Stuffed peppers are a nostalgic dinner for me and I’m sure they’re a timeless comforting dinner for so many others as well. They’re hearty, reasonably healthy, and satisfying in a way that few other meals manage. (I mean, a whole dinner tucked into one little veggie? Come on.) The only thing that could make them better? Letting the slow cooker do all the work. These Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers have everything you love about the classic: tender peppers, savory seasoned beef and rice, a rich tomato sauce, and plenty of comforting cheddar on top. The best part is they take only 10 minutes of prep and zero babysitting. Weeknight dinner, done.
What Ingredients Do You Need for Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers?
You just might have most of this already. You’ll need:
6 bell peppers. (Any color works — mix and match as you wish!)
Lean ground beef.
Cooked white rice.
A can of crushed tomatoes.
Cheddar cheese. (Half goes into the filling, half melts on top. Yum.)
Onion powder and garlic powder.
Italian seasoning.
Salt and pepper.
Worcestershire sauce.
And a can of tomato sauce, which becomes the base the peppers cook in.
Does the rice need to be cooked first?
Yes! Since the rice goes into the filling mixture and the slow cooker doesn’t get hot enough to properly cook dry rice all the way through, you’ll want to use already-cooked rice here. Leftover rice from the night before works perfectly.
How Do You Make Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers?
The prep here is pretty darn simple. Just a little chopping, a little mixing, and then your slow cooker handles everything else. The tomato sauce on the bottom of the slow cooker keeps the peppers moist and creates a delicious spooning sauce for serving.
Here’s how it all comes together:
Start by prepping your peppers by slicing off the tops, scooping out the ribs and seeds, and if any of the tops have usable pepper on them, chop those up and add them right into the meat mixture so nothing goes to waste. If your peppers wobble, just trim a tiny sliver off the bottom so they sit flat.
Mix together the ground beef, cooked rice, crushed tomatoes, half the cheese, all the seasonings, and Worcestershire sauce until well combined. Pour the tomato sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker, then stuff each pepper generously with the meat mixture and nestle them in. If you have extra filling, just spoon it right on top.
Does the ground beef go in raw?
It sure does! You don’t have to sear it or cook it first at all. It’ll cook right through with the peppers in the slow cooker, don’t you worry. (And it makes this a really low-effort but high-reward dinner.)
Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6, until the peppers are tender and the meat is cooked through. In the last 15 minutes, top each pepper with the remaining cheddar and let it melt into bubbly, golden goodness. Spoon the tomato sauce from the bottom of the slow cooker over the peppers when serving — it’s too good to leave behind.
Ingredients
6 bell peppers
1 lb lean ground beef
1 cup cooked white rice
1 (10 oz) can crushed tomatoes
2 cups Cheddar cheese, grated and divided
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
Preparation
Slice the tops off of the bell peppers and scoop out the ribs and seeds from the inside. If peppers don’t sit flat, slice off a small part of the bottom to create a flat surface. Finely chop any usable portion of the tops and bottom to use in the meat mixture.
In a bowl, combine the ground beef, rice, crushed tomatoes, half of the cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Add any chopped bell pepper from the tops. Mix together thoroughly.
Pour tomato sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker.
Stuff meat mixture tightly into bell peppers and place in slow cooker. Spoon extra meat mixture on top if you have any.
Cover and cook until meat has cooked through and peppers are soft, 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low.
Before cooking time ends, top peppers with remaining cheese and recover until cheese melts, about 15 minutes. Serve with sauce spooned over the peppers. Enjoy!
