# Stuffing Peppers with rice



## the.grilling.greek (May 2, 2016)

Hello,
My name is Evan and I love to cook. This is my first entry and I am excited to read your responses. 

I read recipes for stuffed peppers and/or tomatoes and they use raw rice to stuff them with. I tried it and the result was not good because the rice was not cooked. Is there a special kind of rice that I must use? Usually the recipes call for long rice.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Evan


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## Andy M. (May 2, 2016)

Welcome to DC.

Long rice is common.  The key is how you cook it after stuffing.  Tell us what you did.


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## Addie (May 2, 2016)

In the past I have made stuffed peppers with leftover *cooked* rice. I always make sure there is some sort of moisture mixed in with the rice. Leftover gravy, diced tomatoes, even cream sauce. As a result I have never had a problem with not having the rice fully cooked. There are many other foods you can place in the pepper such as hamburger, finely diced vegetables, etc. but you do need that moisture to ensure that the rice is edible. The additional foods will also add their own moisture to the pepper. 

Welcome to DC. You will get a lot of answers to your dilemma. We love helping new members. This is a forum full of fun and information. So please do stick around.


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## msmofet (May 2, 2016)

Welcome to DC.

When I first started cooking stuffed peppers I used raw rice and raw ground beef to stuff them. I found that if I cooked them till the meat and rice were done they looked like a pillar of filling with a sock that lost it's elastic around the bottom.  So I started browning my ground beef with my onions, garlic, the diced pepper tops that I trim off, seasonings etc. till cooked. Then I add my cooked rice, some sort of tomato (either chopped fresh, sauce or my favorite is fresh uncooked (or bottled) salsa. Stuff my peppers and place in baking pan with tomato sauce and bake till peppers are tender firm.


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (May 2, 2016)

My personal favorite bell pepper stuffing is leftover jambalaya.


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## LizStreithorst (May 2, 2016)

Now that sounds good.  I'll have to try it.  I stuff mine with white boudin.


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## larry_stewart (May 2, 2016)

i also stuff mine with already cooked rice, or left over rice.
When I make stuffed grape leaves ( also using a cooked rice)  I add some sunflower seeds the mixture, it kinda counteracts the rice ( if it gets a little mushy from cooking).  It gives it an al dente feel without changing the taste.


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## msmofet (May 2, 2016)

larry_stewart said:


> i also stuff mine with already cooked rice, or left over rice.
> When I make *stuffed grape leaves* ( also using a cooked rice) I add some sunflower seeds the mixture, it kinda counteracts the rice ( if it gets a little mushy from cooking). It gives it an al dente feel without changing the taste.


 Have you posted your recipe? If not can you


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## LazyEngineer (May 2, 2016)

Sir_Loin_of_Beef said:


> My personal favorite bell pepper stuffing is leftover jambalaya.



That's brilliant. I had always used leftover chili to stuff peppers, but I'm going to be making a bunch of jambalaya this weekend, but I'll be sure to save some leftovers to try stuffing peppers.

To OP, I would use cooked rice unless the rest of your filling is really watery. Long rice absorbs a bit more than 1.5x its size in water, so if you want it to be fully puffed up, you would have to start with very little rice and a lot of wet ingredients.


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## GotGarlic (May 2, 2016)

msmofet said:


> Welcome to DC.
> 
> When I first started cooking stuffed peppers I used raw rice and raw ground beef to stuff them. I found that if I cooked them till the meat and rice were done they looked like a pillar of filling with a sock that lost it's elastic around the bottom.  So I started browning my ground beef with my onions, garlic, the diced pepper tops that I trim off, seasonings etc. till cooked. Then I add my cooked rice, some sort of tomato (either chopped fresh, sauce or my favorite is fresh uncooked (or bottled) salsa. Stuff my peppers and place in baking pan with tomato sauce and bake till peppers are tender firm.



Agreed. I think stuffed peppers is one of those things that was created to use up leftover, already cooked, ingredients.


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## medtran49 (May 3, 2016)

Dirty rice, whether leftover or fresh made, makes a good stuffing too.  We've used collards to make "cabbage rolls" with dirty rice with a creole tomato sauce.


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## Steve Kroll (May 3, 2016)

Since we always had chili with rice in our house, one of my favorite pepper fillings was leftover chili and rice mixed with some cheese. 

But yeah, cooked rice works best.


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## lyndalou (May 3, 2016)

Here's my recipe for stuffed grape leaves. It's from The Frugal Gourmet cookbook.
1  16 ounce jar grape leaves in brine
3/4 cup long grain rice
1 pound of ground lamb
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground allspice

Rinse and drain grape leaves.  Wash the rice and drain.Mix together the the rice, lamb,and seasonings. Blend well.

Place a leaf on a flat surface stem end facing you. Place 3/4 tbsp. (approx) of the mixture in the center of the leaf. roll from the bottom sucking sides in s you roll. Continue until all of the filliong is used .

Place a few of the large unused leaves in the bottom of your pot.Layer the rolled leaves seam sides down very close together in the pot. They should be snug to prevent them floating and opening up.Continue layering until all of the grape leaves are in the pot.  Add enough water to ALMOST cover. I place a plate on top of the layers to hold them in place. Cover and simmer for 30 mins.

Mix together the juice of one lemon, 3 cloves of garlic,crushed and 1 tsp. of dried or fresh mint leaves (minced if using fresh). Add water to this mixture to make 1 cup. Pour over the rolled leaves and cook for another 1/2 hour.

These are labor intensive but well worth it. I serve them with plain yogurt for dipping.


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## Mad Cook (May 3, 2016)

Addie said:


> In the past I have made stuffed peppers with leftover *cooked* rice. I always make sure there is some sort of moisture mixed in with the rice. Leftover gravy, diced tomatoes, even cream sauce. As a result I have never had a problem with not having the rice fully cooked. There are many other foods you can place in the pepper such as hamburger, finely diced vegetables, etc. but you do need that moisture to ensure that the rice is edible. The additional foods will also add their own moisture to the pepper.
> 
> Welcome to DC. You will get a lot of answers to your dilemma. We love helping new members. This is a forum full of fun and information. So please do stick around.


I use cooked rice too. (long grain such as Basmati)


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## the.grilling.greek (May 3, 2016)

Thanks for the replies. 
Here is the recipe that I use. 

3/4 lb ground beef
1 1/4 cup of rice (using whatever is available at home)
1 large onion
1/2 cup of raisins
1/2 breadcrumbs 

1 cup of either: chicken stock, or beer, or white wine. I prefer using white wine.

4 bell peppers
4 medium tomatoes and 2 more tomatoes and 2 more tomatoes.

I removed the tops from the peppers and clean the insides. I remove the tops from the tomatoes too. Carefully I remove the insides of the tomatoes and save the juices. I grate the larger pieces from the tomatoes. Also, I grate the two extra tomatoes and I discard the skins. 

I place the peppers and the tomatoes in a large pan. I add about 1/2 teaspoon of sugar in the tomatoes. I drizzle some olive oil on the peppers and tomatoes. I prick the bottoms of the peppers and tomatoes with a fork. 

I brown the meat and then add the rice and the tomato juices and the one cup of either chicken stock or beer or wine.

I bring this mixture to a boil then I reduce to a low simmer and cook for about 12 minutes. At about 10 minutes I add the raisins.

I bring the pan next to the meat/rice mixture and using a soup spoon I fill the peppers and tomatoes to the top. I sprinkle the breadcrumbs at the top of each mixture. Then I cover them with their matching tops. 

Usually I have sliced carrots and potatoes cut into smallish pieces placed in between the peppers and tomatoes. Here I add one cup of water, the juice of two tomatoes, 1/2 olive oil  and I also sprinkle salt and pepper. I also drizzle some olive oil on the tops of the vegetables. 

I preheat the oven to 250(F) and I place the pan for about 1 hour and 40 minutes. I check the pan after one hour to make sure there is some liquid at the bottom. If it is dry, I add some water. 

It is ready when the tops are nicely browned and that happens after 90 minutes.

This is a great recipe, HOWEVER, in Greece they have two recipes. One with ground beef and raw rice and the other just raw rice. I tried the raw rice and it was not eatable. 

Evan


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## Cheryl J (May 3, 2016)

Welcome to DC, Evan!  

Your recipe sounds good, but rather time consuming.  I would leave out the raisins, but that's just me. JMO.

Stuffed peppers is something I make with leftovers - I've used *cooked* leftover rice, barley, and quinoa. Cooked ground beef, or sausage. I've made them with leftover chili, and leftover black beans or kidney beans.  The only constant I look for other than the peppers themselves and some kind of filler, is a little ground meat and a tomato based sauce. 

But I live alone, so as long as I've got a nice bell pepper - red, green, orange or yellow, it doesn't matter to me - I stuff it with some leftovers and make a meal for one. I like the peppers tender crisp and the fillings already cooked, so it only takes maybe 20 -30 minutes at 350, cut in half lengthwise.


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## Rocklobster (May 3, 2016)

Sir_Loin_of_Beef said:


> My personal favorite bell pepper stuffing is leftover jambalaya.


I make those and sell them at the deli. They move well..


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## Sagittarius (Sep 9, 2017)

*Ms.  Mofet:  Stuffed Red Bells*



msmofet said:


> Welcome to DC.
> 
> When I first started cooking stuffed peppers I used raw rice and raw ground beef to stuff them. I found that if I cooked them till the meat and rice were done they looked like a pillar of filling with a sock that lost it's elastic around the bottom.  So I started browning my ground beef with my onions, garlic, the diced pepper tops that I trim off, seasonings etc. till cooked. Then I add my cooked rice, some sort of tomato (either chopped fresh, sauce or my favorite is fresh uncooked (or bottled) salsa. Stuff my peppers and place in baking pan with tomato sauce and bake till peppers are tender firm.



Good Morning, 

A friend had given me some extra large red bell peppers and I am going to stuff 2 of them,  more than enough for 2 of us .. 

Planning to use a dill, lemon scented rice with prawns (shrimp ) for the stuffing .. 

Your recipe is wonderful,  however,  just picked up a few kilos of prawns and wish to use some while fresh ..  Greek Style .. 

Thanks for you récipe !!

Have a lovely weekend ..


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## Cooking Goddess (Sep 9, 2017)

That sounds like a delicious stuffing, *Sagittarius*! Too delicious to mask the delicate flavor of the shrimp with that of the flavor of bell pepper.

I've stuffed my peppers recently with Mexican-inspired flavors. I did a seasoned chicken/corn/black beans/rice/tomato stuffing that we really enjoyed. I've also given the ground beef a chili-type flavor before adding beans and rice. Both played quite nicely with the flavor of the pepper.


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## skilletlicker (Sep 9, 2017)

Cooking Goddess said:


> That sounds like a delicious stuffing, *Sagittarius*! Too delicious to mask the delicate flavor of the shrimp with that of the flavor of bell pepper.
> 
> I've stuffed my peppers recently with Mexican-inspired flavors. I did a seasoned chicken/corn/black beans/rice/tomato stuffing that we really enjoyed. I've also given the ground beef a chili-type flavor before adding beans and rice. Both played quite nicely with the flavor of the pepper.



Have you tried substituting poblanos for bell peppers? I make that switch for most everything but seems particularly applicable to your Mexican-inspired stuffed bell peppers.


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## letscook (Sep 9, 2017)

I make these quite often.  


*Orzo-Stuffed Peppers*

1 (28-oz) can whole  tomatoes ( also good with Italian seasoned tomatoes)
1 tablespoon dried oregano 
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese  Fresh parmesan is best
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
3 garlic cloves, minced 
1 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon black pepper 
4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth ) 
1 cup orzo Pasta
6  bell peppers (red or yellow or green or a mixture) 
2 cups choped fresh spinach
NOTE:  I also do these with meat, Ground beef, Italian Sauage, ground turkey, About 1 to  1 1/2 lb. ground meat.
            If adding meat cook the meat first.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Pour the tomatoes and their juices into a large bowl and break them into pieces using kitchen shears or your fingers.
 Add the oregano, cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Meanwhile, bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat.
 Add the orzo and cook for 3 minutes only. The orzo will be only partially cooked.
 Drain the orzo through a strainer,saving the chicken broth.
Add the orzo to the tomato mixture and stir to combine. Transfer the warm broth to a 3-quart baking dish.
Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all the inner ribs and seeds. 
If peppers won't stand on their own, Cut a very thin slice from the base to help the peppers stand up.
Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers. 
Place the peppers in the baking dish with the warm chicken broth. 
Cover the dish with lid or foil and bake for 45 minutes. 
Remove the foil or lid , sprinkle each pepper with more cheese, and continue baking until the cheese is golden, about 15 minutes.
 Remove from oven and carefully transfer the stuffed peppers to serving plates. Garnish with fresh chopped basil, if desired.


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## Cooking Goddess (Sep 9, 2017)

Those sound good, *letscook*! I've thought of using Italian sausage, but always forget when I finally get around to making them. 



skilletlicker said:


> Have you tried substituting poblanos for bell peppers? I make that switch for most everything but seems particularly applicable to your Mexican-inspired stuffed bell peppers.


I've considered that.  However, I'm cheaper than I am old, so I usually make stuffed peppers when a small grocery store by us has "suntan peppers" on sale for about 60 cents a pound!


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## skilletlicker (Sep 9, 2017)

Cooking Goddess said:


> Those sound good, *letscook*! I've thought of using Italian sausage, but always forget when I finally get around to making them.
> 
> 
> I've considered that.  However, I'm cheaper than I am old, so I usually make stuffed peppers when a small grocery store by us has "suntan peppers" on sale for about 60 cents a pound!



Very interesting. Never heard of suntan peppers. $.60/lb makes them about 25¢ apiece. All Krogers bell peppers are sold by the each and lowest they go is about 79¢ each, red and yellow $1.79.

Kroger sells jalapeno peppers for 79¢ lb. and poblanos for $2.79 lb. More than nine times out of 10 the cashiers ring up poblanos as jalapenos. In fact they ring up serranos, habaneros, anaheims, and fresnos as jalapenos also. I corrected them for a year or so and all it did was get them mad at me. So for several years now, I've paid 79¢ lb for poblanos almost all the time.

And maybe fresh chorizo?


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## Steven c (Sep 11, 2017)

Good topic, you guys and gals gave me more ideas to work with. I've  only done them a few times in the past and will try some new styles in the future.

Thanks,


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## Addie (Sep 11, 2017)

Steven c said:


> Good topic, you guys and gals gave me more ideas to work with. I've  only done them a few times in the past and will try some new styles in the future.
> 
> Thanks,



I recently saw a tip about making whole stuffed peppers. If you remove just the top and seeds, etc. they will stand up throughout the cooking process if you put them in your bunt or angel food cake pan. And they will cook faster. It has been quite a while since I have made them, but I think I will use this method. I usually just cut them in half, length wise.


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## larry_stewart (Sep 11, 2017)

Addie said:


> I recently saw a tip about making whole stuffed peppers. If you remove just the top and seeds, etc. they will stand up throughout the cooking process if you put them in your bunt or angel food cake pan. And they will cook faster. It has been quite a while since I have made them, but I think I will use this method. I usually just cut them in half, length wise.



When I make stuffed Peppers ( Or tomatoes) I usually make them in the individual sized onion soup crocks  (One per crock).  Keeps them standing throughout the cooking process.  Also makes it easier to eat out of ( at least for me).  Gives me a lateral surface to push my 'Spoon" against.


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## buckytom (Sep 12, 2017)

msmofet said:


> Welcome to DC.
> 
> When I first started cooking stuffed peppers I used raw rice and raw ground beef to stuff them. I found that if I cooked them till the meat and rice were done they looked like a pillar of filling with a sock that lost it's elastic around the bottom.  So I started browning my ground beef with my onions, garlic, the diced pepper tops that I trim off, seasonings etc. till cooked. Then I add my cooked rice, some sort of tomato (either chopped fresh, sauce or my favorite is fresh uncooked (or bottled) salsa. Stuff my peppers and place in baking pan with tomato sauce and bake till peppers are tender firm.




Food porn!
Aghlghlgjghglll.

Wow, that's the way I like stuffed peppers. My Slovakian MIL, other Polish inlaws, and my wife make and so many other kinds, but that's the ticket.


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## CarolPa (Oct 1, 2017)

Someone gave me a bunch peppers from their garden. (15)  Can I clean and  chop some of them then freeze for later use in recipes, such as chili?   

I actually came here today to ask about stuffing and freezing  some, but my questions were all answered already in this thread.  I am  going to use all precooked ingredients in the filling, blanch the  peppers, stuff and freeze with my Food Saver Vacuum Sealer.  We like the skins, so no torching necessary.  LOL


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## GotGarlic (Oct 1, 2017)

CarolPa said:


> Someone gave me a bunch peppers from their garden. (15)  Can I clean and  chop some of them then freeze for later use in recipes, such as chili?



Yes. I have lots of sliced peppers and onions in the freezer from when colored peppers were on sale during the summer.


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## medtran49 (Oct 1, 2017)

We really liked these.

Blue Cheese, Rosemary, and Wild Rice Stuffed Peppers - Queen of My Kitchen


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