Whenever we make a slow cooker version of one of my husband’s favorite dishes, he gets nervous. He doesn’t like messing with perfection, and isn’t sure why we need to make lasagna or tater tot casserole in the crock pot when the oven version is delicious. I finally understand his concerns, because this week, I modified my favorite stuffed bell peppers recipe for Crock Pot Thursday, and I would have been so disappointed if they were a bust.
They weren’t. These slow cooked stuffed bell peppers were flavorful and pretty, and while stuffing the peppers with raw meat and rice made for a more dense filling than I was used to, I liked it. Stuffed bell peppers remind me of fall, and are a meal I like to serve close to Halloween. It reminds me of one year when my dad brought my roommates and I stuffed peppers that my mom had made when he visited me at college for Dad’s Weekend, which happened to fall on Halloween that year. The feeling of having a bit of home with me at college was just what I needed at that particular time, and this dish will always be special to me.
My kids hate stuffed bell peppers, so they had to eat something else, but that’s cool because more for me!
Crock Pot Stuffed Bell Peppers
Crock Pot Thursday: Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 6 large bell peppers
- 1 lb ground beef or sausage
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, divided
- 1/2 cup long grain rice
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2/3 tsp dried basil or dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Cut tops off of bell peppers, saving the tops.
- Scrape out membranes and seeds.
- Mix meat, onion, about 3/4 of the tomatoes, rice, Worcestershire, basil or oregano, and half of the cheese.
- Spoon meat mixture into the bell peppers, filling to the top.
- Place peppers in the slow cooker, standing up.
- Pour water into the bottom of the slow cooker, to keep the peppers moist.
- Dump the rest of the tomatoes on top of the peppers.
- Place tops back on peppers, like cute little jaunty hats.
- Cover and cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 7-8 hours, or until rice and meat are cooked thoroughly.
- About 10 minutes before serving, remove pepper tops and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese on top of meat mixture.
- Let cheese melt, and enjoy!
Notes
Kim
We enjoyed this one. I have never stuffed peppers with raw meat and uncooked rice before, but it worked beautifully! This was by far the simplest stuffed pepper recipe I've done, and it tasted great. The flavors were simple and well-balanced, and the leftovers were tasty. Another make again!
Sarah
These were great. We used beef but seasoned it to give it a little more flavor. Will make again!
Me
I really liked these peppers. My husband said they weren't even in the same ballpark as my usual recipe, and thought the peppers had a bitter taste. He's wrong, but it was fine because I got to eat all the leftovers. I always use sausage in my stuffed peppers, and you should, too.
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My hubby would LOVE these! :)-Ashley
They are so very lovable!
I’ve never made these in a slow cooker before, but this loos so very yummy I will have to. And I am the only one in my family who likes them, so they will all be for me!
Silly family members who don’t know how delicious stuffed peppers are! More for us!
Could I use ground turkey instead of ground beef ?
Absolutely! Enjoy!
These turned out great! I will be making these again. Hubby really liked them.
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed these, and I love that you took the time to come back and comment!
The filling was tasty but our rice didn’t cook through after almost five hours on high. The filling was temping at up to 190 degrees, though, and the pepper texture was perfect (hate when they are mushy!) so I didn’t want to leave it longer. Next time I’ll either cook on low or use a quicker-cooking rice. Or maybe even quinoa? Just wanted to pass that along for others. Thanks for posting!
How long would you think on low
Just a note: I always use instant rice, use uncooked meat, can of tomato soup, can of tomato juice and cut large pieces of smoked sausage to lay around the cooker to give a better flavor to it all. I don’t use cheese or tomato sauce but, of course, that’s your choice. Can either be done in oven or crock pot. I keep it simpke with onion powder and/or garlic powder. Yummy!
This version sounds great, too!
I don’t see where you add the rice? I would have thought you cooked it first but it sounds like you dont? Can you confirm that the rice is mixed with the raw meat?
Thanks!
Yes, rice in with the raw meat. It’ll come out more dense than if you mix cooked rice in. I hope you love it!