This Instant Pot stuffed pepper casserole is so flavorful and simple to make! Like deconstructed stuffed peppers in your pressure cooker but way easier!
So we love stuffed peppers here at the house…yes even my kids. They are a little labor intensive since you need to blanch the peppers, stuff them, precook the rice etc….so I thought I’d make a deconstructed version. It came out great!! All the wonderful flavors you love in one pot and no precooking or boiling required to make this easy Instant Pot stuffed pepper casserole you see. It is definitely one of our favorite Instant Pot recipes now. This is a sponsored post for HemisFares™ brand that is available exclusively at Kroger family of stores. All opinions are honest and 100% my own.
If you’ve never had stuffed peppers may I say I hadn’t either before I married my husband. It is something he remembered his grandma making so he taught me this easy stuffed green peppers recipe she used and I made them as often as I had time.
As you know I like easy, and that is where this Instant Pot stuffed pepper casserole comes in. Too many steps can make me just not want to make it when I barely have an hour at home to cook before taking off again to some activity. I wasn’t sure exactly how this one was going to turn out but as luck would have it the first time I made it the rice was cooked perfectly and the taste was spot on!
This recipe is packed with flavor! When adding additional seasonings I do so gently because we love the flavors as is and the HemisFares pasta sauce contains wonderful flavors, but of course you can amp it up with more by adding a bit more chili powder if you like a little heat. 😉
This is a great base though for a deconstructed stuffed pepper casserole, you’ll need the following items:
- Instant Pot or pressure cooker
- White rice
- Bell peppers (we like a few colors)
- Onion
- Ground beef
- Mozzarella cheese (optional)
- Jar of HemisFares™ Sausage and Fennel Ragu with Barolo Wine pasta sauce – I used the one you see here above (found at Kroger and their banner stores), it’s packed with flavor!
- Diced tomatoes
- Spices
This Instant Pot stuffed pepper casserole is so flavorful and simple to make! Like deconstructed stuffed peppers in your pressure cooker but way easier!
- 2 bell peppers diced
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 onion diced
- 1 can chiles diced, 4 oz.
- 2 c HemisFares spaghetti sauce
- 1 c diced tomatoes
- 1 1/2 c white rice
- 2 c water or vegetable broth
- 1/2 tsp chili powder or more
- 1 tsp seasoned salt or more, to taste
- 1 c mozzarella or parmesan cheese shredded
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
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Add olive oil. Set your Instant Pot to saute, normal or low and start to brown your ground beef. When it is still slightly pink add in diced bell peppers and onion and continue to cook together so onions/peppers soften and beef is browned.
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Turn Instant Pot off.
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Pour in spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, spices, chiles, rice, and either water or vegetable broth (broth is better). DO NOT STIR!
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Close the lid on your Instant Pot or pressure cooker, close steam valve, and set to manual, pressure, low for 10 minutes.
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Do a slow release on your steam valve (move just slightly so steam comes out slowly).
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Stir and serve topped with mozzarella cheese.
Believe me this may become your very favorite pressure cooker dinner! It is simple, quick, and packed with flavor that even my kids rave about. For more information on HemisFares you can check out the website HemisFaresFinds.com or Facebook.com/HemisFares.
my rice was under cooked… I’m wondering is it because I put the liquid in before the rice? Should I have covered the rice with liquids? I thought about stirring it but the recipes specifically said not to lol
Yes you do not stir but rice needs to be submerged in the liquid to cook properly so water goes in last.
This was great I used Brown rice so I cooked the rice first. Then just left out the broth and added the rice back in with the cheese. I also drained the meat, onions and peppers before I started the pressure cooker and I only pressure cooked for 8 minutes. My daughter loved it too!!!
So glad!!
I would like to substitute brown rice for white rice. How do you think this would change cooking time?
Brown rice takes quite a while longer to cook than white rice so your peppers may be mush by the time the rice is tender.
Just to clarify, the recipe shows 1 1/2 cup rice. I am assuming uncooked. When we imported it into my fitness pal it showed as cooked. I used 1 1/2 cup uncooked and it was marvelous. Was I correct? 1 1/2 cup uncooked rice ?
Can I use Jasmine rice instead of white rice?
Of course.
Sounds yummy. I have the same questions as several other people. Does the hamburger get drained, also, it doesn’t look like you drain the tomatoes, but just checking. Also, when do you add the garlic? Can’t wait to try it.
It is up to you really, drain if you wish, some prefer not to. Either way is fine.
Très bonne recette merci
Can I use regular spaghetti sauce, instead of what you used? I always have that on hand.
Any style will work yes.
So I have a different brand then instant pot – not sure I have a low pressure setting maybe I do and just missed it in book – would rice setting work ?
I’m trying it in my power pressure cooker xl on the soup/stew setting in order to get 10 mins. on the timer. I don’t think there are different pressures on it. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll experiment with another setting.
I have same pressure cooker. It does have a low and high setting. But just curious about how it went on stew/soup setting?
Did you drain the tomatoes?
Do you drain the grease from the hamburger?
Do I drain the chiles and diced tomatoes before adding them and a what point do I add the garlic?
At what point does the garlic go in?
Does this take instant rice or regular rice?
Regular white rice.
Thank you! Just about to make it now. Can’t wait!
Do you drain the grease from the hamburger?
I know brown rice takes longer…..can i use this and do you know how long i would have to cook it for?
I made it with cauliflower rice because real rice messes with my husband’s blood sugar. It turned out soupy because I didn’t think to reduce the liquid.
This looks amazing! Thinking about using riced cauliflower in place of the rice since I can’t eat the starch…
Let me know how it goes!!
What is the cup of green stuff you put in? Looks like hot dog relish.
In recipe, diced chiles.