Spicy Stuffed Peppers
Submitted by cattyboombatty
Red bell peppers stuffed with spiced ground beef, rice, toasted walnuts, raisins, and olives, then baked until tender. A one-dish dinner with sweet and savory filling.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
60 minREADY
90 minStuffed peppers are a classic for good reason, but this version takes the filling somewhere unexpected.
Lean ground beef cooks with toasted walnuts, chili powder, and cumin until fragrant and deeply seasoned. Then raisins, pimento-stuffed olives, tomato sauce, and rice fold in to create a filling that’s equal parts savory, sweet, and nutty. Packed into beautiful red bell peppers and baked with their little lids on, they come out tender and gorgeous.
This is comfort food that looks like you fussed over it, even though the filling comes together in a skillet.
Chef Tips
- Pick peppers that sit flat on the counter. Wobbly peppers tip over in the baking dish and leak filling everywhere.
- Toast the walnuts before adding them to the skillet. That extra step deepens their flavor and gives the filling more crunch.
- Cover the baking dish tightly with foil. The steam is what cooks the peppers through evenly without drying out the filling.
- Leftovers reheat beautifully. Add a splash of water to the dish before covering and warming in the oven.
Ingredients
Directions
“Be sure to get flawless, well-shaped peppers that will stand upright in a baking dish to make this one-dish meal decorative, as well as delicious.
" With a paring knife, slice “lids” from peppers and set aside.
Carefully remove seeds and membranes, rinse with cold water and place peppers in baking dish.
Set aside.
In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; add onion, beef and walnuts and cook until beef is browned and onion is golden.
Add chili powder and cumin and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
Stir in tomato sauce, raisins, olives, oregano, instant bouillon and ½ cup water.
Simmer 5 minutes; remove from heat; and stir in rice.
Preheat oven to 400℉ (200℃).
Spoon ¼ rice mixture into each pepper and cover with reserved “lids".
Pour ½ cup of water into baking dish; cover tightly with foil and bake 50 to 60 minutes until peppers can be pierced easily with a knife.
Using a slotted spoon, remove peppers to a platter, garnish with parsley sprigs for “stems” if desired, and serve.
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