When I think of Stuffed Bell Peppers with Rice & Meat, it somehow always brings back childhood memories. This dish has been a dinner favorite in our family. Probably because it is quite easy to prepare and doesn’t require much effort. My mum (like all of us) never really wanted to spend a lot of time in the kitchen after work. Nowadays, you can have all sorts of meals delivered to your home… back then, you were not able to eat anything if you did not cook yourself. Yes, I am that old. I grew up in a time without delivery services ;P
Back in the days, whenever nobody was in the mood for cooking, we just ate sandwiches for dinner. In Germany, it’s called »Abendbrot«. Sliced bread with butter, cold cuts, and cheese. Simple, but good! Something young people probably forgot about… with all those companies that deliver your favorite pizza or burger to your home – fewer people cook and prepare food at home.
We’ve ordered dinner quite often in recent years because it’s convenient and uncomplicated. I blame the pandemic for this laziness. There are several delivery services in Berlin and there’s almost no limit to what you can have delivered to your home. It’s a different story in more rural areas. There, you only get pizza delivered in some places… at least from my experience. Well… we moved away from delivery services again – for various reasons. Ordering food constantly is quite expensive, and tbh. you eat much more, I have the feeling. Neither of which is good ;P
Well, what can you do? Cook again. As uncomplicated and simple as possible, of course. There are so many recipes you can prepare in advance (when you have time for it) and then you just have to (re-)heat the meal when your stomach is rumbling. Super easy. It’s called Meal Prep ;P
These stuffed bell peppers are not necessarily the ideal Meal Prep recipe, but you can easily store leftovers in the fridge and then eat them the next day. We are two persons here, so all recipes on the blog that are made for 4 or more people are normally eaten on two days. The first day served with some rice on the side and the second day with pasta or potatoes. You don’t want to eat the exact same meal two days on a row, right?! ;P
There are several ways to prepare stuffed bell peppers with minced meat. You either cook the filling in advance, as I have done here, then you fill the bell peppers and bake them. Or you pack the minced meat into the bell peppers when still raw and then let the oven do all the work. Both methods have advantages (or disadvantages). If you cook the filling in advance, it is a little more time-consuming, but you will end up with a filling that is crumbly and loose. I like that a lot. When using raw meat, you will end up with a compact meatball inside a bell pepper. Nothing wrong about that – if that’s the texture you prefer, go for it! The second method is a bit faster and often used in school cafeterias, for example. At least when I was still in school ;P
Anyway. In case you like cooking with bell peppers, you might also want to take a look at these two recipes here. I got a meat-free version of stuffed bell peppers on the blog for quite a while now – my Stuffed Bell Peppers with Spelt & Halloumi are great if you want to go meat-free and don’t like rice that much. The other recipe I want to show you is my delicious Potato Stew with Carrots & Bell Peppers. Super easy to prepare and really tasty! A great weeknight meal!
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(4 servings)
For the stuffed bell peppers:
some olive oil for frying
1 red onion, finely diced
2-3 garlic cloves, finely diced
18 oz. (500g) ground meat (beef & pork mixed)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. (sweet) paprika powder
2 tbsp. tomato-paprika paste*
salt, pepper
1/2 cup (120ml) dry red wine
7 oz. (200g) cooked rice (plus more as a side, if wanted)
4 large bell peppers, hollowed out
For the tomato sauce:
14 oz. (400g) tomato passata
1 tsp. veggie stock powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
salt, pepper
some feta for sprinkling
(4 Personen)
Für die gefüllten Paprika:
etwas Olivenöl zum Anbraten
1 rote Zwiebel, fein würfeln
2-3 Knoblauchzehen, fein würfeln
500g Hackfleisch (gemischt)
1 TL Oregano
1 TL Basilikum
1 TL Paprika Pulver (edelsüß)
2 EL Tomaten-Paprikamark*
Salz, Pfeffer
120ml trockener Rotwein
200g gekochter Reis (ggf. mehr als Beilage)
4 große Paprika, ausgehöhlt
Für die Tomatensoße:
400g Tomaten, passiert
1 TL Gemüsebrühepulver
1 TL Oregano
1 TL Basilikum
Salz, Pfeffer
etwas Feta zum Bestreuen
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Prepare the rice according to the instructions on the package and weigh out 7oz./200g – or use a packet of pre-cooked microwave rice.
2. Peel and finely dice the onion and garlic. Wash and dry the bell peppers, then use a sharp knife to cut off the top of each bell pepper and scoop out the seeds. If the bell peppers do not stay upright on their own, straighten them slightly on the bottom. Set aside.
3. Heat up an ovenproof frying pan* with some olive oil. Sauté the diced onion and garlic until soft and glossy – takes about 2-3 minutes. Add the ground meat and let it brown for about 5-6 minutes. Add the dried oregano, basil, paprika powder, and tomato-paprika paste and cook/fry briefly with the rest. Season with salt and pepper. Deglaze the meat with the red wine, then add the cooked rice and mix in. Allow the mixture to simmer for some time until the liquid in the frying pan has almost completely evaporated. Fill the bell peppers with the mixture and set them aside. If there is any filling left, simply leave it in the pan.
4. Add a bit more olive oil to the pan and heat up again. Add the tomato passata, veggie stock powder, dried oregano, and basil and stir well. Season with salt and pepper and let the sauce simmer over a medium heat for about 3-4 minutes.
5. Place the stuffed bell peppers in the frying pan with the sauce and sprinkle them with some feta. If you like, you can also spoon some tomato sauce over the filling and feta and then add the lids on the bell peppers. Place the frying pan in the center of the oven and roast the stuffed bell peppers for about 35-40 minutes. The bell peppers should be soft with browned spots here and there. Remove from the oven – be careful, the frying pan and the handle are very hot! We like to serve the stuffed bell peppers with some salad on the side, but you can also use some extra rice or potatoes as a side.
1. Den Ofen auf 200°C (390°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Reis nach Packungsanleitung zubereiten und 200g abwiegen oder eine Packung Mikrowellenreis verwenden.
2. Die Zwiebel und den Knoblauch schälen und fein würfeln. Die Paprika waschen und trocknen, dann mit einem scharfen Messer jeweils einen Deckel abschneiden und aushöhlen bzw. die Samen entfernen. Sollten die Paprikaschoten nicht aufrecht stehen bleiben, ggf. auf der Unterseite etwas begradigen. Zur Seite stellen.
3. Eine ofenfeste Pfanne* mit etwas Olivenöl erhitzen. Die gewürfelte Zwiebel und den Knoblauch glasig anschwitzen – etwa 2-3 Minuten. Das Hackfleisch dazugeben und krümelig anbraten, bis es etwas Farbe bekommen hat – etwa 5-6 Minuten. Oregano, Basilikum, Paprika Pulver und Tomaten-Paprikamark dazugeben und kurz mit anrösten. Mit Salz und Pfeffer würzen. Das Fleisch mit dem Rotwein ablöschen, dann den gekochten Reis dazugeben und untermengen. Die Mischung so lange köcheln lassen, bis die Flüssigkeit in der Pfanne fast vollständig verkocht ist. Die Paprika mit der Mischung befüllen und zur Seite stellen. Sollte noch etwas Füllung übrig sein, einfach in der Pfanne lassen.
4. Etwas Olivenöl in die Pfanne dazugeben und noch einmal erhitzen. Die passierten Tomaten, Gemüsebrühepulver, Oregano und Basilikum dazugeben und alles gut verrühren. Mit Salz und Pfeffer abschmecken und bei mittlerer Hitzezufuhr für etwa 3-4 Minuten köcheln lassen.
5. Die gefüllten Paprikaschoten in die Pfanne mit der Soße setzen und mit etwas Feta bestreuen. Wer mag, kann auch noch etwas von der Tomatensoße über die Füllung und den Feta löffeln und die Paprikaschoten dann jeweils den Deckel aufsetzen. Die Pfanne in die Mitte des Ofens stellen und die gefüllten Paprikaschoten etwa 35-40 Minuten rösten. Die Paprika sollte schön weich geworden sein und darf hier und da auch etwas dunkler aussehen. Aus dem Ofen holen (Achtung, die Pfanne & Pfannenstiel sind sehr heiß!) und Servieren. Wir servieren gerne mit etwas Salat als Beilage, aber man kann auch etwas zusätzlichen Reis oder Kartoffeln als Beilage verwenden.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Stuffed Bell Peppers with Rice & Meat
- Prep Time: 00:35
- Cook Time: 00:40
- Total Time: 01:30
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: International
Description
If you are looking for a quick and easy dinner, this one might be the perfect dish for you: Stuffed Bell Peppers with Rice & Meat. So good!
Ingredients
For the stuffed bell peppers:
some olive oil for frying
1 red onion, finely diced
2-3 garlic cloves, finely diced
18 oz. (500g) ground meat (beef & pork mixed)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. (sweet) paprika powder
2 tbsp. tomato-paprika paste*
salt, pepper
1/2 cup (120ml) dry red wine
7 oz. (200g) cooked rice (plus more as a side, if wanted)
4 large bell peppers, hollowed out
For the tomato sauce:
14 oz. (400g) tomato passata
1 tsp. veggie stock powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
salt, pepper
some feta for sprinkling
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Prepare the rice according to the instructions on the package and weigh out 7oz./200g – or use a packet of pre-cooked microwave rice.
2. Peel and finely dice the onion and garlic. Wash and dry the bell peppers, then use a sharp knife to cut off the top of each bell pepper and scoop out the seeds. If the bell peppers do not stay upright on their own, straighten them slightly on the bottom. Set aside.
3. Heat up an ovenproof frying pan* with some olive oil. Sauté the diced onion and garlic until soft and glossy – takes about 2-3 minutes. Add the ground meat and let it brown for about 5-6 minutes. Add the dried oregano, basil, paprika powder, and tomato-paprika paste and cook/fry briefly with the rest. Season with salt and pepper. Deglaze the meat with the red wine, then add the cooked rice and mix in. Allow the mixture to simmer for some time until the liquid in the frying pan has almost completely evaporated. Fill the bell peppers with the mixture and set them aside. If there is any filling left, simply leave it in the pan.
4. Add a bit more olive oil to the pan and heat up again. Add the tomato passata, veggie stock powder, dried oregano, and basil and stir well. Season with salt and pepper and let the sauce simmer over a medium heat for about 3-4 minutes.
5. Place the stuffed bell peppers in the frying pan with the sauce and sprinkle them with some feta. If you like, you can also spoon some tomato sauce over the filling and feta and then add the lids on the bell peppers. Place the frying pan in the center of the oven and roast the stuffed bell peppers for about 35-40 minutes. The bell peppers should be soft with browned spots here and there. Remove from the oven – be careful, the frying pan and the handle are very hot! We like to serve the stuffed bell peppers with some salad on the side, but you can also use some extra rice or potatoes as a side.
Notes
Make something amazing in the kitchen!
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