You can make unstuffed peppers in 30 minutes! Our recipe for deconstructed stuffed peppers makes a delicious and healthy meal with the same flavors as the classic comfort food recipe.
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This Unstuffed Bell Pepper Skillet will be your new favorite weeknight dinner!
Savory flavors of ground beef, tomato sauce, rice, and bright bell peppers come together in this easy to make dinner that is the perfect balance of convenience and healthy!
In just 30 minutes, you’ll have a hearty and satisfying dinner on your table, leaving you more time to relax (and less dishes to do!)
This is one of our favorite ground beef and rice recipes, with a zesty tomato sauce, rice, and bright bell peppers, all covered with cheese. We think you’ll love deconstructed bell peppers for more than just the flavor though!
Why we love these Unstuffed Pepper Bowls
- Gluten free, and the recipe is easy to adapt. With just a couple of substitutions, you can make it dairy free. If you need something Whole 30 or low carb, you can make our unstuffed pepper bowls recipe.
- An easy skillet meal. Everyone loves a one pan dinner, because there are fewer dishes to wash at the end of the meal!
- Dinner In 30 minutes. This skillet recipe is so quick and easy, you can have dinner on the table in less than an hour!
For more quick healthy recipes, check out these Quick Easy Healthy Meals for Dinner!
ingredients
Most of these ingredients are pantry staples – you may already have a few on hand. The best part is, even with the rising cost of groceries, this healthy meal doesn’t cost much to make. Here’s what you’ll need:
- olive oil
- ground beef – To keep the meal low in fat and calories, we use 85% lean.
- onion, garlic
- pepper, dried oregano, dried basil, dried parsley
- tomato sauce – canned is fine, but we love the flavors in our homemade, crockpot tomato sauce
- uncooked white rice
- beef broth or stock
- red bell pepper – We use red because their flavor is milder than green bell peppers.
- mozzarella cheese
substitutions and variations
Olive Oil: You can substitute avocado oil, butter, or ghee.
Ground Beef: We like 85/15 ground beef. Feel free to use leaner ground beef depending on what you like. To make vegetarian you can use cooked lentils or ground beef substitute. You’ll need to adjust your cooking time. I haven’t tried making this with ground turkey or ground chicken but I think it would work. We love Butcherbox ground beef!
Bell Peppers: We use red, but keep in mind that red, yellow, and orange bell peppers are higher in carbs than green. Any variety will work with this unstuffed peppers recipe.
Tomato Sauce:  Note that canned tomato sauce and jarred pasta sauce are very different. Pasta sauce is much thicker and usually has seasonings added to it. If you can’t find tomato sauce, look for plain pureed tomatoes or crushed tomatoes!
Broth: Store-bought or homemade Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, or vegetable broth all work interchangeably. We always use low or no-salt broth.
White rice: Brown rice should work as a white rice substitute in this recipe, but it will take much longer to cook, and you will need to use more broth. We don’t recommend subbing cauliflower rice because it can be very soggy.
Cheese: Cheese is optional on top. We like freshly grated mozzarella, but provolone or any other mild shredded cheese should work. Or, you can totally omit the cheese to make this dairy free!
tips for creating the best flavor
- Drain any excess grease from the skillet before adding seasonings.
- Wait to add the garlic so it doesn’t burn. It can take 5 to 7 minutes for the onion to soften, but garlic needs no longer than a minute.
- Taste for flavor as the skillet meal cooks. Deconstructed bell peppers are full of flavor, and the longer the seasonings simmer with the ground beef, rice, and tomato sauce, the deeper the flavor will be. Note: Depending on how much salt is in the tomato sauce, you may not need to add any salt.
If you like the convenience of one pan dinner recipes like unstuffed peppers, check out our taco skillet recipe!
How to Make Pepper Skillet
- In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil. Brown ground beef for 10 minutes until no longer pink. Add onions and garlic and sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add spices, tomato sauce, white rice, beef broth and bell peppers to the pot. Stir together, cover and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally until rice is cooked.
- Once rice is cooked, top with mozzarella cheese, cover and let the cheese melt.
serving suggestions
We like to serve this skillet meal as-is because it has a healthy blend of protein, vegetables, and starches. You can serve your dinner in bowls or lettuce wraps. Or, for a fun twist on tacos, serve the filling in tortillas or pita bread.
storing and reheating leftovers of unstuffed peppers
Keep any leftovers in an airtight container in your fridge, and use them up within 4 days.
Reheating: Unlike traditional stuffed bell peppers, this dish is a snap to reheat for a second meal later in the week! You can reheat individual portions at 80% power in the microwave until heated through, or in a baking dish in a 350°F. oven for about 20 minutes. Be sure to cover the pan with foil to keep the moisture in.
Other healthy dinner recipes:
Looking for other easy meals? Check out these 40+ Healthy Dinner Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
Unstuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ cup diced onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 cup dry white rice
- 2 cup beef broth low or no salt
- 3 cups red bell pepper diced (orange or yellow work too!)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil. Brown ground beef for 10 minutes until no longer pink. Add onions and garlic and sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add spices, tomato sauce, white rice, beef broth and bell peppers to the pot. Stir together, cover and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally until rice is cooked.
- Once rice is cooked, top with mozzarella cheese, cover and let the cheese melt.
Notes
- Drain excess grease from the skillet before adding seasonings.
- Preheat your chicken broth in the microwave so that it’s warm when you add it to the pot to save time.
Chelsey Wiener says
A delicious and healthy comfort food! We used ground turkey. It was so good!
Liz says
This was delicious! I’ve made it twice now and it’s on definite repeat. The second time I was low on regular rice and added some cauliflower rice, Win!
Liz Marino says
So glad you liked it, Liz! I usually add cauliflower rice to mine too for extra veggies 🙂
Julia Little says
Made this tonight and my husband, who is the worlds pickiest eater, said it was delicious!! I used both red and orange bell peppers and extra sharp cheese since it’s what I have and that gave a great kick to it. The only thing I did do was add water because our rice had not fully cooked but it didn’t change the flavors too much. I’ll have to figure out why the rice didn’t cook in the allotted time. But definitely on our meal rotation!
Kristen says
This was very good! I will just add a 1/4 tsp salt next time, as that was a bit lacking, even with the broth and cheese. I will also try cheddar cheese rather than mozzarella next time to add a little more tang. With the normal recipe (1 lb beef) it served at least 6. If using a non stick pan, the oil was not necessary, and I used lean beef.
Katlyn says
This was so easy and so yummy!! Anything I can throw together quickly with a newborn and 2 year old is a win! I used bone broth for some extra protein and threw in spinach at the end. So good! And the 2 year old liked it too!
Alison AlBawab says
A huge hit with my family, actually my 21 year old funnily said I could make this again. I did add a pound of bison, just to increase the protein, but otherwise followed the recipe, and it was so tasty. Super easy to make with ingredients I had on hand. This will be in regular rotation for us. Thanks Liz for an easy and delicious meal!
Jaclyn Pearsall says
This is a family favorite! Easy instructions, easy ingredients, easy to make! We love it!
Lilia says
Loved the recipe, healthy, tasty,and didn’t take too much time to make it. Didn’t see salt in the ingredients’ list though…
Elizabeth Marino says
There isn’t salt in this recipe. Crushed tomatoes, broth and cheese are all salty. You can add more salt to taste if you like! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Heather says
Made this for the first time tonight. Bumped up the veggies – added carrot, zucchini, mushroom and broccoli, since I typically add those to my stuffed peppers.
Only had brown rice, and even though I let this cook longer than the recipe called for, the rice isn’t soft enough. Hopefully will soften up when reheated as leftovers.
Overall: very flavorful and tasty!
Laura McNear says
I’ve made this a few times and each time I’m blown away by how easy and delicious it is! I typically have most of the ingredients on hand and its all made in one dish in less than 30 mins. Love it!!
H says
Super quick and easy to make. Lots of substitutions/switches if you have other items on hand. I used ground turkey, brown rice and cheddar cheese because that’s what I had. It was delicious! My whole family enjoyed it! Will definitely make it again!
Gwen says
This was a hit with my family! Great flavor and simple ingredients. I love this site!! I keep making more recipes and they don’t disappoint!!
Phyllis Yarborough says
I cooked this today, but used ground chicken and I added mushrooms. Delicious and quick! Thank you !
Noel Sabilia says
This recipe was AMAZING! It was so easy to make and tasted so good! It was super filling too and didn’t leave you feeling sluggish after! I will definitely be adding this into my regular dinner rotation. It was a quick, convenient dinner to make after work and you can definitely eat it for leftovers. I already sent this recipe to my friends! Definitely would recommend!
Lisa King says
Delicious, easy, healthy recipe made with ingredients on hand. The entire family enjoyed this meal – even my picky eater. Winner!
Mary Smith says
Just added mushrooms. Delish!!
Dawn says
Interested in how you added the mushrooms. Did you replace for the peppers, reduce the peppers , or just add the mushrooms? How many? Thanks!
The Clean Eating Couple says
I’m not sure what this person did, but I would add them when you add the peppers and cook as normal.
Monica Maxwell says
Easy good one! Love it!
Gina says
Could I make this without the rice? OR can I make this with cauliflower rice? Thank you!
The Clean Eating Couple says
This recipe won’t work without the rice, and cauliflower rice will not absorb all of the liquid. Check out these instead!
Diana Dunham says
This was absolutely delicious! I used red and yellow peppers. I prefer their taste over the green. Made as directed other than that.
Vera Barroso says
Oh my goodness this was such a good weeknight meal !! It was delicious !! ( I added a little salt once plated ) and super easy !! Truly a one pot meal !!
Dianne Stoner says
So, so good!! Easy to prepare although the peppers and onions do require a little time to get chopped up. But, it’s a one pan meal!! Definitely make it!!
JoAnn Burdette says
As written the recipe is delicious. Mine had too much liquid. We ate as a soup with freshly grated parmigiana on top. A salad and crusty bread made it just fine. I don’t know if I will try to reduce the beef broth to one cup. With the tomato sauce and only one cup of broth the rice should be able to absorb the liquid and then I will top with mozzarella cheese. Hubby liked it as a soup/stew.
The Clean Eating Couple says
Are you sure you used the right type of rice? this definitely should not be a soup… Next time maybe cook for a few more minutes and see if that helps the liquid absorb.
Katherine says
Made this a few hours ago and it was a hit!!! I used ground turkey, brown rice, 1 red & 1 yellow pepper & instead of beef broth, I used chicken broth. I took it to my parents house thinking I was going to come back home with some and nope – it’s all gone! But I was able to get enough for 5 people to eat off of it! Next time I’m going to add sausage with ground turkey and double everything! Thank you for sharing your recipe! I love The Clean Eating Couple!!
Cindy Janzen says
I was going to do the same!
Sandy says
Recipe was simple to make and tasted good. I will definitely make it again.
katherine morris says
I love stuffed bell peppers and I went ahead and just use green. It was delicious and easy and I already had everything
Sally says
Delicious and so easy to make. Like it better than regular stuffed peppers. I only had chicken stock and cheddar cheese in my pantry so I subbed them in and it came out great. Thanks