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The bell peppers, carrots and tomatoes were fresh from the garden; still warm from the sun. I scraped the dirt from those vibrant little carrots myself. I posted stuffed bell peppers a couple years ago using a mix of ground turkey and pork.
These are the beef version. Beef stuffed bell peppers are a meal in themselves; a classic Russian and Ukrainian dish. Enjoy!
Ingredients for Beef Stuffed Bell Peppers:
10-12 medium bell peppers (any color)
2 lbs ground beef (I used ground chuck)
2 1/2 cups cooked white rice
2 whole eggs, minus the shell of course (two yolks work well too if the whites don’t agree with you).
1 tsp salt
3 medium carrots, peeled and grated
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cups fresh chopped tomatoes (1 large tomato or 2 small)
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and pressed
Handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped (1 tbsp dried parsley would work as well)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt plus 2 Tbsp vinegar for boiling water
Ingredients for the Sauce:
2 medium carrots, grated
1 Tbsp mrs dash, or your favorite seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 heaping tbsp sour cream
2 cups freshly chopped tomatoes or 1 cup marinara
2 cups reserved water from bell peppers
Prepping the peppers:
1. Cut the tops off each pepper and remove the junk from the inside with your hands.
2. Fill a large soup pot 2/3 with water and bring to a boil. Add 2 Tbsp vinegar and 1 tsp salt.
3. Place all of the peppers and their lids in the pot. Add more water if needed to cover the peppers. Cover and cook 3 minutes, then turn off the stove and let the peppers sit in hit water while you prep the rest of the ingredients (about 30-40 minutes). Reserve 2 cups of water from the pot.
The Meat Mix:
1. In a large skillet, heat 4 Tbsp oil over medium/high heat. Add 3 grated carrots, 1 chopped onion, 2 cups chopped tomato and season with parsley, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Saute until soft. Press 2 cloves of garlic into the skillet and saute another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl (I use my KitchenAid with paddle attachment for this) mix: 2 lbs ground beef, 2 1/2 cups cooked white rice, 2 whole eggs and 1 tsp salt. Mix in the sauteed carrot mix until well combined.
4. Loosely stuff the peppers with the beef mix. Fill them but don’t pack the mixture in. Arrange them in a dutch oven or a large soup pot with tight fitting lid.
The sauce for the Beef stuffed bell peppers:
1. In a large skillet, saute 2 grated carrots, 2 cups freshly chopped tomatoes (or 1 cup marinara). Stir in 1 Tbsp Mrs. Dash, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar and a heaping Tbsp of sour cream. Add 2 cups water and stir to blend.
2. Pour the sauce over the stuffed peppers and cover peppers with their lids.
Two Ways to Cook beef stuffed bell peppers:
1. If using the lidded soup pot, bring to a light boil, then cover and simmer 40 minutes over medium heat.
2. If using a dutch oven (recommended method), cover with lid and bake at 450 ˚ F for 20-25 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 ˚ F and bake 1 hour.
Serve with a generous dollop of sour cream.
Notes: To reheat leftovers, cut the pepper in half and spoon the sauce over each half.
Also, if you have leftover meat mix, saute up some meatballs.
Beef Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients
Ingredients for Beef Stuffed Bell Peppers:
- 10-12 medium bell peppers, any color
- 2 lbs lean ground beef
- 2 1/2 cups cooked white rice
- 2 whole eggs, minus the shell
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and grated
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cups fresh chopped tomatoes, 1 large tomato or 2 small
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and pressed
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped (1 tbsp dried parsley would work as well)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt , plus 2 tbsp vinegar for boiling water
Instructions
- Cut the tops off each pepper and remove the seeds from the inside with your hands.
- Fill a large soup pot 2/3 with water and bring to a boil. Add 2 Tbsp vinegar and 1 tsp salt.
- Place all of the peppers and their lids in the pot. Add more water if needed to cover the peppers. Cover and cook 3 minutes, then turn off the stove and let the peppers sit while you prep the rest of the ingredients (about 30-40 minutes). Reserve 2 cups of water from the pot.
The Meat Mix:
- In a large skillet, heat 4 tbsp oil over medium/high heat.
- Add 3 grated carrots, 1 chopped onion, 2 cups chopped tomato and season with parsley, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Saute until soft. Press 2 cloves of garlic into the skillet and saute another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl (I use my Kitchen Aid with paddle attachment for this) mix: 2 lbs ground beef, 2 1/2 cups cooked white rice, 2 whole eggs and 1 tsp salt. Mix in the sauteed carrot mix until well combined.
- Loosely stuff the peppers with the beef mix. Fill them but don't pack the mixture in. Arrange them in a dutch oven or a large soup pot with tight fitting lid.
The sauce:
- In a large skillet, saute 2 grated carrots, 2 cups freshly chopped tomatoes (or 1 cup marinara). Stir in 1 Tbsp Mrs. Dash, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar and a heaping tbsp of sour cream. Add 2 cups water and stir to blend.
- Pour the sauce over the stuffed peppers and cover peppers with lids.
Two Ways to Cook these:
- If using the lidded soup pot, bring to a light boil, then cover and simmer 40 minutes over medium heat.
- If using a dutch oven (recommended method), cover with lid and bake at 450°F for 20-25 minutes, then reduce heat to 350˚ F and bake 1 hour.
Serve with a generous dollop of sour cream.
Nutrition Per Serving
It’s another HIT Natasha! I’ve made several of your recipies on Thursday evening (my night to cook) and this one knocked it out of the park. Thanks for lending your expertise to us wannabe cooks!
That’s great, Kevin! You’re very welcome. I’m glad you love the recipes. 🙂
Wow wow wow… the tomato mixture is the bomb girlfriend! My husband & I truly enjoyed the flavors but I did add a couple shakes of red pepper flakes. In fact I’m going to use this recipe to make canned sauce, it’s that good! We always use your recipes because it always tastes great! My presentation isn’t too good but it tastes great.
Hi Cherie! That’s great. I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. We’d love for you to share your canning process, if you’re able to. 🙂
Hello,
Can you make it in pressure cooker, instead of oven/stove top?
Hi Al, I have not tested this recipe in the pressure cooker.
I did half the recipe and it fit perfectly in my Dutch oven cast iron. I added marinara to the fresh tomatoes for the sauce and ketchup for more flavor. Very delicious and tasted like home 🙂
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Suzanne!
Delicious as always! Natashas kitchen is my go-to for inspiration and recipes. My son requested stuffed peppers for dinner tonight and this recipe NEVER disappoints!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying our recipes, Jess! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Hands-down the best stuffed bell peppers ever❤️❤️ I’m gonna use this recipe to make stuffed cabbage… I doubled on the sauce it was so good… I use the marinara sauce instead of chopped tomatoes…I also used 1 pound of ground beef 80/20 and 1 pound Johnsonville hot sausage links…Thank you so much Natasha!!!! you’re the best❤️
I love it! Thank you Kim for sharing your experience making this recipe. I hope it becomes a family favorite!
Oops never mind just saw the pic
Of raw meat
I was searching for a good bell pepper recipe. Past endeavors led to under-cooked rice, or under cooked pepper, long cooking times, or overly compacted stuffing, or tomato sauce that didn’t integrate well into the filling. This is the best. I am surprised that the sauce is watery yet flavorful. Perfect. I finally have a go-to tasty stuffed bell pepper recipe.
Thank you Natasha for sharing your technique and combination. Winsome.
You’re welcome!! Thank you for that awesome feedback!
oh, i forgot to mention tha I didn’t use sourcream because I didn’t have any. Ofcourse this is why the sauce was more watery. But anyway perfect. Just like my cousin made them for me last summer in Uzhgorod, Ukraine.
Thank you for sharing that with me!
Is the meat cooked first or do you mix raw meat with the rice?
We used raw meat.
Prepped my peppers in the instant pot for 3 minutes then QPR. Used tongs to empty them of collected water before setting them in my Staub glass-lidded brasier to cook in the oven. Since I’d used already cooked foods primarily I just baked these at 425 for 15 minutes then 45 minutes at 350. Excellent!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Hi Natasha,
Can you share why you add eggs in this recipe?
I have been making stuffed papers before but without eggs.
Hi Natalia, it helps to keep the mixture together.
Hi Natasha, i don’t have a dutch oven, wondering if you know how well this recipe would work if i used a regular bake dish with foil on top.
Hi Elina, I would suggest using the stove top method listed above but you can place them in a single layer in a deep roasting pan and cover tightly with foil. You can use a regular soup pot to precook the peppers (please see “prepping the peppers” section above).
The best stuffed peppers recipe I have tried! So tasty and so easy!
I’m so happy to hear that, Anna! Thank you for that awesome feedback!
I made a double portion and would like to freeze half for later.. should I freeze them cooked or raw?
Thank you!!!
Hi Rita! I haven’t tried freezing them but if I did, I would freeze them after they are cooked and then reheat them slowly either in the oven or stovetop. I would pack 2 at a time into quart sized bags and freeze with some of the juice, removing as much air from the bag as possible before sealing. This method works really well for freezing stuffed cabbage so I assume it would work just as well with these. If you test it out, let me know how you liked it 🙂
Hi Natasha, I recently found your website and love your videos and the recipes! Thank you for your efforts! Question, why do you add vinegar and salt to the water when boiling the peppers?
I have a bumper crop of peppers and fresh tomatoes and grass fed beef so will make these today! will give you my outcome later when the results are in!
Hi Marnie, the salt and vinegar are for flavor and to keep the bell peppers from becoming mushy in the end product. I hope you love the recipe!!
Hi, so I dont understand, is it 2.5 cups uncooked rice and then I cook it? Or like 1 1-4 and then cook it.
Hi Lena, you need a total of 2.5 cups of cooked rice.
Hi Natasha, i would like to try this recipe sounds wonderful, just wondering for the sauce instead of chopped tomates can i use tomatoe sauce?
Hi Mary. Although I haven’t tried it this way myself, I had a reader try it with tomato juice and she liked it. Also, Ulyana wrote “I didn’t have fresh tomatoes so I used canned diced tomatoes and it turned out great! Defiantly a favorite an will be making again in the future! Thank you Natashas Kichen for your great recipes!”
I love this recipe! Can I ask why the peppers have to be boiled for 3 min before you fill and cook them?
It helps to soften them with that pre-boil.
Natasha, I’m trying to make this but my peppers are tearing. After cooking them for 3 minutes do I drain them or leave them on the water for 30-40 minutes? That part wasn’t very clear and I’ve never made these before. I’m afraid my peppers have overlooked.
Hi Angelina, did you turn off the heat while they sat in the hot water? I’m sorry I didn’t clarify that well. After 3 minutes, leave the lid on, turn off the heat and let peppers sit in the hot water while you prepare the rest of the recipe. Normally, f the heat is off, it shouldn’t get to the point that they are tearing. Also, don’t overstuff the peppers which can cause them to tear. You want to fill them but don’t pack the filling into the pepper. I hope that helps!
Thank you so much for clrarifying. Yes, I had the heat off with the lid on. When I was draining the water I already had about 3-4 peppers that had ripped. I’ll just adjust that in the future:) but aside from that they turned out ANAZING! My husband loved them:)) thank you so much for the recipe 😊
My pleasure Angelina, glad I can help!
you are amazing cook i love your recipes
Thank you so much Crystal! I’m glad you’re lovin the recipes!
Hello Natasha,
Do you think I can use mini peppers instead of the bell peppers? If so how long would you bake those for?
Hi Katie, I haven’t tested that so I can’t provide specifics. One of my readers wrote: “My mother in law makes these with the mini peppers and they are incredible!” but did not provide specific baking instructions.