Instant Pot Stuffed Bell Peppers
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Instant Pot stuffed bell peppers are a simple dinner with less effort than the oven version. They cook up tender with a flavorful ground beef and rice filling and plenty of tomato sauce to serve alongside.
This recipe is cooked in an Instant Pot (a multicooker with a pressure cooker setting), which is perfect for busy nights when you want a hassle-free dinner.
Before you start
- Rice: this recipe uses cooked rice (leftover rice works well).
- Pressure cook time: 8 minutes for medium peppers. Add 1 to 2 minutes for large peppers.
- Release: let pressure drop naturally for 4 to 5 minutes, then do a quick release.
- Pot size: a 6-quart usually fits about 4 medium to large peppers upright on a trivet.
Ingredients
- Bell peppers
- Onion
- Ground beef or pork (or a combination of these two).
- Cooked rice
- Marjoram
- Salt and pepper
- Tomato sauce
- Breadcrumbs
- Garlic
- Sugar – optional, helps balance the sauce.
- Water – for a richer flavor, use chicken or vegetable stock.
Tools you’ll need
- Measuring cups and spoons or a scale.
- Mixing bowl and fork (hand will also do the trick).
- Cutting board & knife – For this simple cutting any knife will work here.
- 6-quart (6-liter) Instant Pot or 8-quart (8-liter).
Possible variations
- Cheese: either as a topping or mixed in the stuffing mixture.
- Meat: ground pork or a combination of ground pork and beef.
- Spicy: add a few finely chopped jalapenos in – to your taste.
- Cauliflower rice: many of our readers used cauliflower rice instead of white rice. If using cauliflower rice, drain or squeeze out excess liquid so the filling doesn’t turn loose.
- Quinoa: another great option and substitution for rice.
What can I serve with stuffed bell peppers
- Salad: Any leafy salad with a vinaigrette or dressing works great.
- Bread: It’s great to soak up the tomato sauce. What kind? Choose what you like: Crusty sourdough, garlic bread, store-bought or homemade bread – pick your favorite!
- Cooked vegetables: Green beans or broccoli are the easiest options.
- Mashed potatoes are also great here if you want something cozy to catch the sauce.
Recipe FAQ
Yes, you can. Uncooked stuffed peppers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge up to 24 hours before cooking. To make sure everything is cooked through, add 1 or 2 minutes to the pressure cook time. Or you can prep the filling a day in advance and refrigerate, in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap.
It is possible, but I don’t recommend it. The filling itself will be fine, but the peppers will change their texture. Perhaps try freezing uncooked stuffed peppers instead. That will give you a slightly better texture.
For medium peppers, count with 8 minutes of active cook time. With large peppers, add an extra 1 to 2 minutes. Keep in mind the 8 minutes is the pressure time. You’ll also need time for the pot to come to pressure, plus a few minutes for the release.
This recipe is written for cooked rice. Uncooked rice can stay firm inside the peppers and can make the filling dry. For consistent results, use cooked rice.
It usually means the sauce on the bottom is too thick, or there isn’t enough thin liquid. Add a splash of water or stock and make sure the peppers sit on a trivet so they aren’t sitting directly in the sauce.
Useful tips
- Any type of cooked rice will work here.
- Marjoram can be substituted with oregano. Italian seasoning is another good option.
- You can also add some fresh parsley to the filling.
- Great for meal prep: Cooked stuffed bell peppers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days if stored properly.
- Optional: Top stuffed bell peppers with shredded cheese right before serving.
- Peppers: I prefer yellow and red ones as they have a milder taste. Green peppers tend to taste bitter.
- Don’t pack the filling too tightly. A gentle fill helps everything heat evenly.
More instant pot recipes to try
- Chicken Risotto: Our readers’ favorite. So easy, done in a pressure cooker.
- Tortellini Soup: This is the perfect weeknight dinner. Serve it with crusty bread and you are in for a treat.
- Chicken Paprikash: A tasty chicken dinner (my favorite) with plenty of sauce, cooked without a hassle.
Instant Pot Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 medium bell peppers see notes 1 and 2
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- ½ pound ground beef or pork, (220 grams)
- 2 cups cooked rice (300 grams)
- 1½ tablespoons marjoram divided, see note 3
- 1½ teaspoons salt divided
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
- 1 can tomato sauce divided, (14 ounces/400 grams), see note 4
- ½ cup water or chicken stock
- ½ teaspoon sugar optional
- 1 teaspoon olive oil optional
Instructions
- Rinse all the peppers. Cut off the tops, then remove the membranes and seeds.
- In a medium bowl, combine 1 small finely chopped onion, ½ pound ground meat, 2 cups cooked rice, 1 tablespoon marjoram, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 2 minced cloves garlic, 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs and 4 tablespoons of tomato sauce (reserve the rest for later). Mix with a fork or hand until well combined.
- Fill each pepper with the mixture.
- Pour water (or chicken stock) and the remaining tomato sauce to the inner pot of a 6-quart (6-liter) Instant Pot. Stir in ½ teaspoon sugar (optional), ½ teaspoon marjoram, generous pinch of salt (skip it if using salty stock) and a drizzle of olive oil (optional).
- Insert the trivet and arrange the stuffed peppers on top.
- Lock the lid and set the steam release valve to SEALING. Press MANUAL (older models) or PRESSURE COOK (newer models) and set to 8 minutes on High Pressure. When done, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then carefully turn the valve to VENTING to release the remaining pressure. Or wait until the pin drops itself (natural release).
- Let the peppers rest for a few minutes before serving.
- Serve the peppers in the sauce or ladle the sauce over each portion.
Video
Notes
- Any color will do but keep in mind that green peppers tend to taste bitter.
- For large peppers, add 1 to 2 minutes to the pressure cook time to make sure the meat is cooked through. Ground beef and pork should reach 160°F (71°C).
- Marjoram can be substituted with oregano or Italian seasoning.
- Tomato sauce can be substituted with tomato passata or flavored tomato sauce.
- This recipe is enough to fill 4 medium peppers.
- Optional: top cooked stuffed peppers with shredded cheese.
- The meat to rice ratio can be adjusted to your liking.
- The cooking time does not include time for the pot to come to pressure and release pressure, usually about 20 to 25 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and may vary based on ingredient brands, substitutions, and portion sizes.
Can this be made in a crockpot?
Hi Linda. Sorry, but I have not tested this recipe in a slow cooker so I have no idea.
Hi! I want to do 3 servings in my 3 quart. Would that affect the cooking time?
Hi DJ. Now I don’t have a 3 quart instant pot so can’t say for sure. However, I would leave the cooking time the same. Hope this helps.
Do you brown the hamburger before putting them in the pot?
No, there is no need.
Too much filling for 4 peppers. The flavor was good and peppers were tender, but I would split them and lay them across the rack next time. What do I do with the juices in the pot? It seems a waste to just put tomatoes in the pot instead of putting on top of peppers. I fried up the leftover filling to serve beside the filled peppers. Will make again with some modifications
Hi Gayle. Thanks for your feedback. I used large peppers so if you buy smaller ones you will more likely end up with some leftover filling. This you can just throw in or form a small ball. Also the tomatoes act as liquid and we just pour this over the peppers when serving them.
I just made this and it was delish! I used turkey meat and brown rice along with roasted tomatoes, but I only had 1 long half pepper that was frozen and one small a yellow pepper that was fresh. So I had a lot of extra rice mix so what I ended up doing was putting that and the peppers in a pot in the pot situation and cooked it that way with the sauce underneath in the inner pot. It turned out pretty good I tested after about 10 minutes of cooking 5 minutes of natural release and the temperature was perfect. Then I added the sauce to the top of them and some cheese decided to cook them for another couple of minutes I just cooked it until it beeps that it was on pressure and then released the pressure. Excellent recipe. Thank you so much for making stuffed peppers available to me to make it anytime! This one is definitely a keeper!
That’s so good to hear, Cassie! Thanks for finding time to leave such a detailed feedback. Our readers will definitely appreciate it!
I loved stuffed bell peppers and this recipe just made me love them more!!!
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Yay! :) Thanks for your feedback, Joe.
This recipe is my husbands favorite stuffed pepper recipe. I have made it several times. Each time, he says, hope there’s leftovers for lunch! Thank you!
You are welcome, Joanne! Thank you for your feedback.
Can you use cauliflower rice instead of regular rice? Trying to stay as low carb as possible. Thank you
Hi Carl. I haven’t tried it, but I think it should work. Will be trying it myself next time so thanks for the idea!
I used cauliflower rice..just make sure it is really dry..the first time I didn’t and it was so mushy in texture i used frozen kind i cooked.The next time I made sure to give it a good squeeze before adding and it came out perfect
Great basic recipe. Added some fresh corn cut from the cob and some barbecue sauce over the cooked peppers. Delicious.
Thanks so much for your feedback, Marianne!
These peppers are amazing! We love stuffed peppers but they’re so hard to pull off when you work out of the house all day. Plus it’s 116 in Phoenix and no! No oven! I did swap out the rice for riced cauliflower and you can’t even tell the difference.
THANK YOU I’m making these tonight for the second week in a row.
I love your substitution – will be trying it myself next time! Thanks for the inspiration :)
You can always make the stuffing and stuff the pepper in advance and freeze it….That way you can come home throw a few peppers in the instant pot and go take a bath and clean up while it cooks..When you are done cleaning supper will already be cooked.
This recipe was fast and delicious! I used both marjoram and thyme about half of each totaling 1-1/2 TB as the recipe calls for and about 1 TB of Worcestershire. The one thing that I prefer is a thicker sauce this sauce was more soupy. The flavor was delicious and I would make it again and recommend it as well.
Thanks for your feedback, Ann G!
This is our favorite instant pot recipe to make at home! I’m currently visiting my mom and want to make it, but she only has a slow cooker. Do you have a suggestion for time conversion in slow cooker or oven?
Hi Jessica. It will take about 45-60 minutes in the oven (I would cook it at 350 Fahrenheit/180 Celsius), but I would recommend cooking the ground meat beforehand. Then, you don’t have to worry – all you want is the peppers to soften to your liking and the filling to be heated through. Hope this helps.
Hi from the South Oregon Coast (Bandon, OR). I have only cooked hard boiled eggs in my Instant Pot 3 qt Mini Duo. They came out great! I want to try Stuffed Bell Peppers and saw your recipe which I like a lot. Reading through your instructions, it would be helpful for me to know that you are using a 6 Qt Instant Pot at the start of your recipe rather than at the bottom. I am not ready to make adjustments yet. That will be the first thing to do with the recipe. Then I know all of the different Instant Pots ARE different! You say to press MANUAL which I don’t have on my machine, I have PRESSURE COOK. Would that be the same thing? What changes would I made to your recipe to fit te 3 Qt that I have? I am thinking not as many peppers and cut down on ingredients accordingly. How about water? Still 1/2 cup? As far as cooking would it still lbe 8 minutes? I can’t think of anything else. Maybe I will also be learning how to adjust a recipe! Any help you can provide will be HELPFUL!
Hi Susan. All my recipe testing for pressure cooker recipes is done in a 6-quart instant pot.I have never tried cooking in any other kind or size of a pressure cooker, so I do not know if different cookers work differently, for that reason I always state what I use for recipe testing. As for your 3-quart pressure cooker – I’ve read that some recipes might need longer cooking time as it has lower pressure. However, I am afraid I don’t know if this is tru or how many extra minutes you need to add. Perhaps add 2 extra and check it if it is cooked through. If not, you will have to add more time. The amount of water will stay the same though as you need liquid so that the pot can come to pressure. Hope this helps.
This recipe was so easy, fast and very tasty.
Thanks so much for your feedback, Kathy!
I made this special treat for my darling husband. But of course it helped me too. I had two peppers (one green and a larger red one) that needed to be used. I also had some rice in the freezer and some left over groung beef. I basically cut the recipe in half, except for the tomatoes. I put in half a can of the tomotoes, put the balance in the base. Weighed out the right amount of meat and rice. Added part of a large onion and half of the suggested spices. After stuffing the peppers, there was some filling left. I placed this in a ramikin and nestled it in with the peppers. Everything came out great. DH would have liked more tomatoe flavor in the pepper (spooned on some from the bottom) and a bit more salt and pepper, but those were his person tastes. I ate the filling from the ramkin and thought it was fine. Thanks for providing this simple meal.
Thanks so much for finding time to write such a detailed feedback, Cathi! Hope you try more recipes from my blog :).
These are good and easy to make. I think I need to cook them a little longer next time. But I will make them again.
Do you brown the hamburger first? Our burger isn’t very lean, so I am wondering if I could brown it and drain it first and then mix it up with everything and put in the peppers?
Amy, I don’t. I am not sure how fatty your ground meat is but I would probably try making it without browning first. However, if you want to reduce the fat for health reasons, then I would reducing the pressure cooking time at least by a minute. Hope this helps.
What do you do if your instant pot doesn’t have a Manual button on it? Do you just do Pressure Cook?
Hi Carol. Yes. It’s the same function. The old instant pots have MANUAL button while the newer versions have the PRESSURE COOK. Happy instant pot cooking!
Hi there, can i sub the tomatoes with anything or simply leave them out? my husband is allergic. Is it crucial for the liquid in it or is it simply for flavour?
Hi Maggie. Tomatoes are added for both reasons you mentioned – the liquid (in the pot) and the flavor (in the meat mixture). However, if you husband is allergic to them, you can omit them. You will lose some flavor but it’s worth giving a go. They will just taste a little different (I think my mom don’t use tomatoes in her stuffed pepper recipe). Add 1 cup of water to the pot instead of tomatoes. You don’t need to add anything to the meat mixture, but you will get less filling so perhaps add a bit more meat or rice. Hope this helps! Please let us know if you give it a go!
I simply subbed lentils for the ground body parts to veganize this recipe and my family loved it! Thanks for the instructions, I probably would have forgot to use the steamer basket!
Hi Emma, thanks for letting us and our readers know that this can be turned into a vegan meal. Lentils sound like a great substitution!