations

Can you change the flavor of the filling?

Oh my goodness yes! You can make the stuffed peppers Italian stuffed peppers and use a combination of ground beef and Italian sausage, Italian seasoning, some yellow onions, a tablespoon of tomato paste, some marinara sauce, and shredded mozzarella cheese! You can make the peppers more of a Mexican flavor and use some taco seasoning in the sauce and add some brown rice and black beans to the mix! Add in some hot peppers if you like spice and top with green onions! And let’s not overlook the obvious go-to recipe here, Philly cheesesteak stuffed peppers!! There are so many variants of stuffed pepper recipes to try next time!

Slow Cooker and Instant Pot Variations

You can absolutely make this recipe in the crock pot or instant pot. You still need to cook the filling before putting it into the cooker, at least the ground beef part. The potatoes could be only partially cooked and be totally fine. For the slow cooker, I’d cook it on high for 4 hours. For the instant pot, I’d suggest cooking with plenty of liquid in the bottom of the instant pot, either water or chicken broth or beef broth, and cooking on high pressure for around 20 minutes. I find it just as easy/quick to just do make the recipe in the oven, with the best results.

Frequently Asked Questions

I don’t like green peppers – can I make this dish with red or yellow sweet bell peppers?

You absolutely can! It changes the taste a little because the red and yellow peppers are more sweet than green bell peppers. But it’s still really tasty!

Could I make this recipe in the instant pot?

Absolutely! Instead of putting the stuffed peppers in a baking dish, put them in your instant pot and make sure there is plenty of broth around the bottom of the peppers, at least an inch of water or beef broth. Then cook on high pressure for about 20 minutes. Delicious and perfect every time!

Could you substitute the meat in the filling?

Absolutely! You could totally use ground turkey or ground chicken and probably hardly even notice the change! Heck – you don’t even need meat – make it a vegetarian dish and throw some extra garden veggies in there!

Wrap-Up – Easy Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe (For the Air Fryer or Oven!)

These delicious stuffed peppers are a triumph and so delicious every single time I make them. And to boot, it’s a delicious air fryer recipe, too! Stuffed peppers are a great choice for dinner for a crowd. This is a delicious and classic recipe, it makes a delicious meal, and it’s a huge comfort food for me! As a side note, it’s just so darn easy and is a hit every time! I can’t wait to hear what you think of this dish! Make sure to let me know! Until then, Just Keep Shuffling!