Unstuffed Peppers

side shot of black serving spoon scooping unstuffed peppers out of cast iron skillet with cheese dripping down

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Stuffed peppers are great, but unstuffed peppers are even better!!

Prep Time10

Cook Time35

Total Time45

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Servings:

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £2.50 / $3

Equipment

Large Cast Iron Skillet or Large Oven Safe Pan & Wooden Spoon
Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Cheese Grater
Serving Spoon
Jug (for stock)

Ingredients

Unstuffed Peppers

1lb / 500g Ground Beef (low fat, preferably 5%)
1x 14oz/400g can of Chopped Tomatoes
1 1/2 - 1 1/3 cups / 375-400ml Beef Stock
1/2 cup / 100g Long Grain Rice (uncooked)
3 tbsp Tomato Puree (tomato paste in US)
3 Peppers, diced into large chunks (bell peppers)
1 medium Onion, finely diced
3 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
2 tsp Dried Oregano
1.5 tsp EACH: Smoked Paprika, Cumin
1 tsp EACH: Grounder Coriander, Chilli Powder (hot or mild, work to spice preference)
1/2 tsp EACH: Salt, Black Pepper (or to taste, if stock is salty consider reducing salt)
1 cup / 100g EACH: Mozzarella, Cheddar
Olive Oil, as needed

To Serve

finely diced Fresh Coriander/Cilantro
diced Avocado (optional)
Sour Cream (optional)

Instructions

In a large cast iron skillet over high heat, add diced peppers to a drizzle of olive oil and fry until lightly charred. Lower heat to medium and fry the onion until soft, then add in garlic and fry for a couple of minutes longer.
Add in beef and fry until fully browned, then stir in tomato paste and fry for a couple of minutes. Pour in stock and chopped tomatoes, then add oregano, smoked paprika, cumin, ground coriander, chilli powder, salt and pepper.
Stir in the uncooked rice, then keep on a gentle simmer until the rice is cooked through, gently stirring now and then (approx 20mins). If you need to add more liquid to cook the rice just gradually add more stock or water as needed.
Level out the mixture with your wooden spoon, then sprinkle over mozzarella and cheddar. Place the skillet under the grill and cook on high until the cheese melts.
Sprinkle over coriander/cilantro, then serve up and enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) What can I use instead of a cast iron skillet? - If you don't have a cast iron skillet you can just use a large oven-safe pan. Failing that, you can pour it into a baking dish, sprinkle over the cheese then pop it under the grill. For reference, my skillet is 12"/30cm wide, but there's still a little room, so don't worry if your pan is a little smaller.

b) Can I make this ahead of time? - Yep, just allow to completely cool then tightly store in the fridge or freezer. If eating out of the fridge, just reheat in the microwave until piping hot again. If using from the freezer, thaw in the fridge then reheat in the microwave until piping hot again.

c) Ground Beef - I recommend using lean beef, just so it doesn't all turn greasy with the excess fat. If you've only got fatty beef then drain away most of the fat after you've fried it.

d) Calories - Whole recipe divided by 4 with no sides.

Nutrition