Stuffed Pepper Casserole is a delicious and easy dinner recipe to make filled with delicious flavors from browned beef, canned tomatoes, shredded cheese, and simple Italian seasoning.
This easy casserole recipe is the classic flavors of the traditional stuffed peppers but made easier. You might even call this an unstuffed peppers casserole since you can mix it all together without worrying about keeping everything together in the peppers. Serve this stuffed bell pepper casserole recipe with some garlic bread to get a filling complete meal for a simple dinner recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This stuffed bell pepper casserole has the best flavor all mixed into one dish for those that love stuffed bell peppers without all the extra work. Chop everything up, brown the meat, mix it! No need to cook the rice ahead of time with this simple casserole recipe.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
To make our stuffed pepper casserole, you will need teh following ingredients:
- Oil: use the olive oil you have on hand when cooking the beef
- Protein: get a package of ground lean beef to create the meat mixture
- Onion: use either a yellow onion or a white onion diced into small pieces
- Peppers: you will need to have diced red bell peppers and yellow bell peppers
- Garlic: you will need to have fresh garlic clove minced or minced garlic from the jar
- Seasoning: be sure to have paprika powder, kosher salt, and black pepper to season the lean ground beef mixture
- Tomatoes: to keep it simple grab a can of chopped fire-roasted tomatoes or regular diced tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce
- Rice: for the best results use long grain rice that has been rinsed and drained
- Cooking liquid: use either vegetable broth or beef stock for this stuffed bell pepper casserole to make sure the rice gets cooked properly
- Cheese: you will need both shredded cheddar cheese and shredded mozzarella cheese
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
How to Make Our Stuffed Bell Pepper Casserole
- Preheat oven: prepare a 9×13-inch baking dish. Preheat your oven to 350℉.
- Cook the beef: Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet or saucepan to brown the meat. Add the beef, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook while breaking up lumps until the meat is no longer pink about 7-8 minutes. Drain any excess fat or liquid.
- Add the vegetables: Stir in the diced onion, red bell pepper, and yellow bell pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until slightly tender.
- Add the flavor: add minced garlic and paprika to the meat and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the remaining ingredients: stir in canned chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, uncooked rice, and vegetable or beef stock. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, then remove from the heat. Stir in ¼ cup of shredded cheddar cheese and ¼ cup of mozzarella cheese until well combined.
- Transfer to the baking dish: add the meat-rice mixture into the baking dish.
- Bake: Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven and add the remaining cheddar and mozzarella cheese on top.
- Broil: Set your oven to broil and broil the casserole for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden.
- Cool the casserole for 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Substitutions and Variations
- Add a little Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce for a flavor boost
- Add heat by adding red pepper flakes to the ground meat
- Use ground chicken, ground turkey, or Italian sausage instead of ground beef
Recipe Tips
- To make the casserole visually interesting, use a mix of colorful bell peppers.
- I always use lean beef in the recipes, which is the best and will give the best flavor.
- If you do not have fire-roasted tomatoes and still want that smoky flavor, you can use smoked paprika instead of plain paprika powder.
Storage Instructions
After cooking the stuffed pepper casserole, let it cool to room temperature and place aluminum foil over the top of the casserole dish or use the lid, and place it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is not necessary to blanch the bell peppers for this rice as it might be for other pepper recipes. However, if you want to ensure the peppers are really soft, you could blanch the peppers ahead of time.
With this unstuffed pepper casserole, the peppers will be mixed into the casserole dish so they will get the opportunity to soften up.
White rice, brown rice, and jasmine rice are all great options. In this recipe, you can use any rice except instant rice.
You can add green beans, green peppers, or zucchini for ways to sneak flavor and vegetables into this stuffed pepper casserole.
Enjoy More Delicious Beef Main Dishes
The possibilities for delicious beef main dishes are endless, from cuts of meat like steak or roast, to family-friendly ground beef dishes, explore our comprehensive collection of beef recipes.
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Stuffed Pepper Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground lean beef
- 1 onion, diced
- ½ cup red bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup yellow bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon paprika powder
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 10 ounces canned chopped fire-roasted tomatoes or classic tomatoes
- ¼ cup tomato sauce
- ⅔ cup long grain rice, rinsed, drained
- 1 cup vegetable or beef stock
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven: prepare a 9×13-inch baking dish. Preheat your oven to 350℉.
- Cook the beef: Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet or saucepan. Add the beef, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook while breaking up lumps until the meat is no longer pink about 7-8 minutes. Drain any excess fat or liquid.
- Add the vegetables: Stir in the diced onion, red bell pepper, and yellow bell pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until slightly tender.
- Add the flavor: add minced garlic and paprika to the meat and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the remaining ingredients: stir in canned chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, rice, and vegetable or beef stock. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, then remove from the heat. Stir in ¼ cup of shredded cheddar cheese and ¼ cup of mozzarella cheese until well combined.
- Transfer to the baking dish: add the meat-rice mixture into the baking dish.
- Bake: Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven and add the remaining cheddar and mozzarella cheese on top.
- Broil: Set your oven to broil and broil the casserole for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden.
- Cool the casserole for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- In this recipe, you can use any rice except instant rice.
- If you do not have fire-roasted tomatoes and still want that smoky flavor, you can use smoked paprika instead of plain paprika powder.
- This post was updated in March of 2026 with a range of cooking times for the simmering and in the oven after some users noted that their rice was not fully cooked. If you are nervous about uncooked rice, extend the simmering step by a few minutes to make sure it’s cooked to your liking.
Nutrition
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Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
I made this last night and it was delicious and sooo easy! Only sub was vegetable broth instead of beef bc that was all I had in the pantry. We will definitely make this one again!
Great recipe. Very tasty. Two substitutions as it was what I had on hand – used parm cheese instead of cheddar (which I think makes the recipe even better) and I used Italian seasoned tomatoes instead of regular diced tomatoes. When I make it again, I think I’ll make it with these same substitutions. 🙂
Can a cauliflower rice be used to make it keto friendly?
My daughter has developed a tomato allergy. Any suggestions for substitutions for both the tomatoes and the sauce?
That’s a tough one. Tomato is a very complex flavor and very hard to duplicate without using actual tomatoes.I don’t know of a substitution that wouldn’t completely change the flavor of the recipe. I’ve heard of something call “fauxmato sauce” and heard good reviews. You could give that a try
We haven’t tried it with cauliflower rice but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work
Hi, I have a question. Do you cook the rice prior to adding or it uncooked? It doesn’t seem that there’s enough time for the rice to cook! 🤷♀️
Thank you for sharing & your response.
Would love to make this for my Family of 10!
There is no need to cook the rice ahead of time with this simple casserole recipe.
I’m wondering if this could be frozen, and if so do you freeze before or after cooking?
I’m 71 years old and in a wheelchair. I’m going to try this even though it’s a little bit confusing.
Delicious! To save time and get on the table faster, I used Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice (precooked), and made this as a skillet meal, still sticking under the broiler for the last step. I cut the broth in half since the rice was cooked. It turned out great!
Hi, I see someone already asked about the rice and I made this per the instructions and the rice was not cooked, it was hard and messed up the dish. I plan on trying again but any suggestions?
This sounds delicious! It’s been a long time since I’ve made stuffed peppers. I may blanch red peppers to soften and stuff them w/this recipe and bake as instructed.
Sometimes I have difficulty thinking of side dishes…It would be lovely if you sisters would get together and suggest what to have as a side, or served with…love your recipes. I’m from a family of 5 sisters and love it. Yvonne Yvonne
If your rice didn’t cook you can try using instant rice or partially cooking your rice before adding it in
We love this recipe! I make jt with daudage instead of beef. Can you swap out all the rice for quinoa with the same amount/cook time?
I followed the directions exactly as listed and like others mentioned my rice also didn’t cook. So bummed because now we’ve wasted food and time. McDonald’s it is for dinner tonight I guess.
I think I’m going to try again eventually though and cook the rice beforehand.
Hi! Can this be made the night before and stored in the fridge?