Making instant pot stuffed bell peppers can’t get any easier than this! No pre-cooking of peppers or sautéing onion is needed. Simply fill with them and cook under pressure. Easy-peasy comfort food ready in no time!
Guys, have you tried making instant pot stuffed bell peppers? If you haven’t I highly recommend doing so. Juicy sweet peppers, ground beef & rice filling & tomato sauce complement each other and create a delicious dinner!
By the way, if you are looking for more pressure cooker recipes, check these ones out:
- Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Instant Pot Fried Rice
- Instant Pot Sweet Potato Gratin
- Instant Pot Bolognese Sauce
- Instant Pot Chicken Lentil Soup
Ingredients needed to make instant pot stuffed peppers
- Sweet Bell Peppers
- Small Onion
- Ground Beef
- Cooked Rice
- Marjoram
- Salt and Pepper
- Tinned Tomatoes
- Breadcrumbs
- Garlic
How long does it take to cook stuffed peppers in a pressure cooker?
When using medium sized peppers like I did the 8 minutes active cooking time is all it takes to make these instant pot stuffed peppers.
However, the time needed to cook these bell peppers may vary. If you are using very large peppers then you might need to add an extra minute or two to the overall cooking time – just to be sure they are cooked through.
Now I used similar sized peppers but from 2 different producers and I noticed a slight difference in the tenderness. So please don’t be afraid to add more time if needed to adjust it to your needs.
How to make stuffed bell peppers in Instant Pot pressure cooker
If you know how to make beef and rice stuffed peppers in the oven, then all you need to do is use your instant pot instead of the oven. I like making instant pot stuffed bell peppers because it saves me time, energy and the peppers turn out extremely juicy.
To fill the peppers all you need to do is cut off the tops of the peppers. Then remove the seeds and membranes. When you are done, make the filling by combining finely chopped onion, garlic, beef, rice, marjoram, salt, black pepper and half of the tinned tomatoes (without the liquid). I use hands to mix this but you can also use a wooden spoon or normal soup spoon. Just make sure you combine everything properly.
When you are done, fill each pepper to the top.
Now get your Instant Pot pressure cooker, pour in ½ cup water + the remaining tomatoes with juice. Insert in the steam rack and place the peppers onto it. You will fit 4 medium-large peppers in which will serve 4 people.
Lock the lid, place the steam release to SEALING position and press manual. Adjust the time to 8 minutes and you are done! Before opening the pot let the pressure drop naturally. It only takes about 4 minutes in this case.
I suggest letting it cool down slightly before serving as they will be piping hot.
Useful tips
- To make these pressure cooker stuffed bell peppers use any type of rice you like.
- Marjoram can be substituted with oregano.
- You can also add some fresh parsley to the filling.
- I sometimes add ketchup to the tomatoes right before serving to make the sauce richer.
- Great for meal-prep: Cooked stuffed bell peppers can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days!
- Optional – Top these stuffed bell peppers with shredded cheese right before serving!
Check out more Easy Instant Pot Recipes on my blog. Chicken Stock, Tortellini Soup, Chicken Paprikash … they all can be made in your Instant Pot!
Want to see how to make Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers? Watch the video!
Instant Pot Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 medium Bell Peppers
- 1 small Onion
- ½ pound Ground Beef (220 grams)
- 2 cups Cooked Rice , packed (300 grams)
- 1½ tablespoon Marjoram
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 3 tablespoons Breadcrumbs
- 1 can Tomatoes (14 ounces/400 grams)
- ½ cup Water
Instructions
- Rinse the peppers. Cut off the top parts and remove all the membranes and seeds.
- In a bowl, combine together finely chopped onion, ground beef, cooked rice, marjoram, salt, pepper, minced garlic, breadcrumbs and ½ can of tomatoes (without their juice). Mix well using your hand or spoon.
- Fill each pepper with the mixture.
- Add water and the remaining tomatoes (with juices) to the inner pot of the Instant pot. Insert the steam rack and place the stuffed peppers onto it.
- Lock the lid. Turn the steam release to SEALING and press MANUAL. Adjust the time to 8 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally (about 4 minutes) before opening the lid.
- Let the peppers cool down slightly before serving.
Notes
- This recipe was made in a 6-quart/6-liter Instant Pot.
- The cooking time does not include time needed for the pot to come to the pressure and release its pressure.
- If using large peppers you might need to adjust the cooking time slightly to make sure they are tender and the meat is cooked through.
- Marjoram can be substituted with oregano.
- This recipe is enough to fill 4 medium peppers. If you use large peppers you will need more filling.
- Optional: top cooked stuffed peppers with shredded cheese. You can also add some ketchup to the tomatoes to make it thicker and richer.
- The meat to rice ratio can be adjusted to your liking.
Celeste says
Hi are the canned tomatoes puréed, diced, or whole?
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Celeste, I used diced tomatoes. You can also use whole if you have those on hand. Just smash them with a fork or dice with knife. Hope this helps.
Sandy says
I used a can of ro-tel! It was great!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Sounds like a great substitution! Glad to hear you enjoyed it :)
Isabel says
8 minutes is too much. My peppers fell apart :(
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
This may be due to the size of peppers you used. Also the fresher peppers the better. As you can see on the video, my peppers did not fall apart. If you make it next time, you can either try reducing the cooking time slightly or release the pressure after the cooking is finished. This will stop them from cooking any further.
Jessica says
Could I replace the cooked rice for cooked quinoa?
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Jessica, it sounds like a delicious substitution to me and I don’t see a reason why it shouldn’t work! Please let us know how you liked it!
Dale says
Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe. I used ground turkey instead of beef and it was still very delicious just had to cook it a few minutes more to get it to the correct temp. Also used the boil in bag brown rice for a short cut.
Suze says
I used TVP (texturized vegetable protein) in place of meat to make this a vegan meal and it turned out amazing! Looks, smells and tastes like the stuffed green peppers I remember from my childhood. Wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Yay! I am glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting us know that this recipe can be made vegan.
ASHLEY HICKS says
I’m so EXCITED to try this! But, I’m wondering….what did ya’ll pair these peppers with as a side dish? I’m stuck on what it might mix will with.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Ashley, I usually serve them with bread or bread rolls or nothing but some people like serving these with salads, roasted potatoes or steamed veggies. Hope this helps!
Laurie says
Hi There, Stuffed Peppers are my very very favorite food but I have a question when adapting the way I cook into Instant Pot cooking. I usually stuff my peppers, place in a casserole dish filled with tomato sauce, and bake. Can I put the Peppers in the Pressure Cooker without the rack and right in the sauce? I really enjoy the sauce tasting like the peppers and we serve the pepper over elbow mac w/ the sauce. I’m just curious if I’ll get the burn notice if I do it this way. Thank you!
Laurie
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Laurie, I’d say it’s OK to cook them without the rack. If not sure, increase the amount of sauce slightly. Hope this helps :)
Alyssa says
Julia, it’s awesome! I cannot wait to try this. I bet it makes the house smell divine and tastes incredible!
Juliane says
Hello there,
This recipe is for a 6qt since I have an 8qt I am wondering how much water to use? This one here says 1/2 a cup of water plus tomatoes and liquid but I know that the 8qt requires at least 2 cups of liquid. Would 1 cup of water and more tomatoe and it’s juice work?
Thank you
Juliane
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Juliane, yes, your suggestion should work perfectly. Hope you enjoy this recipe!
MBuck says
We love this recipe. This is my go to for stuffed peppers. I generally do a single modification of using Spanish rice instead and it gives it a spicy pop.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
That’s great to hear :) Thanks so much for your feedback and the tip!
Christine says
I made this recipe and it was delicious. I substituted ground turkey and oregano as I didn’t have marjoram. The time of 8 minutes was spot on. Peppers and filling were so good. I will definitely make these again…thank you!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks so much for your feedback and rating, Christine! Hope you find on my blog more recipes you like.
Barbara Wands says
Tried these tonight, thanks for having the recipe available!! Delicious!!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
You are welcome, Barbara. Thanks for finding time to leave a feedback and rating!
Eric says
Fantastic. I added 2 Tbsp half and half and 1 Tbsp Worcestershire to the meat mixture and finished the sauce with 1/2 C Ketchup. Love these!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks so much for your feedback, Eric.
Kim Lippy says
We added an 11.5 oz can of V8 juice into the pot, and a 1/2 c of elbow macaroni. Turned out P-E-R-F-E-C-T!!
Karen says
These peppers are amazing and so easy!
Diana says
I’m not sure what I did wrong but I have a lot of stuffing leftover and Even filled a 5th one. Since I didn’t cook the beef, can I only dispose of it ? I hate being very wasteful.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Maybe the peppers you used were rather small. If you end up with any leftovers, just roll them in a ball and cook them alongside the stuffed peppers.
Emma Toth says
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!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
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!
maggie says
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?
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
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!
Carol says
What do you do if your instant pot doesn’t have a Manual button on it? Do you just do Pressure Cook?
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
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!
Amy says
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?
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
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.
Judie T. says
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.
Cathi says
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.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks so much for finding time to write such a detailed feedback, Cathi! Hope you try more recipes from my blog :).
Kathy says
This recipe was so easy, fast and very tasty.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks so much for your feedback, Kathy!
Susan Davis says
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!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
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.