A delicious filling made with seasoned ground beef, rice, black beans, and corn is baked in colorful bell peppers with plenty of melty cheese. These Mexican Stuffed Peppers are a fun twist on classic stuffed bell peppers.
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Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
My mom’s traditional stuffed bell peppers were a staple in our house growing up and the inspiration for my Italian Stuffed Peppers. But leave it to me to take a classic and add a Mexican-inspired twist. That’s exactly what happened here!
The filling may be very different, but the tried-and-true method is the same, and I’d never stuff and bake a bell pepper any other way. A quick par-bake of the peppers while preparing the filling ensures that they’ll come out of the oven perfectly tender.
And, my friends, this filling is absolutely delicious. So good, you’ll want to grab a fork and eat it straight from the skillet. But don’t! Stuff those peppers, top them with cheese, and bake them for what just might be the most delicious stuffed peppers you’ve ever had.
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Ingredient Notes
- Bell peppers: Choose 6 large or 8 medium bell peppers in any combination of colors. Look for peppers with relatively flat bottoms so they’ll stand upright in the baking dish.
- Ground beef: I like to use lean ground beef for this recipe to keep the filling hearty without being greasy. Ground turkey is a good alternative.
- Taco seasoning: My Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix adds great flavor to the filling, but your favorite store-bought blend works too.
- Fire-roasted diced tomatoes: Add a slightly smoky flavor that works really well with the Mexican-inspired seasonings.
- Rice: Use cooked long grain white rice. Leftover rice is perfect for this recipe, or you can cook a fresh batch while preparing the other ingredients.
- Black beans and corn: Add texture, color, and make the filling extra hearty. Drain and rinse the beans, but there’s no need to thaw the frozen corn.
- Diced green chiles: Canned mild green chiles add flavor without making the filling spicy.
- Cheese: Freshly shredded sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack, or a Mexican cheese blend all work well. Some goes into the filling and the rest is melted over the tops of the peppers.
How to Make Mexican Stuffed Peppers
- Prepare the peppers: Slice the tops off the bell peppers and remove the seeds and membranes. Place them upright in a baking dish with about 1 inch of water. Cover with foil and bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, until slightly tender. Drain the water from the dish.
- Cook the beef: Brown the ground beef in a large skillet, breaking it up as it cooks. Drain off any excess grease, then add the onion and garlic and cook until tender.
- Add the filling ingredients: Stir in the taco seasoning, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, cooked rice, black beans, green chiles, corn, crushed red pepper (if using), and 1 cup of the shredded cheese.
- Finish the filling: Cook over medium heat, stirring until everything is well combined and the cheese has melted.
- Stuff the peppers: Spoon the beef and rice mixture into the prepared peppers, packing the filling in and mounding it slightly on top.
- Bake: Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 375°F for 25 to 30 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the filling is heated through. Remove the foil, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and bake for another 5 minutes, until melted.
Valerie’s Tips
- Don’t skip the par-bake. Giving the bell peppers a head start in the oven ensures they’ll be perfectly tender by the time the filling is heated through and the cheese is melted.
- Choose peppers that stand upright. Look for large, relatively evenly shaped bell peppers with flat bottoms. If necessary, carefully trim a very thin slice from the bottom to help them stand, being careful not to cut through the pepper.
- Pack in the filling. Use a spoon to gently press the filling into each pepper, then mound a little extra on top. Depending on the size of your peppers, you may have some filling left over. It’s delicious served on the side, tucked into tortillas for quick burritos, or saved for an easy lunch the next day.
- Make it lighter. Substitute lean ground turkey for the ground beef and reduce or eliminate the cheese in the filling, if you’d like. With black beans, corn, and bell peppers in the mix, there’s plenty of fiber-rich goodness in every serving.
- Adjust the heat. As written, these stuffed peppers are relatively mild. For more kick, add extra crushed red pepper flakes, use hot diced green chiles, or serve with your favorite hot sauce.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerate: Store leftover Mexican Stuffed Peppers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freeze: Allow the stuffed peppers to cool completely, then wrap them individually or transfer them to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 2 to 3 months for the best quality. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Reheat: Place the stuffed peppers in a baking dish, cover with foil, and warm in a 350°F oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until heated through. For individual servings, place a stuffed pepper on a microwave-safe plate, cover loosely, and microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes, or until heated through.
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Ingredients
- 6 to 8 bell peppers, any color
- 1 pound 85% to 90% lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning, (or store-bought)
- ½ cup diced white or yellow onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 14.5 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 cup cooked long grain white rice, (see note below)
- 4 ounce can diced green chiles, drained
- 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup frozen yellow corn, (no need to thaw)
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- 2 to 3 cups shredded cheese, cheddar, Monterey Jack, or Mexican blend, divided
Optional Toppings
- Sour cream, thinly sliced green onion, chopped avocado, olives, chopped cilantro, diced tomato, salsa
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 °F.
- Slice the tops off the peppers, remove the seeds and trim the ribs, if necessary. Place the peppers in a baking dish and add about 1-inch of water. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until slightly tender. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 375 °F. Remove the peppers from the baking dish and pour off the water. Then, return the peppers to the empty baking dish.
- While the peppers are in the oven, add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to a large sauté pan and place it over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring to break it up, until browned and cooked through. Drain off as much grease as possible from the pan.
- Return the pan to MEDIUM heat, add the onion and garlic and cook until tender. Add the taco seasoning, tomatoes, tomato sauce, beans, cooked rice, green chiles, frozen corn, crushed red pepper (if using), and 1 cup of the cheese. Stir until well combined and continue cooking until the cheese has melted.
- Fill the peppers with the beef mixture, packing it down and mounding it slightly. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 375 °F for 25 minutes to 30 minutes, or until the peppers are very tender and the filling is heated through.
- Remove the foil, top withthe remaining shredded cheese, and bake for an additional 5 minutes until the cheese has melted.
Notes
– Substitute lean ground turkey for the ground beef
– Use brown rice in place of the white rice
– Reduce or eliminate the cheese in the filling
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
Like this? Please rate & comment below!
This post was originally published on January 9, 2016. It has been updated with new text and images.
I just made these and they are delicious. Even my husband said this recipe is a keeper. The only thing I would do differently next time is put half the filling in then add a layer of cheddar cheese then the rest of the filling…we like a lot of cheese. The only thing I did differently because I didn’t have the 8oz can of tomato sauce was I used 2 TBS tomato paste I always have in the freezer. Did just fine.
Can you use uncooked rice and beef instead?
These were so good. Thank you for sharing!
This is a very tasty recipe! Lots of filling leftover so I will freeze and use it to make quesadillas. Thankyou!
Can olive oil, virgin or regular be used instead of vegetable oil?