Stuffed Bell Peppers [or meatloaf in a bell pepper]
Since we’re already on the subject of stuffed things, thanks to the Egg, Avocado and Bacon Stuffed Fresh Tomatoes that I just served you, I figured why not keep going in that same direction and do Stuffed Bell Peppers this time?
It makes for some sort of a continuity, doesn’t it?
Mind you, while my tomatoes looked really elegant and sophisticated, I find it’s darn near impossible to make stuffed bell peppers look stunningly pretty.
Unless you don’t cook them all that much, that is… for raw bell peppers do look pretty yummy.
But put them in the oven for an hour or so? There’s just no way they’re gonna come out of there looking all nice and fresh and plump and colorful and bright.
They invariably get kind of soft and wrinkly, on top of losing much of their vibrant color.
In fact, I find they come out of there looking so ill equipped in the looks department that I’m not even sure bacon can really help save ’em poor things.
At least not as far as presentation is concerned…
I think they probably looked better before they were cooked, as you can see in this picture that I shared on Instagram just as I was about to put them in the oven.
Flavor wise, though, the presence of bacon is a whole different story!
For really, bacon will make ANYTHING better, won’t it? And yeah, perhaps even prettier, too… perhaps!
Unfortunately, it doesn’t give these poor fellows their color back, though.
Don’t you find it fascinating how peppers can go from the bright orange pictured above to the very yellow yellow portrayed below?
Not that there’s anything wrong with yellow, mind you, but I bet if you hadn’t seen the raw orange peppers, you’d swear I’d used yellow bell peppers to start with.
But hey, no matter what color or how wrinkly they become, something has to be said for bell peppers that spent close to an hour in the oven… They do, after all, become really soft and sweet and almost creamy in consistency; they sort of melt in your mouth.
And that beautiful creamy sweetness contrasts wonderfully well with the beefiness of the meat that’s inside them.
While most people prefer to cook their meat before stuffing it in the peppers’ cavities, I like to stuff mine with raw meat and pack it rather tightly, too. This results in something resembling a meatloaf that’s been cooked inside a bell pepper.
Meatloaf in a bell pepper? I say that, can’t be bad.
Especially not if you are going to top it with bacon.
And hey, even if you happen to be short on bacon like I was, don’t go running to the market to buy more. For you see, even the poor little guy that didn’t get his share of bacon got to be eaten.
And it was liked just as much as all the other guys, too.
Only it didn’t get to be saved for last…
Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 900 g ground grassfed beef
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 red sweet potato, cut into tiny cubes (the standard orange variety would also do the trick if you can’t find the red)
- 1 fresh tomato, cut into small cubes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp chili pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
- Generous grating fresh nutmeg, a little more than half a nut
- ¼ cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 whole eggs
- 6 bell peppers, I used orange but you can use whatever color you like
- 6 slices pastured bacon, cut in half crosswise
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F
- In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients except for the bell peppers and bacon; mix really well with your hands, kneading until very well combined. Set aside.
- Cut the tops off each pepper and pull out the stems and seeds. Cut off a very thin slice off the bottom of each pepper to level it so it stands up straight. Be careful not to cut a hole in the pepper: you really don’t need to remove much at all!
- Stuff the meat mixture into the cavity of each bell pepper, making sure that you pack it down real tight. Don’t worry if you have too much stuffing, you can shape little mounds on top of your peppers; they’ll only look that much better!
- Top each stuffed pepper with 2 half slices of bacon, in a cross pattern, then place the peppers in a shallow baking dish lined with parchment paper.
- Bake in the oven, uncovered, for 45 minutes then kill the heat and let the peppers sit in there for 10-15 minutes before serving.
If you’ve tried this recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and let me know how things went for you in the comments below. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!
You can also FOLLOW ME on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and TWITTER for more delicious, healthy recipes!
Remove the tops and a very thin little slice off the bottom of the peppers
Showing their best side…
Can’t say that beautiful crispy meaty top and BACON don’t look yummy!
And look at all those pieces of sweet potatoes in the meat stuffing.
That’s meatloaf in a bell pepper for ya!
I’m currently on day 39 of a [planned] 62 day challenge… and still going strong!
27 Comments on “Stuffed Bell Peppers [or meatloaf in a bell pepper]”
Mmm, I haven’t had a good meatloaf in a while and this recipe looks like an awesome way to have it! The guys in my family would also love the addition of bacon 🙂
Bacon will make anything better, won’t it? Hope you and the boys like the peppers, Alyson! 🙂
Those bell peppers stuffed with meatloaf looks so delicious. Nice pics. will bookmark this and will try for sure in the coming weekend.
Thank you much, Jack! Hope you like ’em! 🙂
Bacon makes everything better! Well done!
Ha! They look almost exactly like those stuffed tomatoes Tom made, except for the tomato part…:) He stuffed them with ground beef and tada…. Bacon too! And yes I love roasted bell peppers but they do kind of loose their good looks don’t they?
I love the idea of a fresh tomato stuffed with cooked ground beef. I don’t care much for cooked tomatoes, but I bet this would be good. I need to make a mental note to try this!
I’ve used a number of different recipes for stuffed peppers from old cookbooks I inherited from my mother, but I never come across the fabulous idea of laying bacon on the top. I would imagine it probably makes the peppers taste as good as they look, especially going by the evidence of your photographs.
Thanks much Karen, that is very kind of you to say! 🙂
And hey, bacon does make everything better. Hope you give it a try!
I grew up on stuffed peppers, because of my Hungarian heritage, but they were nothing like these. I like the interesting ingredients in these. If I make them I would probably leave the bacon off, because my husband is not a fan of bacon. I’m also curious why the recipe calls for olive oil? It seems like it provides some liquid, but I’m used to having the eggs do that.
I decided to add olive oil because I felt my recipe could use a little bit more good fat, and that’s what I had on hand that I thought was suitable and would mix well with the flavor of the meat stuffing. It also helps in bringing juiciness to the meat. Hope they are to your liking if you decide to try them. Make sure to let me know! 🙂
Thank you for clarifying about the olive oil. That’s something I never would have considered. I will definitely let you know if I try this recipe.
Um…. whatever.. those still look delicious! I love how the yellow pepper makes the colors pop, plus yellow peppers are sweeter and that makes everything better. Pinning! 🙂 Thanks Sonia!
Thank YOU Krista! And thanks for pinning! 🙂
I love stuffed peppers and putting little meatloaves in them sounds delicious!
They’re going in the oven now!
So, Brandon, how did they turn out? Good I hope!!! 🙂
This looks like a great recipe! Although I did have a question- can you prep the meatloaf mixture in advance and stuff them right before you are ready to cook? If so, how many hours do you think is suitable to leave the mix refrigerated before cooking them? Trying to save time 🙂 Thank you- and looking forward to trying the recipe!
I suppose you could prep the meat mixture the night before, Jerica. I see no reason why not… Just make sure you keep it tightly covered and refrigerated until ready to use.
These look amazing and I want to make them tomorrow night! How do you get the bottom part of the bacon to cook please? The part touching the pepper not the part facing up. Thank you so much!
You don’t need to do anything special, it just cooks with the peppers…
I have made this a few times now for my youngest daughter, my husband and I. We LOVE them. My daughter is not a fan of bell peppers (she’s 5), so I just stuff two muffin wrappers and she’s happy. This is one of the recipes that finally convinced my husband that eating healthier can be delicious 🙂 Thank you for the wonderful recipe, clear directions, and helpful pictures. And bacon!
AWESOME! So happy to hear, Denae. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such amazing feedback, too. You have no idea just how much I appreciate it. 😀
ps your “And bacon” really cracked me up! 😀
One word…AMAZING!!! Made these last night, and because it was Valentine’s Day, I chose to use RED peppers. My family absolutely LOVED this meal. Even my youngest son (who tends to be on the picky side) was right into them. Like all your recipes that I have tried, these peppers were packed full of goodness and tons of flavour. Thank you for yet another awesome meal, Sonia!!!
Awesome! I’m so super happy to hear, Karen, and thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a great review! You have no idea just how much I appreciate that! I’m especially thrilled with the fact that your little boy really liked them. That is such a treat! Thanks again, Karen. You’re a real gem! 🙂
When answering the question of raw filling for stuffing, you said don’t pack the meat too tight but this recipe you said pack it tight…so which is it?
Sorry Megan, I couldn’t locate the question/comment you’re referring to?