Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
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?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
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…..:)