Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers
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Hearty, protein/fiber loaded peppers packed with so much flavor – and it’s all made in the crockpot. Easy and effortless!
I really want to say that Fall is right around the corner, pumpkin season has been set, and we’re all about to wear our cute knitted sweater cardigans. Except it’s 90+ degrees here in Southern California. And I have no intention of walking into pumpkin season in this summer heat.
But I can still dust off that crockpot with balls and balls of baby corgi fur and stuff my face with these, well, stuffed peppers.
Yes, stuffed with brown rice, ground beef, beans, corn, salsa and cheese. Lots and lots of cheese.
You can also swap out the brown rice for white rice or even quinoa for a healthy kick. Or ground turkey instead of the ground beef. It’s all up to you.
And then you can finish these off with a sour cream drizzle. And maybe some extra salsa. And guacamole. The guacamole is a must.
Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef*
- 1 ½ cups cooked brown rice*
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
- 1 cup salsa, homemade or store-bought
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder, or more to taste
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 6 bell peppers, tops cut, stemmed and seeded
- 2 tablespoons sour cream, optional
Instructions
- Lightly coat the inside of a 6-qt slow cooker with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine beef, rice, 1 cup cheese, black beans, corn, salsa, cilantro, cumin and chili powder; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon the filling into each bell pepper cavity.
- Place peppers into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat for 3-4 hours or high for 2-3 hours, or until the peppers are tender and the beef is cooked through.
- Uncover and top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Cover and cook on low heat for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
- Serve immediately, drizzled with sour cream, if desired.
Notes
*White rice or quinoa can be substituted.
Did you make this recipe?
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So good! I used minute brown rice and this was so easy to make. I’ll never bake stuffed peppers again; I never realized these could cook so nicely in the crock pot. Thanks for the recipe!
Truly delicious and not the usual “big meatball in a pepper”!
It was a very nice version of the usual stuffed pepper. I (we) will definitely make again with a few additions (e.g. diced black olives).
The leftover stuffing we put in the refrigerator and will use up on a few tostadas.
Question… you don’t mention if the rice needs to be cooked prior to mixing it with the meat, cheese, beans, etc. Regarding the meat, you did say it does not need to be cooked prior. Which is better though… raw meat mixed in or cooked first?
thx,
jeff
Delicious how should I store my leftover peppers ?
Love this recipe and have made numerous times! However, I am wondering what the recommended cook time would be if I substitute ground chicken? Thanks so much!
This is a easy, delicious recipe! I used kidney beans (store was sold out of black beans) and served it with torillas. I think next time I’ll make a mole sauce to add some heat and juice. We loved it. Thanks!
Delicious recipe! I substituted cauliflower rice for regular rice; turned out great!
Do you need to have a 6qt crock pot for all the pot recipes?
I would most likely halve some of them (i.e. chicken garlic parm with potatoes) since it’s only 2 of us so I require less space.
We only have a 4-qt crock pot.
Thanks,
Lorin
Fantastic recipe! My picky kids loved it.
Hello!
Just wanted to share how much I enjoyed this recipe! As a busy college student approaching finals week, I have zero time to make continuous meals for myself. Perfect grab and heat up meal! I used ground turkey instead, and if you choose to do that, I didn’t cook the meat first and it is done on high at about 2 1/2 hours!
Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Does the rice have to be cooked first??
Yes. 🙂
I’m making these as we speak. I added chorizo to the beef and used cilantro lime rice rather than brown with fresh cilantro. We’ll see how they turn out!
Amazing! My mom, who is not a pepper fan, ate TWO! The leftover filling will be used for lunch today in a tortilla!
Do you cook tje rice before putting in slow cooker??
I love the Baja Latin twist on stuffed peppers in this recipe and have made it many times. This time I found 6 HUGE peppers, and while the recipe made plenty of stuffing, there’s no way just my husband and I could eat all of them. But that’s good, because the extras freeze great!
Whenever I make stuffed peppers I anticipate extra peppers and maybe even extra stuffing that won’t fit in the peppers. Double wrap any extra filled peppers (raw) in aluminum foil, put them in big ziplocks, and freeze. Next time you feel like peppers, just put them in the slow cooker. You don’t even have to thaw them, if you increase the cook time, although you certainly could thaw them overnight in the fridge.
And if there’s even more stuffing that doesn’t fit in the peppers, just load it in a ziploc bag, and be sure to label it. Next time you want stuffed peppers, no mixing! Just thaw, stuff, and go!
I love the Baja Latin twist in this recipe
Hello I’m just trying the stuffed peppers today. I used Jimmy dean sausage instead of ground beef. I had to put one stuffed pepper on top.luckily the cover went on no problem. I hope this will turn out ok. Thank you for sharing. I definitely loved all the ingredients of the stuffing. Ellie
Let us know how it turns out, Ellie!
It turned out delicious I was worried with putting that pepper on top but it turned out great. Definitely will make it again and no need for a side dish it was plenty but itself.
That’s so great! And I agree, it doesn’t really need a side dish! 🙂
Hi it’s me Ellie going to be making these stuffed peppers again. Just a question what do I do with the tops? Silly me I don’t remember what I did with the tops.
Hi Ellie! The tops are discarded. 🙂
You could also remove the stem and chop up the pieces to go in the filling!
I have leftover raw meat mixture. Should I freeze as is for later use or should I cook it in a skillet then freeze?
Hi Elizabeth, I would cook and then freeze but please use your best judgement when it comes to optimal food storage and shelf life. Hope that helps!
Going to make these tonight. The video says cook on low for 5-6 hours and the recipe page says low for 3-4 or high for 2-3… which means I’m confused. Help please!:)
Hayley, you can cook on low heat for 3-4 hours or high for 2-3 hours, or until the peppers are tender and the beef is cooked through.
These are fantastic! Not bland at all! I was distracted by my crazy toddlers while I was doing the prep work and completely forgot the cheese in the filling. I just threw cheese on the top when they were done. They were still great, as are all your recipes!
Can you cook these in an instant pot?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, we cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications. But if you try it, let us know how it goes!
Awesome recipe!
Curious – could you sub lentils (green) for the meat to make this vegetarian? How much do you think would be needed?
I’m sure you can Shauna, but since we haven’t tried this ourselves I can’t answer with certainty, especially on the amount. Please use your best judgement when making modifications!
Hi thank you for the reply about the tops of the peppers,silly me you do throw them away. As for the left over stuffing ,I think will cook it up in a skillet and make a dip out of it. What do you think?
What would go with these?
Mine are in the oven now and smell delish.
My absolute favorite side dish is the garlic parmesan roasted potatoes. But please feel free to check out all of my side dish recipes here.
I just made these, substituted turkey for the beef, and did NOT cook the rice. I️m sure it’ll be damn delicious and I’ll let you know about the uncooked rice. First time on your site, but I’ll be back.
P.S. the comments were great!!
Doing this by the book. Do you recommend high or low setting for “best” results?
Either option should work, although I personally prefer the low setting.
Do I to add any liquid to my crockpot? Will it not dry burn? Sorry for my lack of knowledge, but better to ask the question, right? Thanks.
No need for any liquid! 🙂
If I used short, squat peppers, would it be possible to made two layers of peppers in the Slow Cooker? It seems a waste to make just 6.
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Hello! I just made this dish and I loved it! I followed the recipe exactly, minus corn, and cooked on low for 5 hours. My only issue was the peppers got really soft and fell apart as I was taking them out, and there was an inch of liquid in the bottom of the crockpot. Do you have any suggestions for how I can fix that next time around?
Thanks!!
Oh no – I hate it when that happens. But it sounds like the peppers may have been overcooked?
Hi! I want to begin by saying how much I love your recipes! They’re pretty damn delicious Ok, so I totally spaced the fact that I needed to cook the rice first, BUT instead of stuffing the peppers, I chopped them up and mixed everything together (I like to use your recipes for some inspiration and then usually change it a little bit because I have picky twin two year olds lol). After I realized my mistake I added some water to (hopefully) remedy the problem. Do you think it’s going to turn out ok or have any suggestions? Yikes! Thanks! P.S. I know this thread is a cpl years old now but Julia’s comment is totally ridiculous. You’re so good at what you do. It’s too bad that some people feel the need to try to pull others down. Keep up the good work!!!
It’s really hard to say – I hope it turned out okay! 🙂
What do you think about using riced cauliflower in place of the rice?
Sounds amazing!
I used cauliflower rice tonight it turned out good
Great Holly!
Was super excited to try this recipe, but the stuffing was bland! I had added garlic and onion and extra of the seasonings, but still felt like they were lacking in flavor. Will have to add more seasoning next time!
Made these tonight following the recipe exactly and they were just ok to me. Seemed to be lacking in flavor. When I mixed up the filling and while it was cooking it smelled great! But it tasted like something was missing. Also had a problem with a LOT of liquid both in the bottom and inside the peppers. I stabbed a hole thru the bottom of each pepper to drain them before I put the cheese on top. If I were to make these again, I would either pre cook the meat or use dry uncooked rice to absorb some of the liquid. Also would season a bit more and maybe add the cilantro on top instead of in with the filling as it loses its flavor when cooked. Also the peppers were very soft for my liking- but that is to be expected when using the crockpot I suppose! Luckily the peppers and beef were on sale and I had all else on hand so not a huge disappointment. With a little tweaking, these will be fantastic! 1 more thing- i did have a ton of extra filling, I just popped that in the freezer for later use. Not trying to be a downer, just adding my input for others who will try the recipe 🙂
So if I cooked them in the oven should I do anything to the meat or peppers before hand? Or just throw it all together and cook it for an hour at 350?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
Just made these for dinner last night. Made it with ground turkey and quinoa. Everything else was followed on the recipe and it was SO good. For everyone wondering if the peppers are hard, I can assure you they are not! They come out perfect. Form enough to hold the mixture but easy enough to cut through with a fork. We will definitely be making these again! Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
I typically par boil or steam my peppers before filling them. They come out cooked perfectly every time.
Any ideas on how I could cook up leftover meat and rice (& everything mixed together) that did not fit in my 6 stuffed peppers? Somehow I have enough for what it looks like 6 more stuffed peppers! Without having to make a whole different 6 peppers for the same meal in one week? The only problem is that I did not brown the meat before mixing it all together. I’d like to try and cook it in the oven for burritos.
How about using the leftover filling for dumplings/potstickers?
I always have lots of extra too. I brown it on the stoverge top and use as burrito filling. My husband loves it that way and it gets me 2 meals out of one recipe. My kids strongly dislike traditional stuffed peppers but ask for this version. My 8 yo even asked to bring the one leftover to school for lunch. Winning all around!
I make double the recipe and then put the filling around the peppers to fill the crockpot. It absorbs the moisture and gives more filling for everyone, in case one pepper is not enough.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BDhuZBaLTIq/ made it and it was yummy!
I’m trying these now – in the slow cooker and hoping for the best. I could not find any salsa in the house, but since I had a pot of spaghetti sauce cooking on the stove, I used some of that instead – I figured the flavors OUGHT to work. Will let you know. Btw, did you know about slow-cooker liners? You can find them at the grocery store and they are SUCH a help for cleanup and you can avoid greasing the slow cooker!
Love this recipe! Didn’t change a thing!!!
wow, thank you for a great idea! had all the fixin’s and was looking forward to eating stuffed peppers, but putting it off because hate the precooking of the peppers. the crockpot method is definitely the way to go! had read that newer crockpots are hotter than the older ones, so kept a close eye on them while they cooked – only took 1 hr 40 min on high for vegetarian version, then switched to “warm” for another 1/2 hr – perfectly yummilicious:)
Love your blog! I tried this recipe tonight and cooked the peppers on high for about 4 hours in my crockpot. I kept checking the meat and there were parts that were still slightly pink. It would be best to brown the meat beforehand or perhaps cook on low the whole day.
I made these last night . pretty good but I do have to say as usual a huge amount of liquid builds in the bottom of pot and makes the peppers to soft. if you have a rack to raise them off the bottom its best. And my meat wasn’t real lean so that causes more liquid. Its a great recipe and i recommend also doing a 50/50 ground pork/ground beef …. was awesome
Looks yum can’t wait to try them
I will cook the meat before hand next time !!! Did not like the texture of meat but very tender and tasty …!!! Lol just need to remake them again…..:)
Since I am vegetarian, I was a bit skeptical about how this would turn out by substituting the ground beef with vegetarian meat crumbles. It turned out terrific and I will be making this again! Thanks for sharing!
Making these now- they look amazing. Do you find you have way too much filling though?
Not really – you can really stuff the filling into the peppers as they will cook down.
Can you also make this w/o cheese? Or is there a dairy-free option you might recommend?
Yes, you can omit the cheese as needed.
So do we need to cook the rice first? I’m sorry I am probably over looking where you mentioned this! lol
Brittany, please refer to the ingredient list:
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice*
Hi chungah,
Long time admirer! Did you experience about half an inch of liquid at the bottom of the crockpot? Peppers also were filled with liquid… I ended up transferring the peppers to the oven instead. Any tips?
Yes, definitely had a little bit of liquid in the slow cooker but not the peppers…
I have leftover filling and no more peppers! What would you suggest I do with it?
You could pan fry the rest of the filling and eat it with nacho chips, or in a tortilla as a burrito… or even on top of pasta, or rice 🙂
Hi Chungah! Long time admirer but I finally tried this dish and it was amazing. Super yummy! I made a crockpot full to eat all week long. I think this dish tasted even better the next day. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I can’t wait to try another one. Also, do you think this would freeze well?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
These look really yummy! And based on previous comments, they are!! Just a quick question, though: This might sound silly, but does the rice/quinoa need to be cooked beforehand?
oops, sorry! I didn’t read the recipe carefully enough
Cooked slow cooker bell peppers for dinner. Prepared ingredients last night, placed in crock pot and put in refrigerator. I did brown ground beef and sauteed fresh garlic and onion with ground beef. Cooked all day while I was at work. It was delicious, bell peppers were tender and I love the ease in preparing this dish. Definitely recommend this recipe.
I love stuffed peppers and these look delicious! Did you brown your beef first? I see your note that it doesn’t have to be cooked first, but when I’ve made stuffed peppers in the oven, or even ground beef dishes in the crock pot, I usually brown it first.
You can really go either way – it just depends on personal preference.
These look so great! My question: I make stuffed peps in the oven but I steam the peppers first so they are tender. (I have have tried cooking longer in oven without steam and never works.) Will they come out tender from the crock pot? I just don’t like a tough pepper.
Yes, they will be very tender.
Hey girl I seen that you asked and the best way to cook a pepper in the oven is to cut the tops off clean them out and boil them in a big pan for 7 min !!!! After that put salt inside of them and put them on wax paper upside down to cool and drain then stuff them and bake them !!!!! They come out amazing bake them!!!!!
My problem with this is that you clearly cooked all of the stuffing and then shoved them into peppers, didn’t actually cook the peppers, and expected everyone to trust that you’ve actually made them the way you wrote in the recipe. Cooked stuffed peppers may not be the prettiest thing around, but at least it’s honest.
This was made and photographed as the recipe is written, but I appreciate your false accusations.
do you cook the rice/quinoa before putting it in the mixture?
Yes, the ingredient list calls for 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice.
Mine came out EXACTLY like the picture. Why don’t you try it before being rude.
When I made this recipe it turned out pretty darn close to the picture shown, but my peppers were a lot softer and fell apart–but that’s my error. I should have taken them out sooner! I copy these recipes pretty close and add the garnishes, etc. and my husband comments how “pretty” the dishes look when I present them … just follow the recipe! 😉
Wow, you sound like a total bitch. Id hate to be married to you!!
And that comment goes out to JULIA above!
Made these yesterday and they were delish! I used ground turkey instead of beef and browned it first with onions and garlic. Next time I make them I think I’ll add a can of diced green chilies for additional flavor. I may also try making them using mini peppers for serving to a crowd.
I love these peppers. I will have to cook them soon even if it will be without the slow cooker.
If you do not have a slow cooker, I highly recommend this recipe!
Everything is prepared, waiting for morning. Due to two boys with large appetites I’m using a roaster rather than slow cooker, doubled the recipe, and can’t wait to try this delicious sounding meal. As a Dad I look forward to putting in a good day at work AND having a well received, healthy meal for my family prepared when I get home. Thanks and I hope to try more in the future.
Wow! I can’t believe these are made in the slow cooker! Love this!
What would be baking instructions for an oven? 1 hour at 350 ? Covered or uncovered?
I recommend 25-30 minutes at 350, uncovered.
I just made these in the oven and I actually recommend cooking for at least an hour. After 30 minutes the peppers were barely cooked.
Thank you@
Everything about this speaks to me – from dog hair yo guacamole ! Excited as I have all the ingredients on hand!!
Should the bottom of the slow cooker be sprayed with a non stick spray, or brushed lightly with oil?
Yes, absolutely.
Do you need to brown the turkey first
No, like the ground beef, the turkey does not have to be cooked prior to using.
Love your comment about guacamole. For me, it’s always a must! Well, except for maybe ice cream …
can these be frozen after they’re made? Would be great for quick after work meal or for lunch at work. Love your site!
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
I’ve frozen the filling every time I’ve made it. It freezes great!
Do you add your frozen filling directly to the peppers and cook it, or do you defrost the filling first?
Can’t wait to try this one. I can so related to dusting the dog hair off the crockpot!!