Unstuffed Peppers - Easy Ground Beef & Peppers Recipe - Mantitlement (2024)

FAQs

Do you cook peppers or ground beef first? ›

Cook the whole green peppers, uncovered in boiling water for about 5 minutes; invert to drain well. Sprinkle insides of the peppers lightly with salt. In a skillet cook ground beef, onion and 1/4 cup chopped pepper till meat is browned and vegetables are tender. Drain off excess fat.

We like recipes that stuff the peppers with raw meat because they take longer to cook. That may seem odd, but it's an important thermal step to take.

No Moisture In, No Moisture Out

Let's say your filling calls for tomato sauce. Rather than spooning it directly into your hollowed peppers, reduce it on the stove until it's thick. Likewise, brown your meat first to allow it to release some of its moisture and fat before going into the pepper.

I definitely suggest par-cooking the bell peppers first, just a little bit before stuffing them. Not only does this help to soften the bell peppers, but it also cuts down on your cook time. As the bell peppers are cooking you can make the filling, shaving off about 20 minutes from your total cook time.

Place the ground meat in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. The most important trick to browning ground beef is using a wooden spoon ($6, Amazon) or heatproof spatula to break up the meat into equal-size pieces as it cooks. This ensures that all the ground beef pieces brown evenly.

Cut the tops off bell peppers and remove the seeds. Cook bell peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain. Sprinkle salt inside each bell pepper and set aside. Place ground beef and onion in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir until beef is browned, about 5 minutes.

Recipes using ground beef, peppers, and onions

You can start by sautéing the peppers and onions in oil or butter until the peppers are soft and the onion is translucent, then add the ground beef and continue to cook together.

Raw food and cooked food should be stored separately in the fridge. Bacteria from raw food can contaminate cold cooked food, and the bacteria can multiply to dangerous levels if the food is not cooked thoroughly again. Always store raw food in sealed or covered containers at the bottom of the fridge.

But if you've had trouble with executing nicely textured stuffed peppers before, consider shortening the time you spend boiling or blanching the peppers to just a few minutes, if not eliminating this step altogether. Another way to pre-cook peppers for a less damp result is to roast them for a bit before stuffing.

I think the key to stuffed peppers is the cooking of the pepper itself. If you pre-cook it, then once you fill it, it tends to be soggy and fall apart. I like my stuffed peppers to hold their shape and be hot all the way through but retain a little bit of crunch.

Why are my stuffed peppers bitter? ›

In addition to not getting enough water, some other possible causes of bitter peppers are: Ripening: Peppers grow sweeter as they ripen and turn from green to red, orange, yellow, or purple. For the sweetest peppers, be sure they're fully ripe before picking.

There are many variations of stuffed peppers (like cheesesteak stuffed peppers) but no matter what filling you choose, the best way to prepare the peppers is to pre-cook them before stuffing because it will help reduce your cooking time.

Bell pepper

Stuffed peppers / Main ingredient

Cook them quickly at 400°F for 20 minutes, although you should always test your meat with an instant read thermometer (160ºF for a stuffing containing ground beef and 165ºF for a stuffing containing ground chicken, ground turkey or pieces of chicken). For softer peppers you can bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes.

Cook the meat first to get that caramelization, then take it out and add in your veggies. The veggies will absorb all of the meaty flavors and scrape up all the delicious bits it left behind. In the end, you'll get caramelized, flavorful meat and tender, not mushy veggies.

Meat first, then vegetables – If you want meat or seafood in your stir fry, cook it first then scoop it out onto a separate plate before cooking the vegetables. You'll add the meat back in at the end.

Cook the meat until nice and brown, stir constantly. In this way you will caramelize the natural sugar and the protein inside the meat so this is gonna give much more flavor to the sauce. For this reason we start first with the meat and not with the vegetable.