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Slow cooker stuffed bell peppers are packed with ground beef, wild rice, diced tomatoes, soft black beans, and melty cheese. They cook to perfection in the slow cooker and make a healthy, delicious dinner your whole family will love!
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Healthy: This is a great meal to add more fiber to your diet and get your vegetables in. It tastes amazing and it’s good for you! Winning!
- Easy to Make: This recipe comes together so quickly. The best part is, you only need 10 minutes of prep time, then you can set it and forget it! Dinner will be ready for you, thanks to your slow cooker!
- Meal Prep: Looking to get more veggie and protein into your diet? These are a great snack to reheat during the week and are very hearty and filling!
Ingredients For Slow Cooker Stuffed Bell Peppers
This list of ingredients isn’t long, and it isn’t complicated. You should have most of these in your kitchen already. You’re going to love how healthy and tasty this recipe is!
- Lean Ground Beef: Gives this recipe a hearty beef flavor.
- Bell Peppers: The larger, the better. All colors work great for this recipe.
- Yellow Onion: Adds a nice savory flavor and a bit of crunch.
- Can Diced Tomatoes: Adds moisture and a tangy tomato acidity.
- Cooked Wild Rice: Just make sure you cook it ahead of time.
- Worcestershire sauce: Adds a bold umami flavor you can’t get anywhere else!
- Salt and pepper: To taste.
- Colby Jack Cheese: Gives the perfect amount of salty, cheesy goodness!
- Water: This helps soften the peppers and ensure they don’t burn.
How You Make Stuffed Bell Peppers
This stuffed pepper recipe is so easy to make! You only need 10 minutes of prep time (not including cooking your rice), and then you can throw them into your slow cooker and forget it!
- Prep Peppers: Cut off each top of the bell peppers and scrape out the seeds and membranes. Set aside.
- Combine: In a large bowl, combine ground beef, onion, diced tomatoes, rice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and 1 cup of cheese.
- Stuff: Stuff each bell pepper with the mixture. Pour the water into the bottom of the slow cooker, and then place the stuffed peppers in the crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours until peppers are tender and the ground beef is cooked throughout.
- Sprinkle: About 15 minutes before serving, sprinkle on the remaining ½ cup cheese. Replace the lid and allow the cheese to melt before serving.
Stuffed Bell Pepper Variations and Tips
- Rice Variations: You can use any kind of rice in place of wild rice. I used a wild rice mix in mine.
- Cheese: While this recipe calls for Colby jack cheese, you can use cheddar, pepper jack, or Mexican blend cheese.
- Don’t Crowd your Crockpot: Your crockpot should be large enough so that you have some space between the bell peppers; this way, the meat can cook through evenly. On the other hand, crowding the slow cooker will cause the meat to take longer to cook.
- Don’t have a slow cooker: No worries! These stuffed peppers can still be made in the oven. Bake your stuffed bell peppers at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 35 to 40 minutes. Prepare the bell peppers in the same way as the instructions for the slow cooker. Place bell peppers in a pan and cover with aluminum foil so they don’t dry out. For the last 10 minutes, uncover and add the divided cheese and bake for 10 more minutes or until brown and the cheese is bubbling.
- Topping Ideas: These stuffed peppers are great, just as they are. But you could add toppings to spice things up. Here are some ideas for you. Guacamole, Sour cream, salsa, extra cheese, avocado, shredded lettuce, olives, pico de gallo, cilantro, onions.
Storing stuffed bell peppers
These are a great make-ahead meal! You can either freeze them to have for another time, or store them in the refrigerator for a pre-made meal that week.
- Freezing stuffed bell peppers: Prepare and make these stuffed bell peppers as normal. Let them cool completely. You can freeze them individually or together in a freezer bag or an airtight shallow pan. Wrap them in aluminum foil and place them in a freezer bag. They will last up to 1 month in the freezer. To reheat, thaw the bell peppers in the refrigerator overnight. You can add them back into the slow cooker or bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until heated through.
- Refrigerate: These stuffed bell peppers will keep in the refrigerator for about 3 to 5 days. Store in an airtight container for best results. To reheat, warm them up in the oven for about 5-10 minutes or in the microwave for 3 to 5 minutes.
More Stuffed Stuff to Try
Why is stuffing something so tasty? I swear it helps meld all of the flavors and make everything taste so good! It also feels convenient, and I don’t have to do as much work cleaning up! Here are some of my favorite stuffed recipes for you to try.
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Slow Cooker Stuffed Bell Peppers
Slow Cooker Stuffed Bell Peppers are packed with ground beef, wild rice, diced tomatoes, soft black beans, and melty cheese. They cook to perfection in the slow cooker and make a healthy, delicious dinner!
Ingredients
- 6 large bell peppers any color
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup cooked wild rice
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ cups shredded colby jack cheese divided
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Cut off each top of the bell peppers and scrape out the seeds and membranes. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef, onion, diced tomatoes, rice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and 1 cup of cheese.
- Stuff each bell pepper with the mixture. Pour the water into the bottom of the slow cooker. Put the stuffed peppers in the crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours until peppers are tender and the ground beef is cooked throughout.
- About 15 minutes before serving, sprinkle on the remaining ½ cup cheese. Replace the lid and allow the cheese to melt before serving.
Notes
Originally Posted 9/13/2019
Updated 9/21/2023
Nutrition
Calories: 307kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 27gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 78mgSodium: 814mgPotassium: 737mgFiber: 4gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 856IUVitamin C: 104mgCalcium: 278mgIron: 4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!
What is the container count for this?
Do you bro n the meat run stuff in peppers?
Either will work. But I did brown mine before.
Is it better if you cook it before? Thank you!
Made this recipe the other day. I followed the recipe pretty closely, except I used diced tomatoes with jalapenos instead of plain diced tomatoes. I chopped up a whole onion and I think I used less cheese (since the cheese is pretty much obliterated from being slow cooked for 6 hours). Unfortunately, only 5 of the peppers fit in my crockpot, so I’ll have to try to buy skinnier peppers next time. I also used uncooked rice, and the rice had cooked nicely by the time the peppers were done!
This recipe is so easy and quick since you don’t have to cook the ground beef or the rice beforehand. It was a little bland, so next time I make it I’ll be adding a little more kick to spice it up. Thanks for sharing!
This looks yummy. I’m thinking of trying it with ground turkey.
We love this recipe! I use lean ground turkey cooked before I put it in the crockpot. I usually only leave it in the crockpot for 1 1/2 to 2 hours since the turkey is already cooked just to let all the ingredients summer together and to cook the peppers! Turns out great and my boyfriend is in heaven!! a nice healthier option.
Since this recipe includes rice, shouldn’t a yellow container also be counted?
Made these tonight. I was excited because all of the ingredients matched my Better Homes and Gardens’ recipe, which is my favorite, in the oven. My family definitely enjoyed them, but I prefer the oven ones. The peppers were cooked fine, soft, but not falling apart. The rice (which I put in uncooked) was also tender. I can’t imagine using cooked rice. My issue was with the meat. When I make these in the oven, I used crushed tomatoes, which I add after I brown the meat. I’m used to the peppers being pretty tomatoey, if that is a word. With these, the tomatoes and juice (don’t drain them, no need) got absorbed by the rice and meat. By the way, even though I always brown, drain, and yes, rinse! my hamburger, I can’t say that there was a lot of grease with these, which surprised me. They weren’t dry at all, very moist, but not juicy like I’m used to. Also, I love the flavor of the Worcestershire in this recipe, but I couldn’t detect it in the crockpot peppers. Thanks for sharing — I do love using my crockpot whenever possible!
What sides do you serve with this?
I just serve a salad. But honestly it makes a great meal in one!
Does the water just go in the bottom of the crockpot?
Yes. 🙂
Where does the water fit into this recipe? I see it in the ingredient list, but no mention of it in the recipe?
Making these tomorrow. Anyone used ground turkey instead of ground beef?
Made it liked planned. Turned out great using the ground turkey. Followed directions as stated. Super easy and delicious. Thank you for the recipe. Made life easy for a food I love.
When you cut the tops off, do you put them back on when you start the crockpot?
Tried this tonight and it worked an absolute treat! I cooked the ground beef beforehand as suggested, but everything else was uncooked (onion, rice). Will definitely do again! Thanks Alyssa!
Thanks for a great recipe/idea! I’m so sorry you have to deal with so many crazy questions/comments on your post. I think the recipe is fantastic and very straight forward!
I am going to make this today, but I will use uncooked rice,because if the rice is already cooked it will be too mushy, and I will use turkey instead of ground beef. Thanks for the the recipe.
Do you think this would be ok if I used quinoa instead of rice? And ground turkey instead of beef?