Stuffed bell peppers are a classic and well-loved dish in our house and Stuffed Peppers Olé is an all time favorite! Stuffed Peppers Olé are great because they’re super easy to make two ways – for vegetarians and for meateaters. Simply make the base mixture vegetarian and divide into two bowls. Keep one bowl vegetarian friendly and add meat to the other bowl for those who crave it. This is a super easy way to cook for vegetarians and meateaters at the same time. And I love making them because they’re very easy to assemble. What drives me crazy is waiting 50-60 minutes for them to cook!
In my opinion, they perform best in a nonstick pan instead of a glass dish. In the nonstick pan, the outside of the peppers will roast a bit and it’s a welcome addition to the dish without adding more work or an extra step to roast them ahead of time.
If you’re in the mood to nosh on tortilla chips and salsa, put this one on your dinner hit list. They go great together! In fact, I’ve been making these for so many years that I can’t imagine serving them without chips and salsa. They’re a pair (or trio, rather) in my mind.
Below you will find two recipe cards… the first one is the vegetarian version and the second one is for Stuffed Peppers Olé (Two Ways). This one includes browning the meat and an easy way to split the vegetarian filling and add in the meat to half the mixture. If you don’t like cooking veggie and meat dishes together in the same dish, please refer to the notes section at the bottom of the recipe card for options.
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- Bell peppers
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- Halved bell peppers in nonstick pan.
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- 40/60% filling split with meat added.
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- Stuffed peppers with foil lining to contain the meat.
Stuffed Peppers Olé (Vegetarian)
Tasty vegetarian stuffed bell peppers.
Ingredients
- 4 large bell peppers halved
Filling
- 2 cups rice cooked
- 2 cups pepper jack cheese shredded & divided
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 15 oz can spicy chili beans undrained
- 11 oz can Mexicorn drained
- 3 Tbs fresh cilantro chopped
- 1-2 tsp Tapatio hot sauce
Serve with
- Tortilla chips of your choice
- Salsa of your choice
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°.
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Wash and prep bell peppers - cut out just around stems and cut long ways. Remove the seeds and pith.
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Place bell peppers, open side up in nonstick 9"x13" pan. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, mix together cooked rice, 1 cup of cheese, sour cream, chili beans (undrained), corn (drained), cilantro, and Tapatio hot sauce.
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Fill the bell pepper halves with approximately 1/2 cup of filling each and cover with foil.
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Bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until peppers are tender.
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Top each pepper with a bit of the remaining pepper jack cheese and return the pan back to the oven to melt the cheese, approximately 3-5 minutes.
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Serve 1/2 a pepper with tortilla chips and salsa and a fresh green salad.
Recipe Notes
For best results, bake in a nonstick baking pan instead of glass. The bell peppers roast nicely in a nonstick pan.
Stuffed Peppers Olé (Two Ways)
Ingredients
- 4 large bell peppers halved
For meat
- 1/2 lb ground beef or turkey
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
Filling
- 2 cups rice cooked
- 2 cups pepper jack cheese shredded & divided
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 15 oz can spicy chili beans undrained
- 11 oz can Mexicorn drained
- 3 Tbs fresh cilantro chopped
- 1-2 tsp Tapatio hot sauce
Serve with
- Tortilla chips of your choice
- Salsa of your choice
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350°.
-
Wash and prep bell peppers - cut out just around stems and cut long ways. Remove the seeds and pith.
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Place bell peppers, open side up in nonstick 9"x13" pan. Set aside. (See notes below.)
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In a skillet, brown the ground beef with spices. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, mix together cooked rice, 1 cup of cheese, sour cream, chili beans (undrained), corn (drained), cilantro, and Tapatio hot sauce.
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Divide the mixture in approximately in half (60/40%) into two bowls, leaving more in your vegetarian bowl.
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Add browned meat to the 40% bowl and mix well.
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Fill the bell pepper halves with approximately 1/2 cup of filling each and cover with foil.
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Bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until peppers are tender.
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Top each pepper with a bit of the remaining pepper jack cheese and return the pan back to the oven to melt the cheese, approximately 3-5 minutes.
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Serve 1/2 a pepper with tortilla chips, salsa, and a fresh green salad.
Recipe Notes
Two options for separating the vegetarian peppers from the meat peppers...
If using a 9"13" nonstick pan, you can line half the pan with foil and fold it up to contain the meat peppers. Doing this will contain any juices that might ooze out. This how I set them up and it works great!
Of course, you could separate them completely by using two 8x8 nonstick pans.
Give Stuffed Peppers Olé a try and let me know how you like them. Snap a pic of your creation and share on social with #vegetariant.
These peppers are great leftover, but if you want another option, check out our Peppers Olé Scramble recipe.
Enjoy!
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