Stuffed Peppers made with beef and rice in a savory marinara sauce. Easily made in the slow cooker for a comforting dinner.
Whether it be the classic stuffed pepper recipe, stuffed pepper soup or even a twist like taco meatloaf stuffed peppers, you can’t beat the flavor of peppers and beef!
This recipe for Slow Cooker Beef and Rice Stuffed Peppers I use a marinara sauce. 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.
How to make stuffed peppers in a crockpot:
- Bell peppers – I love green bell peppers in this recipe though any color will work. If your bell peppers are very large you may need to use less than five. Be sure to save and chop the bell pepper tops and stir into the filling
- Ground beef – In this recipe, I brown and crumble the meat, this makes for a loose filling, not a meatloaf style stuffed bell peppers.
- Rice – Leftover cooked rice works well in this recipe.
- Onion – Diced white onion
- Marinara – I choose to use marinara instead of tomato sauce or diced tomatoes, marinara sauce (or spaghetti sauce) already has a great flavor base to start with. You can use homemade marinara sauce if desired.
How long do I cook?
- Place the lid on the slow cooker.
- Cook on LOW for 5 hours, without opening the lid during the cooking time.
Can I add cheese to this?
- Stuffed peppers often have cheese on top. Though adding cheese is optional.
- If you want a cheese fix, add about 2 tablespoons of shredded mozzarella cheese to each pepper 10 minutes before the cooking time is up.
Can I use a different type of meat?
Try one of these meat options instead of ground beef if you prefer:
- Ground turkey
- Ground chicken
- Ground Italian sausage
How can I make this vegan?
- Use soy crumbles instead of beef
- Or a can of pinto beans
- Or add extra veggies such as chopped squash or asparagus to the rice mixture.
More bell pepper recipes for your slow cooker:
- Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Slow Cooker Taco Meatloaf Stuffed Peppers
- Slow Cooker Pepper Steak
- Slow Cooker Salsa Steak Fajitas
- Slow Cooker Swiss Steak
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Slow Cooker Beef and Rice Stuffed Peppers
Classic stuffed peppers made with ground beef, rice in a savory marinara sauce.
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Servings: 5
Calories: 303kcal
Equipment Needed:
- Slow Cooker – 5 quart or larger
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 5 bell peppers tops cut off and diced for filling
- 1 1/2 cups cooked rice can be leftover rice
- 24 oz. jar marinara sauce, divided
- 1 small white onion diced
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
- 1/2 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.
How to Video:
Recipe Notes:
Can I add cheese to this?
- Stuffed peppers often have cheese on top, though adding cheese is optional.
- If you want a cheese fix, add about 2 tablespoons of shredded mozzarella cheese to each pepper 10 minutes before the cooking time is up.
- Ground turkey
- Ground chicken
- Ground Italian sausage
- Use soy crumbles instead of beef
- Or a can of pinto beans
- Or add extra veggies such as chopped squash or asparagus to the rice mixture.
Nutrition:
Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 971mg | Potassium: 1056mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 4355IU | Vitamin C: 164mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 5mg
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I have 2 questions: First, can I use a slow cooker liner for this recipe? And second, can I cut the peppers in half before stuffing them, rather than cutting off the tops? TIA!
Thank you for the recipe. I lost my Mother in January this year and this dish is a childhood favorite. I’m delighted to make the dish. Mom always used raw beef, uncooked rice, all the veggies and seasoning in this recipe but she used tomato juice instead of marinara sauce. Baked in oven on 350° for 35 to 45 minutes. We would splith the pepper in half and pour more tomato juice. We always looked forward to this meal. Thank you for sharing. God bless!