Perfectly tender meat or vegetarian stuffed baked bell peppers in a dish or Dutch oven is here. You can use chicken, turkey or ground beef inside with rice like our easy stuffed bell peppers here.
Baked stuffed peppers at 400 F turn out great. You can use a casserole dish covered with foil but this makes a great Dutch oven recipe for sure. You can make with ground beef, ground chicken, turkey or meatless too.
Dutch Oven Stuffed Peppers Recipe
I make all sorts of things in this cast iron pot. It locks the heat and steam inside and is a great size with high sides so liquids don’t flow over. If you need to precook anything you can do so in the same pot on your stovetop too. We don’t bother with that, instead you can use raw meat with your rice.
In the past we have made this all sorts of different ways, and with different fillings. You’re going to need to precook your grains, I recommend following our Ninja Foodi white rice recipe for that. We’ve made air fryer stuffed peppers in that pot too but if you don’t have that pot you can use a rice cooker instead.
Ingredient Notes
You can certainly use any color bell peppers you like though typically green are cheaper, and other colors are a bit sweeter. I like the ones with 4 bulbs at the bottom so they sit flatter and don’t want to tip over.
- Ground chicken, ground turkey, or ground beef
- Cooked white rice or brown, measured after being cooked
- Spaghetti sauce or diced tomatoes with sauce
- Onion diced finely
- 1 pinch of salt and pepper into the inner mix and seasoned when done
- Cheese, shredded mozzarella and/or cheddar
with Raw Meat
We are going to be using minced chicken or ground would work the same way. No need to precook it beforehand as it will cook right in the pepper “bowls” as it will. You’ll just want to poke the bottoms so the grease can drain out and not fill it up.
with Ground Chicken
Like I said, the filling is really up to you. Our post here is to explain how long to bake them to tender. For beef you can follow our recipe linked at the top of this post. If you have leftover shredded poultry I would recommend following our chicken stuffed peppers instead.
As you can see in the photos below, those juices will get trapped in the pot and blanch bell peppers kinda’ on it’s own. Traditionally when you make this dish you’d need to boil them first which adds a good 20 minutes to the prep time. This trick will help skip that whole process.
Variations
Ground or minced turkey could be swapped out with the recipe listed below too. Both are low fat options vs. beef or sausage. I will say that the latter two are probably our favorites, but I understand everyone has different preferences.
If you want the ultimate and not worried about fat content use 1/2 lb. spicy ground sausage + 1/2 lb. ground beef. OMG is that the perfect combination packed with tons of flavor, a bit of heat and with the gooey cheese on top.
If you have a large family and want a few dishes made together so there are choices, this is How Long to Bake Salmon at 400 at the same time.
FAQ
When you pre cook the peppers it will soften them. Boiling will tenderize the outsides and remove some of the bitter flavor as well. You should do this before you add meat, rice and sauce to the inside and then bake in the oven.
We have shared how long to cook salmon at 400 degrees F here too. Overall this is a great temp to get your food nice and tender but with a little crisp too. Of course you’ll need to remove the lid to get the tops to a golden brown like you see here.
And a Dutch oven too, or baking dish with high sides and you’d need foil or a lid to it. I usually just serve these as is or with maybe with some rolls or with a side salad. It’s kinda’ an edible vegetable bowl with meat and dairy right inside.
If you wanted to cook another dish for the kids at the same time, this is how long to cook chicken at 400 too, just use another shelf.
How Long to Bake Stuffed Peppers at 400 Degrees F
Once you prep all of your ingredients and they are set with the tops facing up and secure so they don’t tip over you are going to want to bake the peppers in oven for 35 minutes. Then remove the lid, sprinkle on remaining cheese and bake without the lid for 10 to 15 minutes to melt
Allow to sit for a few minutes and then serve. Slice open in half and eat the insides or slice and eat with all the other goodies inside.
Baked Stuffed Peppers Recipe
Equipment
- 1 dutch oven or casserole dish with high sides and foil or a lid
Ingredients
- 5-6 bell peppers
- 2/3 lb ground chicken, turkey, or beef
- 1/2 c white rice, or brown, measured after being cooked
- 1/2 c spaghetti sauce
- 1/4 c onion, diced
- 1 pinch salt and pepper, into mix and seasoned when done
- 1/3 c cheese, shredded mozzarella, chedddar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Cook your minute or long grain rice as you wish so you have 1/2 cup cooked to add into your meat mixture.
- Slice top of peppers off and remove the seeds inside. In a bowl combine the raw ground meat of your choice, and all other ingredients EXCEPT only half your cheese goes into the inner mix.
- Spoon in your meat mixture into each empty pepper, will fill 5-6 depending on how large yours are.
- Use a knife to poke 3 holes into the bottom of each one so the juices when meat cooks can be released.
- Place into your dutch oven facing up situated together so they won't fall over and aren't overlapping.
- Place top of peppers back on to the top and close the dutch oven lid. Bake for 35 minutes.
- Then remove the lid, sprinkle remaining cheese on top of each one and bake without the lid for 10 minutes so it melts and browns on top.
- Remove, allow to rest in pot for 5 minutes, plate and slice in half to enjoy.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to Save Leftovers
I typically suggest using freezer bags because you can suck all the air out and keep foods nice and moist. Doesn’t work quite as well for these because they will get smushed. If you don’t care about the shape then I would do this. If so, use an airtight container.
To reheat the outsides I will slice and make air fryer peppers. Whole it is best to slice in half and set the two halves with the filling facing up inside a bowl or microwave safe plate.
Spoon 1/2 tsp broth or tomato sauce into each side and I like adding fresh shredded cheese to the top too. Heat in the microwave for about 1 minute. You could broil or air fry for 1-2 min. too if you wanted the tops browned.
I actually think when you cook the stuffed peppers the next day because they continue softening and that is the texture I like ideally. If you want to keep it firmer I would set air fryer to 400 and set in there with the halves facing up. Rub a bit of olive oil on the edges of your pepper and crisp for 2-3 minutes cooking time warming the outside, inside, and melting more cheese.
