Name: Easy Rice Stuffed Peppers - Printable Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: English
Ingredients: Chopping Board; Sharp Knife; Large Frying Pan; Wooden Spoon/Spatula; Spoon; Oven Proof Dish; 4 x Large Peppers; 2 tbsp Olive Oil; 1 x Onion, peeled and diced; 2 Garlic Cloves, peeled and minced; 2 x 400g (14 oz) Tins of Chopped Tomatoes; 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar; 2 tsp Italian Seasoning; Salt and Pepper; 3 tbsp Fresh Parsley, chopped; 420g (2 + 1/4 Cups) Cooked Basmati Rice, cooled *; 160g (1 + 1/2 Cups) Grated Mozzarella, divided

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Tried making rice stuffed peppers before and they’ve been undercooked or mushy? Unsure about timings and need a helping hand? You’re in the right place! These super easy stuffed peppers with rice are extremely simple to make once you know how! Keep reading for the full recipe, tips and FAQs…

Someone topping rice stuffed peppers with grated mozzarella

How do you core peppers for stuffing?

By far the easiest way to core peppers for stuffing is to slice round the top (turning the pepper as you go), but not through the core. Then simply twist and pull, and the lid and the core will pop right out.

All you need to do then, is tidy up the inside by taking out any loose seeds, and tearing out any of the white fleshy pieces that stayed behind. Voila!

Plates of rice stuffed peppers and salad

How long do you cook rice stuffed peppers?

These rice stuffed peppers only need 20 minutes oven time. Making them the perfect midweek meal!

Someone filling peppers with a tomato rice filling

Are you supposed to eat the pepper in stuffed peppers?

Absolutely! Yes, you are very much supposed to eat the pepper in stuffed peppers! When cooked properly, the pepper will be perfectly tender. Not too crunchy or mushy – just right. It’s absolutely delicious!

A plate with two rice stuffed peppers and salad on it

How do you keep stuffed peppers from getting soggy?

Your stuffed peppers might get soggy for a few reasons…

If you try to use uncooked rice and add the appropriate liquid to cook it through.
When the tomato based sauce you use is too runny.
If you overcook stuffed peppers with rice, the peppers can become very mushy.

This recipe removes all of those possibilities by using pre-cooked rice, reducing the sauce until it’s very thick, and baking for the perfect amount of time.

Why are my rice stuffed peppers bland?

My biggest tip to prevent your rice stuffed peppers from being bland is to season as you cook!

Never just add salt and pepper at the end. This will only make your food taste salty, rather than helping to bring out the best flavour of each ingredient.

Make sure you taste alongside this too! Everyone has different tastes. And seasoning that tastes great for others might not be right for you.

Why didn’t my rice cook in my stuffed peppers?

Using raw rice in rice stuffed peppers is very risky. Due to the ideal recipe timings, the likelihood is that you will overcook your peppers and undercook the rice.

The easiest way to avoid this is by using pre-cooked and cooled rice. If you’re not confident with this, I recommend reading through how to cook rice perfectly first.

A plate of rice stuffed pepper and salad with a fork

Why are my rice stuffed peppers crunchy?

You’ve either used raw rice (which I don’t recommend), or you’ve undercooked the peppers.

If you stopped cooking because your mozzarella browned too quickly, you can always cover them with foil for the remainder of the cooking time. This will prevent the mozzarella browning further, and allow enough time for your peppers to cook through.

Also remember that all ovens and ingredients vary. So keep an eye on your rice stuffed peppers, particularly towards the end of the specified cooking time.

Hollowed out bell peppers in an oven dish

Ingredients and substitutions

Confused about what ingredients to buy? Not sure about a substitution? Here’s what you need to know…

Peppers – I recommend using red, yellow or orange peppers. Green peppers can taste quite bitter. Choose firm ones, as you need them to hold their shape.
Onion – Any white/yellow onion will work fine.
Garlic – If your cloves are particularly small, you may like to use 3 instead of 2.
Tomatoes – Use the best quality tinned chopped tomatoes you can get. You really will taste the difference!
Balsamic vinegar – Yes fancy expensive ones are nice, but even the cheaper ones will add a wonderful flavour to rice stuffed peppers. So don’t skip it!
Italian Seasoning – If you don’t have Italian seasoning, you can use oregano instead. *
Parsley – Although sometimes tempting to omit, fresh parsley really adds another flavour dimension to this. It tastes much more fresh!
Rice – I recommend using basmati or long grain rice for this. They work brilliantly in rice stuffed peppers.
Mozzarella – I used pre-grated shop bought mozzarella here. Grated cheddar cheese or red Leicester would also work great.

*Another alternative would be to make this Italian seasoning substitute using store cupboard ingredients you will likely already have!

Rice stuffed peppers filling in a pan with a wooden spoon

Rice stuffed peppers recipe tips

Here are tips you’ll find helpful when making these rice stuffed peppers.

Read the recipe the whole way through before you begin. It can help you avoid unnecessary mistakes.
Season with salt and pepper as you go. Don’t leave it until the end, or you will just make it taste salty.
Cook your rice ahead of time. Raw rice won’t work in it’s place in this recipe!
Keep the lids you cut off the peppers. They can be useful for balance during cooking if you have wonky wobbly peppers.
Check your rice stuffed peppers towards the end of cooking. Undercook them and they’ll be too crunchy. Overcook them and they’ll become mushy.
Use basmati or long grain rice. These types of rice work perfectly in rice stuffed peppers.
To core your pepper easily, rotate the pepper while slicing off the top, but don’t cut through the core. Then simply twist it and pull. The lid and core will pop out in one piece.

Baked rice stuffed peppers in an oven dish

Time management

Have limited time? Struggle with recipe timings? Or juggling around other things? Here’s some time managing info to make your life easier.

Make sure you cook and cool your rice ahead of time (up to 1 day). If you cook it just before, spread it out on a large baking tray. The larger surface area will help it cool more quickly.
Don’t have time to make the rice? Use 420g (2 + 1/4 Cups) of uncooked microwave rice instead. Just make sure you use either basmati or long grain.
The tomato sauce will take approximately 10-15 minutes to reduce and thicken. Using a wider pan will help speed this up.
Baking your rice stuffed peppers will take 20 minutes.
You can fully prepare your peppers stuffed with rice, and cover/store in the fridge for up to 1 day in advance.

Stuffed peppers on a plate over an embossed board

If you like this recipe…

…you might also like:

Rice Stuffed Peppers – Step by Step Picture Recipe

(For a printer friendly version, see the recipe card at the end of this post)

Please note that you need to cook and cool the rice in advance. See how to cook rice perfectly for tips.

Ingredients

Here is what you will need to serve 4

4 x Large Peppers
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 x Onion, peeled and diced
2 Garlic Cloves, peeled and minced
2 x 400g (14 oz) Tins of Chopped Tomatoes
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 tsp Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper
3 tbsp Fresh Parsley, chopped
420g (2 + 1/4 Cups) Cooked Basmati Rice, cooled *
160g (1 + 1/2 Cups) Grated Mozzarella, divided

*This equates to approximately 180g (1 Cup) uncooked rice

Essential equipment

Chopping Board
Sharp Knife
Large Frying Pan
Wooden Spoon/Spatula
Spoon
Oven Proof Dish

Preparation instructions

To core your peppers (x 4), simply slice around the top, rotating the pepper as you go. But don’t cut through the core.

Then twist the top and it will pop straight out, along with the core. Now just remove any loose seeds and pull out any remaining white flesh. Set them to one side until needed later.

Hollowed out bell peppers on a chopping board

Filling instructions

Next, heat your frying pan over a medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add in the olive oil (2 tbsp). When the oil is hot, add in the onion (1 x peeled and diced).

Fry, stirring often, until softened and translucent.

Now add in the garlic (2 x cloves, peeled and minced) and stir continuously for 30 seconds. Until the garlic becomes fragrant.

Then pour in the chopped tomatoes (2 x 400g | 14 oz tins), and add the balsamic vinegar (1 tbsp) and Italian seasoning (2 tsp).

Season generously with salt and pepper.

Then give it a thorough stir and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring frequently, for around 10-15 minutes.

You want to cook off all the excess liquid. So it becomes thick, and almost paste like.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 190ºC/Fan 180ºC/374ºF.

Thickened and reduced tomato sauce in a pan

Once thickened, turn off the heat and stir through the chopped parsley (3 tbsp) and cooked rice (420g | 2 + 1/4 Cups).

Taste and check the seasoning. Add more salt and pepper to taste if needed.

Then stir through 100g | 1 Cup of the grated mozzarella. Save the rest for later.

Rice stuffed peppers filling in a pan with grated mozzarella on top

Assembly and cooking instructions

To assemble your rice stuffed peppers, spoon the filling into each of the hollowed out peppers you prepared earlier.

Bell peppers stuffed with a tomato rice filling

Then place them into an oven proof dish, and top each one with some of the remaining grated mozzarella cheese (60g | 1/2 Cup).

Stuffed peppers with rice in an oven dish

Finally, bake in the centre of your preheated oven for 20 minutes. Check towards the end of the cooking time, as all ovens vary.

You want them fork tender. If they’re too crunchy, they need a little longer. If they’ve gone mushy, you’ve overcooked them.

Cooked rice stuffed peppers in an oven dish

Serve your rice stuffed peppers immediately.

Serving suggestions and flavour variations

Rice stuffed peppers go perfectly with light sides. Apple and beetroot salad pairs well. As does steamed broccoli and tomato salad.

You could change up the filling by adding mushrooms, courgette or chilli flakes. If you add anything of volume, make sure you reduce the amount of rice you use to make room for it.

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