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Classic Stuffed Bell Peppers with Meat and Rice

The tastiest, most crowd-pleasing version there is! Classic bell peppers stuffed with meat and rice show up on a lot of tables come late summer and fall. They're hearty, fragrant, and incredibly satisfying. They're also easy to make — and you can stuff the peppers ahead of time and freeze them for later.

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Pepper stuffed with meat and rice classic
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Composition / ingredients

Servings:
Translation table of volumetric measures
Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe
By weight of the composition:
Proteins 19 % 4 g
Fats 48 % 10 g
Carbohydrates 33 % 7 g
129 kcal
GI: 57 / 43 / 0

Cooking method

  1. Step 1:

    Step 1

    Gather your ingredients. The best-tasting peppers come from seasonal produce — they're more fragrant, have thinner walls, and cost less. Medium-size peppers are easiest to stuff, and the color doesn't matter. Use any ground meat you like — a pork-and-beef blend, or chicken and turkey, all work. I use long-grain rice, but round (short-grain) is fine too.

  2. Step 2:

    Step 2

    Cook the rice until half done. Put it in a saucepan and rinse under several changes of water until it runs clear. Cover with cold water and set over low heat. Stirring now and then, cook until the rice is about halfway done — 10–15 minutes, depending on the variety.

  3. Step 3:

    Step 3

    Drain the rice in a colander and let it cool.

  4. Step 4:

    Step 4

    Finely chop the peeled onions.

  5. Step 5:

    Step 5

    Set a skillet over low heat and warm the oil. Add the onion.

  6. Step 6:

    Step 6

    Sauté it until golden, about 5 minutes.

  7. Step 7:

    Step 7

    Wash, peel, and grate the carrot on the fine side of a grater.

  8. Step 8:

    Step 8

    Add the grated carrot to the onion in the pan and stir well.

  9. Step 9:

    Step 9

    Cook the vegetables another 5–10 minutes.

  10. Step 10:

    Step 10

    Put the ground meat in a large bowl and knead it lightly with your hands.

  11. Step 11:

    Step 11

    Add the half-cooked rice to the meat.

  12. Step 12:

    Step 12

    Then the sautéed onion and carrot.

  13. Step 13:

    Step 13

    Season the filling with salt and black pepper and mix everything well.

  14. Step 14:

    Step 14

    Make the sauce. Put the sour cream and tomato paste in a bowl.

  15. Step 15:

    Step 15

    Add the salt and water and whisk until smooth.

  16. Step 16:

    Step 16

    Wash the peppers and remove the stems and seeds. Cut a circle around the top of each pepper with a knife.

  17. Step 17:

    Step 17

    Now give the stem a gentle tug — the seed core will come out right along with it.

  18. Step 18:

    Step 18

    Trim out the white ribs, then rinse the cleaned peppers under running water.

  19. Step 19:

    Step 19

    Now everything is ready — peppers, filling, and sauce.

  20. Step 20:

    Step 20

    Stuff each pepper, packing the filling in firmly all the way to the top.

  21. Step 21:

    Step 21

    Here's how nicely mine turned out.

  22. Step 22:

    Step 22

    Stand the stuffed peppers upright in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven.

  23. Step 23:

    Step 23

    Pour the sauce over the peppers so they're about two-thirds submerged (top off with a little water if needed). Drop in the bay leaf and set the pot over the heat.

  24. Step 24:

    Step 24

    Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over medium heat for 30–40 minutes.

  25. Step 25:

    Step 25

    Serve the stuffed peppers hot with the sauce spooned over, either as a main dish or with a side. Enjoy!

  • Stuffed bell peppers are a staple of Moldovan and Romanian cooking. The filling can be all sorts of things: rice and meat, cheese, grains, fish, even shrimp. In summer and fall, when peppers are at their best, you can make them as often as you like.
  • To get consistently good results with rice dishes, it helps to know how to pick the right rice and cook it well.
  • You can swap the tomato paste for canned tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, or ketchup.
  • Use filtered or bottled water with a neutral taste for cooking. Tap water can sometimes leave an off flavor in the dish.

Caloric content of the products possible in the composition of the dish

  • Sour cream with 30% fat content - 340  kcal/100g
  • Sour cream of 25% fat content - 284  kcal/100g
  • Sour cream with 20% fat content - 210  kcal/100g
  • Sour cream of 10% fat content - 115  kcal/100g
  • Sour cream - 210  kcal/100g
  • Raw wild rice - 353  kcal/100g
  • Brown raw rice - 360  kcal/100g
  • Boiled brown rice - 119  kcal/100g
  • White fortified raw rice - 363  kcal/100g
  • Fortified boiled white rice - 109  kcal/100g
  • White rice, steamed, with long grains raw - 369  kcal/100g
  • Steamed white rice, boiled with long grains - 106  kcal/100g
  • Instant dry rice - 374  kcal/100g
  • Instant rice, ready to eat - 109  kcal/100g
  • Rice - 344  kcal/100g
  • Sweet pepper - 27  kcal/100g
  • Carrots - 33  kcal/100g
  • Dried carrots - 275  kcal/100g
  • Boiled carrots - 25  kcal/100g
  • Bay leaf - 313  kcal/100g
  • Ground black pepper - 255  kcal/100g
  • Mixed minced meat - 351  kcal/100g
  • Vegetable oil - 873  kcal/100g
  • Tomato paste - 28  kcal/100g
  • Salt - 0  kcal/100g
  • Water - 0  kcal/100g
  • Onion - 41  kcal/100g

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