Slow Cooker Beef and Rice Stuffed Peppers are wonderful classic meal that is easily made in the slow cooker.
This recipe for Slow Cooker Beef and Rice Stuffed Peppers I used a marinara sauce, which was a first for me. I’ve made them with a sweetened diced tomato sauce, a salsa for the sauce, and a ketchup brown sugar topping. I really like the way these stuffed peppers are with the marinara sauce, it tasted great with the beef, rice and bell peppers.
I’ve been ordering my groceries online at Fred Meyer. That is not something you want to do if you want certain shape of bell peppers. I could not get these peppers to stand up! I had to cut the bottoms off to get them to stay upright. I had a good laugh about it later, but I did save some time not having to grocery shop.
There was extra filling after I stuffed the peppers, I add that to the marinara sauce at the bottom of the slow cooker.
I think you will love this recipe. I’ve already made it again before I had time to post this! I hope you try this recipe in-between some holiday recipes I have coming up. Have a great week.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker – 5 quart or larger
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 5 bell peppers tops cut off and diced for filling
- 1.5 cups cooked rice can be leftover rice
- 24 oz. jar marinara sauce, divided
- 1 small white onion diced
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. dried thyme
- ½ tsp. dried tarragon oregano works well too
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a skillet on the stove top. Drain.
- Add the beef, cut up bell pepper tops, rice, 1 cup of the marinara sauce, onion, salt, garlic powder, thyme and tarragon to a medium sized bowl. Stir.
- Stuff the peppers with the filling you just made. If there is any leftover filling add it to the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Add remaining marinara sauce to the slow cooker.
- Add the stuffed peppers in the slow cooker. I try not to let them rest on the sides of the slow cooker, but most of the time they end up falling over later.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 5 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
I am a little confused with this recipe. The photos show you using browned beef, but the recipe says nothing about pre-browning and reads as if the beef is uncooked. Which is it?
Thank you Jessica, it’s browned. I added that to the recipe.
That is not the way in interpreted the recipe, When I make my stuffed peppers you do not brown the meat and you also can add a little sausage to the recipe for “flavor”!!!!!
There are different ways to make them, I have both on my site. I’m sure yours is delicious. The video shows browned crumbled beef. Sorry for the confusion.
Jessica, read the directions, it does not say brown the beef, it states add all those ingredients and stuff the peppers, any left over add to slow cooker.. In other words you do not brown the ground beef…
In the ingredients it says browned beef, I added in the instructions that is browned. Sorry about the confusion.
It says browned ground beef
This must definitely be a Springfield recipe, as my wife use to prepare this meal a couple of times every year and she was raised in Springfield. Springfield H.S. class of ’67.
I want to make this for somebody who is unsure about green bell peppers due to their bitterness, would using a different color of bell pepper work also?
yes, any color will work
Choosing the right bell pepper is easy. Flip the pepper over. You will see either 3 humps or 4 humps. The pepper with 3 humps are the male pepper and the 4 hump peppers are female. The female peppers are sweeter and good for eating them raw. The make peppers are less sweet and are used in cooking.
I didn’t read the recipe right and missed (browned beef) will it still work.
Yes, should be fine.
I made your stuffed pepper recipe and it was delicious … I’m making it again
So glad you liked it!
I have never used a crock pot to make stuffed peppers. I have always cooked them in a pot on the stove top. I usually boil the peppers to soften them a little. Would I need to boil them if I make them in a crock pot?
If you really like them extra soft you can. Or you could extend the cooking time a bit.
Could I use this recipe but cook them in the oven? At what temp and how long would you recommend? Thanks!
I made your stuffed peppers according to the recipe, except I traded rice for well-drained microwaved cauliflower rice to make it low carb. It was delicious and I couldn’t taste the cauliflower, which was good. I would make this again. Thank you!
I read your recipe it sounds good but I replaced ground beef with ground turkey and used uncooked Persian rice and add more veggies to it . Turned out really delicious and my family loved it. Thank you
Can you shorten cooking time by putting on high for a bit
Yes, will work fine for this recipe.
Why did my peppers get so bitter. Could not eat them.