Southwestern Stuffed Peppers Recipe (2024)

Food
Recipes

3.7

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19 Reviews

Fill colorful bell peppers with cumin-spiced ground beef, rice, corn, and cheese for southwest stuffed peppers the whole family will love.

Dawn Perry

Dawn is the author of Ready, Set, Cook; How to Make Good Food With What's on Hand. She served as the food director for Real Simple and has worked in the test kitchens of Everyday Food, Bon Appétit, and the meal kit delivery service Martha & Marley Spoon. Dawn is the author of Short Stack Editions' Cucumbers and her recipes and writing have been featured in the LA Times, The New York Times, and The Washington Post among other publications. She recently started Superkind Cookies, a premium cookie company shipping treats nationwide. Highlights: * Author of Ready, Set, Cook; How to Make Good Food With What's on Hand. * Former food director for Real Simple * Worked in the test kitchens of Everyday Food, Bon Appétit, and Martha & Marley Spoon * Recipes and writing have been featured in the LA Times, The New York Times, and The Washington Post

Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines

Updated on January 05, 2024

Hands On Time:

10 mins

Total Time:

1 hr 20 mins

Servings:

Yield:

8 pepper halves

Jump to Nutrition Facts

We're proud of our Southwest stuffed peppers, but many cultures boast their own version of the popular dish. In Spain, they stuff bell peppers with Valencia or arboriorice and saffron and, in India, spiced mashed potatoes. Filipinos fill theirs with shrimp, pork, and water chestnuts while in Romania, it's pork and rice served with a creamy sour cream sauce.

Our recipe takes a cue from the classic American version of bell peppers stuffed with ground beef and rice, but takes a veritable trip to the Southwest. We punch up the flavor with cumin, diced green chilies, and creamy Monterey Jack cheese. Top with yogurt and salsa, and you have a make-ahead family meal that's a real bell ringer.

What's in a Name?

It's said that bell peppers got their name from British colonists, who named the exotic "peppery" fruit native to the Americas after its shape, and to distinguish it from the Old World "black pepper" they were more familiar with. Some credit Columbus for "discovering" bell peppers after taking some back to Europe on his second return voyage.

While we call them "bells" in the English-speaking world—particularly the U.S., UK, Canada, and Ireland—much of the rest of the world refers to them by the scientific moniker for peppers, "capsicum."

Ingredients

1 cup long-grain white rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
½ pound ground beef chuck
1 cup frozen corn
1 (4½-ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 ounces Monterey Jack, grated (1 cup), divided
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 large bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs and seeds removed
½ cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
Salsa, for serving

Directions

Heat oven to 375°F. Rinse and cook rice according to package directions.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallion whites and beef, and cook, breaking the beef up with a spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in corn, chilies, cumin, cooked rice, 2 ounces (½ cup) Monterey Jack, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
Arrange bell peppers, cut-side up, in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or pan. Divide the beef mixture among the bell peppers, add ½ cup water to the baking dish, tightly cover the dish with foil, and bake until the bell peppers are soft, 30 to 40 minutes.
If making ahead, stop here and allow the cooked peppers to cool, at least 30 minutes but no longer than 2 hours. Keep the pan covered with foil or cover the cooled pan with plastic, and store in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
Before reheating, remove the pan from the fridge and set it out for about 30 minutes. This promotes more even cooking.
Uncover the cooked stuffed peppers in the baking pan, sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of Monterey Jack, and bake until browned, 5 to 7 minutes more.
In a small bowl, whisk yogurt with ¼ cup water. Drizzle over the bell peppers and top with salsa and scallion greens.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

521	Calories
20g	Fat
59g	Carbs
26g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe4
Calories521
% Daily Value *
Total Fat20g	26%
Saturated Fat9g	45%
Cholesterol60mg	20%
Sodium574mg	25%
Total Carbohydrate59g	21%
Total Sugars7g
Protein26g	52%
Calcium316mg	24%
Iron4mg	22%

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.