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Tomato Basil Stuffed Bell Peppers
This nutrient dense meal will leave you full and satisfied! Meal prep it for the week, make it for at-home date nights, or serve it for guests. Everyone will love this recipe and it’ll be your new go-to.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner, Meal Prep
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian/Hungarian
Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
1 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper
6 garlic cloves, minced
Optional: 1/4 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes
1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
A few handfuls of fresh organic spinach
1 (15 oz) can red beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup cooked rice
6 medium to large bell peppers
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Prep the bell peppers by cutting off the tops and removing the ribs and seeds. Rinse out any extra seeds, then place the peppers in a baking dish.
- Place the bell peppers in the oven to allow them to start cooking and softening before stuffing them.
- Preheat a large skillet or pan over medium high heat. Add diced onion and ground beef, breaking up the meat as you stir. Cook for 6-8 minutes or until the meat is cooked and no longer pink.
- Add 1 tsp salt (save the rest for later), the black pepper, Italian seasoning, and minced garlic and mix to combine. Also add the sun-dried tomatoes if using them.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes and the chopped basil leaves.
- Then stir in the spinach and simmer uncovered on medium low heat for 8-10 minutes until the spinach is wilted.
- Add the beans and rice to the mixture along with the additional 1/2 tsp salt. Stir to combine. Taste test and adjust seasonings to your liking.
- Remove the bell peppers from the oven and stuff each pepper with the mixture. Top each pepper with shredded cheese if desired. It’s still delicious without it! If you don’t want cheese, you can add extra tomato sauce on top of each.
- Bake for 45 minutes, until the peppers are tender.
- Please leave feedback and your review if you made this recipe, this helps me tremendously! Thanks!
Notes
Feel free to use quinoa or lentils instead of rice.
To freeze: make the recipe, let cool, then freeze in an airtight container.
The greens in this make it unique and more nutritious than the typical stuffed pepper recipe. Very flavorful and nourishing. I won’t make stuffed peppers the old way again!
Awwh yay!! Thanks so much 🙂