Southwestern Style Stuffed Peppers

southwestern style peppers in a baking dish fresh out of the oven.

4 from 3 votes

Southwestern Style Stuffed Peppers

These easy Southwestern Style Stuffed Peppers are sure to be a hit in your home! They are loaded with delicious seasoned beef, perfectly cooked rice, roasted tomatoes, green chilis, and topped with melty cheese! Stuffed peppers are the perfect make-ahead one pan weeknight meal that your family will love!

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 5

Total Time1 20

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 463kcal

Author: Joanna Cismaru

Equipment

9x13-inch Casserole Dish

Ingredients

8 large bell peppers different colors
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion chopped
1 stalk celery chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
15 ounce fire roasted tomatoes diced (1 can)
4 ounces canned green chilis (1 small can)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder mild
salt and pepper to taste
15 ounce black beans (1 can)
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup rice long grain, uncooked
2 cups chicken broth unsalted
8 slices provolone cheese
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven: Turn your oven on to 350°F.
Prep the peppers: Wash the bell peppers. Next, slice a thin slice from the bottom of each pepper to help them stand upright. Then slice the tops off the peppers and deseed them being careful not to break the pepper. Now, place the peppers in an upright standing position in a greased casserole dish and cook them for about 15 minutes or until they begin to soften.
Brown the beef: Cook the ground beef over medium-high heat in a large skillet for about 5 minutes or until it is no longer pink. Then add the onions and celery. Now, continue cooking for 3 minutes until the onions have softened up a bit and are translucent. Finally, add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until it is fragrant and smells garlicky good.
Finish the filling: Add the fire-roasted tomatoes, canned green chilis, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper to the cooked ground beef mixture. Then stir everything together and add the black beans, frozen corn, rice, and chicken broth. Now, stir it all together once more, cover the skillet with a lid, and cook the filling for about 15 to 20 minutes stirring from time to time until the rice is fully cooked. The rice must be fully cooked to proceed to the next step.
Stuff the peppers: Spoon the meat mixture into the prepared peppers all the way to the top. You want to create almost like a dome. Then top each pepper with a slice of provolone cheese.
Bake the peppers: Put the casserole dish into the oven and bake the peppers at 350°F for about 20 minutes or until the cheese melts and begins to brown. You will want to check your peppers around the 17-minute mark to see how they are doing.
Garnish and serve: Garnish the cooked southwestern style stuffed peppers with fresh chopped cilantro and serve them with sour cream or homemade guacamole.

Notes

Cook the rice ahead of time. You can easily cook the rice before mixing it with the meat to ensure that it is fully cooked before stuffing the peppers. Instant rice is another option as well, which will save time too!
Make it lower in fat. Southwestern style stuffed peppers can also be stuffed with ground chicken or turkey for a leaner option. Or, you can leave the meat out altogether and make a vegetarian or vegan version with my suggestions above.
Don't overcook your peppers. When prebaking your peppers in the oven before stuffing, be careful not to overcook them. If they get too limp they are hard to work with and stuff. You want them to be cooked, but still firm and hold their shape, so watch them closely.

Nutrition