These slow cooker stuffed peppers are classic comfort food BUT did you know there are ALL SORTS of variations? There sure are!
I knew there were modified recipes for low carb and vegetarian eaters. I also knew there were Cajun and Tex-Mex versions. But I had NO idea there were sooooo many versions of this classic deliciousness out there.
Some are cooked in a crockpot because this is a slow cooker site and all. Others call for the peppers to be baked BUT all of them CAN be made in the slow cooker OR a pressure cooker OR baked.
Legal Stuff: This post might contain affiliate links. That means, if you purchase something through one of the links, SlowCookerKitchen makes a small commission. It does NOT increase your price. Everything recommended it stuff we have tried and/or have researched to the point of insanity. Here's the full disclosure policy if you want to read it.
How to Cook Slow Cooker Peppers in the Oven OR in a Pressure Cooker
I’m so not an expert on this stuff. I’ve researched a LOT and I’ve asked around. It works, the conversions I mean. And I cook in an oven, a toaster oven and own 3 different, wait, 4 now because I bought a Carey on sale last week… so I have 4 kinds of pressure cookers or canners.
I also have 8 slow cookers. Don’t judge. I already admitted I’m a foodie nerd.
Anyway, you CAN cook slow cooker stuffed peppers in a crockpot, in the oven, and in a pressure cooker.
Cooking Stuffed Peppers in the Slow Cooker
Basically, you need to cook your stuffed peppers between 6 and 8 hours on low. That’s if your chosen recipe has any raw ingredients. That includes meat, rice, or vegetables.
IF all your ingredients are cooked…except for the pepper everything is stuffed into, of course, sometimes you can get away with 5 hours. I don’t have evidence but I think it depends on the thickness and size of the pepper itself.
So, airing on the side of safety and not causing food poisoning from consuming undercooked meat…I’ve always cooked mine on low for at least 6 hours. And then cut one open to check the center before serving.
That’s just me. I do prefer a medium-rare steak…just not undercooked ground beef. Or heaven forbids, pork or chicken. Ugh.
Baking Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers
I researched this one a lot. Mainly because I don’t use my oven as often as most foodies.
I got used to using my slow cookers a long time ago. And then I just stuck with them. That’s over on the “about” page if you want to read it, no need to repeat it all here.
The recipes I’ve made with stuffed peppers in the oven all used pre-cooked rice. And after reading up and thinking about it I finally had that light bulb go off.
To cooked stuffed peppers in the oven with uncooked rice OR meat you need to use a covered dish. I’m not just talking here. I cooked a lot of peppers to see if I was right.
The ones in the covered dishes with sauce surrounding them cooked much better. The peppers need the moisture from the liquids and it needs to be covered by either a lid or by “tenting” foil.
On most of the recipes I read and/or baked, temperatures vary between 350 and 400 degrees. Cooking times varied from 30 to 60 minutes too.
Oven Cooking Times for Raw Ingredients
Uncooked rice, raw meats and/or uncooked vegetables: You’ll need to bake between 350 and 375 for 45 to 60 minutes. If you use uncooked rice, you’ll need to add extra liquid to the meat mixture (for the rice to absorb) and a puddle of sauce around the peppers too.
Cook Times for All Cooked Ingredients
If you’re going to use pre-cooked meat or leftover chili or something. No worries, you’ll only need to bake the stuffed peppers long enough for them to get soft. So, about 25 minutes.
If you’re using precooked rice, same goes. Sometimes you can get away with as little as 20 minutes if you like your peppers a bit more crisps.
Pressure Cooker Stuffed Peppers
Remember I said I own 4 pressure cookers now? Well, I’m going to confess something. That isn’t because I have COOKED in them a lot. I can. I’ve canned stuff for years.
I live on a farm. I grow gardens. Blah, blah. So, I can stuff. I am only now learning to cook in a pressure cooker.
But they worked out. It took 3 tries, but they worked. 12 minutes set on high and sealed. Then you have to do the vent thing and let it cool down before opening it...of course. But still, all in all, very fast.
Additional Crockpot to Oven to Pressure Cooker Note
I intend to make up a full conversion chart very soon BUT it’s already a little after 9 pm here. So, by the time I’m done typing this whole thing out, playing with pictures and getting you guys all notified its up…well, I’m already gonna be up late.
No complaints. The oil got changed in my truck, the house got cleaned, errands are done for a week or two and I got all the supplies ready to do some pretty epic canning...
That’s not going to happen until Thursday though. It supposed to be a LOT cooler. And since I live in an old farmhouse that does NOT have central air…I think I will wait another 48 hours.
SOOOO hopefully tomorrow I will have time to do the conversion chart and get it posted. If not, I’ll have it up asap…someone remind me if I forget, please 😊
Okay, babbles completed. Now on to the legal stuff before we proceed to all the slow cooker stuffed peppers yumminess…
Legal Note: This post may contain affiliate links. What does that mean? That means, if you click on a link and make a purchase, SlowCookerKitchen.com will sometimes make a small commission. That does NOT mean your price increases. That means I’ve found a product I use and love OR I’ve researched bunches and believe it will help out with cooking and stuff. So, thanks for clicking anything that looks interesting and supporting Slow Cooker Kitchen. Much appreciated.
Stuffed Pepper Printable Recipes
Classic Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers Printable
I had to start off with the classic one. Classics have become classic for a reason after all. And this classic dish is nothing but pure comfort food.
Recipe
Classic Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 3 or 4 bell peppers
- 1 pound uncooked ground beef
- 1 1/2 cups cooked rice you can use white, brown, or a mix
- 1 15- ounce can tomato sauce divided
- 1-3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce I used 3 because I like a stronger flavor
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup onions diced (optional, but yummy)
- Salt & Pepper to Taste
Instructions
- Spray, butter, or oil the crockpot insert.
- Wash and cut the tops off the peppers. Pull out and discard all the seeds membranes.
- In a separate bowl mix the raw meat, rice, half the tomato sauce, onions & seasonings.
- Stuff the peppers with the mixture and place them in the bottom of the crockpot.
- Mix the remaining tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over and around the peppers.
- Place the pepper tops back on top the stuffed pepper (optional but cute).
- Pour 1/2 cup water around the peppers but not over the top.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours
Creole Style Stuffed Peppers
This one isn’t my recipe. It’s a friend’s recipe from down south. She was the one that helped me do the 110 Crockpot Freezer Meals cooking session.
It’s an oven recipe. And as most authentic Cajun recipes go…it’s a bit involved. It IS worth it though. These are really good.
There’s also a converted “Creole Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper” Recipe down below the authentic version. I did it and it’s good.
But honestly, it isn’t as good as hers. So, you make them whichever you want if you decide to try this recipe.
Creole Style Stuffed Peppers (Oven Version)
Recipe
Creole Style Stuffed Peppers (oven version)
Ingredients
- 6 large green bell peppers
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
- black pepper to taste
- 3/4- pound shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 1/2 links of andouille sausage diced
- 1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 8 ounces can tomato sauce
- Louisiana-style hot sauce
- 1 lemon sliced (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Grease an 8x12 inch baking dish.
- Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat.
- Sauté onion until translucent.
- Stir in garlic, and season with oregano, Creole seasoning, and black pepper.
- Stir in shrimp and sausage, and cook until shrimp turn pink, 5 minutes.
- Stir in rice, and cook 1 minute.
- Pour in chicken broth and tomato sauce.
- Cook until thick, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Fill peppers with stuffing mixture, and place in baking dish.
- Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until heated through. Serve with lemon wedges and hot sauce.
Cajun Style Stuffed Peppers (Crockpot Style)
Recipe
Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 large bell peppers your choice of color
- ½ medium onion minced small
- 1-2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
- ½ pound cooked and peeled shrimp I bought them that way, I only had to remove the tails
- 1 link andouille sausage diced (smoked sausage will work if you can’t find andouille)
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 3/4 cup chicken broth divided into ½ cup and ¼ cup
- 1 8- ounce can tomato sauce divided
- 1 teaspoon Louisiana Hot Sauce
- Lemon slices optional
Instructions
- Wash and cut the tops off the peppers. Remove seeds and membranes.
- In a large bowl combine all the ingredients EXCEPT ½ cup of the chicken broth and half the tomato sauce. Mix well.
- Use the mixture to stuff the peppers and place in the bottom of an oiled slow cooker.
- Mix the remaining chicken broth and tomato sauce. Pour over and around peppers.
- Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours.
Mexican Style Stuffed Pressure Cooker Peppers
Lori over at The Kitchen Whisperer has a really good-looking pressure cooker option for Mexican Stuffed Peppers.
So, if you’re in the market for a pressure cooker version, I would try hers. They look yummy.
If you’d rather stick with the crockpot, here’s a link to our Mexican Crock Pot Stuffed Peppers.
We don’t use the exact same ingredients…but they are basically the same 😊
Chili Stuffed Slow Cooker Peppers
How about chili? Chili is one of those things a lot of folks CRAVE once the weather turns cooler.
Why not make up a large batch of crockpot chili, freeze half of it for later and use it to make this stuffed pepper recipe?
Recipe
Chili Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 medium bell peppers
- 3 to 4 cups leftover chili
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 8- ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili seasoning
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Wash peppers and remove seeds and membranes; place in an oiled slow cooker insert.
- Use a large spoon or small ladle to fill each pepper about 1/3 full of chili.
- Sprinkle on a covering of cheese.
- Repeat twice more.
- Mix the water, tomato sauce, and chili seasoning. Pour over and around the peppers.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, or until the peppers are to the tenderness you personally prefer.
- Freezer Meal option:
- Prep them just as described above and place them on a cookie sheet.
- Mix the tomato sauce and chili seasoning and pour into a sandwich sized freezer bag. Label it something like "To pour around peppers, add 1/4 cup water first". You can add the water now and freeze if you like. Either works. Some people just want to conserve as much freezer space as possible.
- Freeze both the peppers and the sandwich bag overnight.
- After both are frozen solid remove them from the freezer and place in a large, prelabeled freezer bag or canister.
- Allow to defrost overnight before cooking. OR add a 1 to 2 hour more cook time if starting with frozen peppers.
Classic Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe (Oven Method)
Recipe
Classic Stuffed Peppers (oven version)
Ingredients
- 4 bell peppers your choice of color
- 1- pound uncooked ground beef
- 1 1/2 cups cooked rice white, brown or mixed
- 1 15- ounce can petite diced tomato sauce divided (don't drain)
- 1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup onions diced (optional)
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Wash the peppers and cut the tops off. Remove seeds and membranes.
- Bring a pot of water to boil and boil the peppers for 3 to 5 minutes (possibly up to 8 minutes for very thick-walled peppers). Remove from water and drain upside down.
- While peppers are draining, mix the following ingredients in a separate bowl: uncooked ground beef, cooked rice, 1/2 the tomatoes, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, both eggs, and the onions. Add salt and pepper to your preference and mix well.
- Spoon the meat mixture into the peppers.
- Place them upright in an oven-safe casserole dish.
- Mix the remaining tomatoes with 1/4 cup water or broth and the remaining Worcestershire sauce. Pour over and around the peppers.
- Add the tops back to the peppers (optional but cute and practical).
- Cover casserole dish with a lid or foil and bake for 45 to 55 minutes.
If you’d like to try making this recipe in the oven, you might want to check out this Classic Stuffed Peppers Recipe. It uses mostly the same ingredients as our slow cooker version by uses the oven to finish them off.
Pin It for Later Options for Crockpot Stuffed Peppers
Leave a Reply