The Best Stuffed Green Peppers I've Ever Made

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups water
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 teaspoon olive oil, or as needed
• 6 large green bell peppers, halved and seeded
• 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cups finely shredded mozzarella cheese

Step 1

Bring 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add the rice, give it a quick stir, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and let it simmer gently for about 20 minutes, or until the rice is nice and tender.

Step 2

While the rice is cooking, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and drizzle a bit of olive oil into a 9x13-inch casserole dish to keep the peppers from sticking. Next, bring another pot of water to a boil and drop in the green bell peppers. Let them simmer for about 3 minutes to soften slightly, then transfer them to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and keep them bright and crisp.

Step 3

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef until it’s browned and crumbly—this should take around 5 to 7 minutes. Drain off any excess grease, then add the chopped onion and the cooked rice to the skillet. Pour in the tomato sauce and stir everything together.

Step 4

Now it’s time to season: mix in the garlic, coriander, cumin, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes so the flavors can really meld. Once it’s done, take the skillet off the heat and spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the beef mixture into each pepper half. Top each one with a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese.

Step 5

Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes or so, until the cheese is bubbling and melted to perfection. Enjoy!