Easy Stuffed Peppers Without Rice
These upgraded stuffed peppers without rice will be the best weeknight dinner you make this week. Trust me. We’ve all had a classic stuffed pepper before. Packed with rice, a little bit of ground meat and baked in a pepper. It can be watery, boring and flavorless. That is not this recipe! These easy stuffed peppers skip the flavorless rice, and are filled with juicy shredded beef stuffed into smoky poblano peppers. They are perfect to make with leftover beef, quick to prep, high in protein and naturally gluten free.
Ingredients
- 3 poblano peppers Or bell peppers, any color
- 6 oz beef cooked and shredded
- 1/2 cup black beans rinsed and drained
- 3 slices cheddar cheese or dairy free cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp Garlic powder
- Optional seasoning if your beef isn’t already seasoned: 1 tbsp taco seasoning fajita seasoning or southwestern seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F
- Slice the poblano peppers in half lengthwise. Carefully remove the seeds with a spoon.
- Place the pepper halves on a baking sheet or casserole dish.
- Bake the peppers for 15 minutes, cut-side facing up.
- Remove the peppers from the oven and fill each half with the beef and beans.
- Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and optional seasoning.
- Top each pepper with cheddar cheese.
- Bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
Notes
Always pre-bake the peppers when making stuffed peppers. Because the meat filling is already cooked, the bake time is not long enough for the pepper to fully cook and get soft. That crunch of a raw pepper is when it is undercooked, and not what you want!
To ensure the peppers do not get too watery, make sure that the shredded beef does not have any excess liquid, broth or sauce. You can drain or blot any liquid before mixing in the beans.
If your filling is falling apart, let it test for 1-2 minutes before stuffing the peppers. This will help the meat hold its shape a little better.
I always suggest selecting peppers the same size when grocery shopping for this stuffed peppers without rice recipe. This ensures everything will cook at the same rate. If one pepper is much bigger it will cook too slowly, or if one pepper is smaller it will cook too fast. You want everything to take the same amount of time to cook!
These stuffed peppers without rice can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container. To reheat, bake in a casserole dish or on a sheetpan, uncovered, on 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the meat is warm. To save time you can always microwave leftovers.
These freeze really well! Store in the freezer in an airtight freezer safe container for up to 2 months. To reheat, let thaw overnight, then bake on 350 for 20-30 minutes.