Ina Garten Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Peppers in the Style of Ina Garten. If this is your first time making stuffed peppers or you are just learning how to cook, don’t worry; if you follow the steps carefully, you will have perfectly cooked peppers every time.

How Ina Garten Made Stuffed Peppers

This stuffed pepper dish was created by Ina Garten using ground beef that had been cooked with onion, garlic, vinegar, and some seasoning. She then cuts each pepper and removes the seeds to prepare the peppers. After that, stuff it with the beef mixture and cooked rice. The pepper should then be baked for about 15 minutes. After the initial 15 minutes, sprinkle some chopped cheese on top of the stuffed pepper and bake it again for another 15 minutes or so, or until the cheese is melted and browned.

Ingredients You Need

• Bell peppers: You can use red, orange, or yellow bell peppers. I prefer to use red bell peppers. Just make sure to clean it well. Follow the instructions below.
• Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil is the best olive oil to use. Just try Tunisian olive oil, which is the best on the market.
• Ground beef is just ground beef. If you are using frozen beef, you need to thaw it before cooking it.
• Vinegar: Ina Garten uses white wine in the original recipe, but I will use vinegar. I don’t consume alcohol. Do feel free to use the same amount for the wine.
• Broth: You can also use beef broth instead of chicken broth. But they will get more beef flavor in the recipe.
• Cheese: chopped cheddar, mozzarella, or parmesan. You can use any of these cheeses. Just use a fast melted cheese.
• Seasoning: Kosher salt and black pepper.
• Vegetables: Chopped onions, garlic, diced tomatoes, and some thyme leaves. You can also add some Italian dry herbs or dry rosemary.

How To Store Ina Garten Stuffed Peppers

Store In The Fridge

To store cooked stuffed peppers individually, wrap each one with plastic wrap. Two layers are recommended. Next, place all the wrapped peppers into a glass container and place them in the fridge. Properly stored, cooked stuffed peppers will last for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Store In The Freezer

Stuffed peppers, once cooked, can be easily frozen for later use. Each individual pepper should be individually wrapped in plastic or placed in freezer bags before being stored in the freezer. The shelf life of your stuffed peppers will be at least three months. It is not something I would recommend keeping frozen for more than three months.

How To Reheat

If you have any leftover stuffed peppers, you can reheat them by placing them in the oven at 350 degrees for ten minutes or in the microwave for about three minutes, until they become warm.

To reheat frozen stuffed peppers, remove the wrapping and bake them straight from the freezer at 350 degrees F until they are thawed and warmed through, about 20–30 minutes.

Ina Garten Stuffed Peppers Ingrediets

• 6 large red, orange, or yellow bell peppers 
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 pound of ground beef  
• 2 medium onions, chopped  
• 4 cloves garlic, finely grated  
• 2 teaspoons thyme leaves   
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper  
• 4 plum tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces  
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste   
• 1/2 cup Vinegar
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth  
• 2 cups cooked rice   
• 2 cups shredded Muenster cheese  

Ina Garten Stuffed Peppers Instructions

• The peppers need to be standing straight up. If this is the case, lay them out on a cutting board, and use a sharp knife to remove about 1/8 of an inch of material from the bottoms of each one so that they are level and can stand upright without toppling over.
• Cut the top of each pepper about 1/2 inch or a little bit more. 
• Remove and discard the stems, then chop all the remaining flesh from the tops. 
• Scoop out the seeds and as much of the membrane as you can.
• Now, Place the peppers in a large microwave-safe bowl with a cup of water. 
• Cover with plastic wrap and heat the microwave on high power for about 10 minutes. 
• Carefully uncover and let them sit until ready to stuff.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. 
• Spread the beef in an even layer and cook undisturbed until lightly browned. It will take about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Keep stirring and frying, breaking up any clumps with the back of a spoon and scraping up any browned bits from the pan until the meat is lightly browned all over, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Once the beef is cooked well, transfer it to a large bowl.
• In the same frying pan, reduce the heat to medium and heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and add the reserved chopped peppers, onions, garlic, thyme, 4 teaspoons of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.
• Cook and stir occasionally, until tender but not browned, about 10 to 12 minutes. 
• Add the tomatoes and keep cooking, stirring occasionally, until they fall apart and much of the liquid has evaporated. It takes about 10 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until brick red, about 2 minutes.
• Stir in the vinegar and cook until the mixture is reduced, very thick, and, if you will use wine, until no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the broth to a boil, then transfer it to the bowl with the beef.
• Stir in the rice until completely combined. (The mixture will be a little bit wet.) 
• Now, season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Place the peppers cut-side up in a baking pan, then put the filling into the peppers, gently pressing it in with the back of a spoon.
• make sure you don’t overstuff and split the sides of the peppers. Bake for 15 minutes, then top with the cheese and continue baking until the filling is heated through and the cheese is melted and browned in spots, about 10 to 12 minutes.
• Serve it hot with your favorite side dish.

Why are my stuffed peppers watery?

Watery stuffed peppers are a very common problem, especially if the bell peppers are not pre-cooked. When you cook the vegetables in the oven, they release moisture, which will pool at the bottom. This can easily lead to a very moist, water-stuffed pepper. The best thing to do next time is to precook the peppers for 15 minutes at 300°F, then stuff them and keep baking.

Do you have to cook the meat first for stuffed peppers?

You should definitely cook the meat before stuffing it with the bell peppers. Because if you put raw meat in and bake it with the pepper, it will cause the meat to stay raw and the pepper to burn and dry. That’s why you need to at least cook the meat (ground beef, or pork) until brown before stuffing in the pepper.

Do you have to boil peppers before stuffing them?

It is not necessary to boil the bell peppers before stuffing them, but a 10-minute bake in the oven may be necessary. simply because there is a possibility of dilution with water. Avoiding watery stuffed peppers is essential because there is no way to fix the issue, even though it does not occur frequently. The peppers should be baked for around 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit after they have been cleaned and sliced.

What To Serve With Ina Garten Stuffed Peppers

You can serve stuffed peppers with a fresh salad such as cucumber and carrot salad or lettuce salad. Also, it works well with potato leek soup or Italian wedding soup. Or serve them simply with some chili sauce alongside.

Here’s a list of the best side dishes for Ina Garten Stuffed Peppers:

• Broccoli Salad
• Salad Nicoise
• Steamed Broccoli
• Stuffed Artichokes
• Dutch Oven Bread
• Sauteed Spinach
• Arugula Salad

Ina Garten Stuffed Peppers

Erin Table for Seven

Stuffed Peppers in the Style of Ina Garten. If this is your first time making stuffed peppers or you are just learning how to cook, don’t worry; if you follow the steps carefully, you will have perfectly cooked peppers every time.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Calories 532 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 6 large red, orange, or yellow bell peppers
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound of ground beef
• 2 medium onions chopped
• 4 cloves garlic finely grated
• 2 teaspoons thyme leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 plum tomatoes cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• ½ cup vinegar
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 2 cups shredded Muenster cheese

Instructions

 

• The peppers should stand upright. If not, place them on a cutting board, and trim about 1/8-inch off the bottoms to even them out so they can stand without falling over.
• Cut the top of each pepper about 1/2 inch or a little bit more.
• Remove and discard the stems, then chop all the remaining flesh from the tops.
• Scoop out the seeds and as much of the membranes as you can.
• Now, place the peppers in a large microwave-safe bowl with a cup of water.
• Cover with plastic wrap and heat the microwave on high power for about 10 minutes.
• Carefully uncover and let them sit until ready to stuff.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
• Spread the beef in an even layer and cook undisturbed until lightly browned, it will take about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Keep stir and fry, breaking up any clumps with the back of a spoon and scraping up any browned bits from the pan until the meat is lightly browned all over 6 to 8 minutes.
• Once the beef is cooked well, transfer it to a large bowl.
• In the same frying pan, reduce the heat to medium and heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and add the reserved chopped peppers, onions, garlic, thyme, 4 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
• Cook and stir occasionally, until tender but not browned, about 10 to 12 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and keep cooking and stir occasionally, until falling apart and much of the liquid has evaporated, it takes about 10 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly until brick red-colored, about 2 minutes.
• Stir in the vinegar and cook until the mixture is reduced, very thick, and if you will use wine so until no smell of alcohol remains 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the broth and bring to a boil then transfer to the bowl with the beef.
• Stir in the rice until completely combined. (The mixture will be a little bit wet.)
• Now, season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Place the peppers cut-side up in a baking pan then put the filling into the peppers, gently pressing it in with the back of a spoon.
• Make sure you don’t overstuff and split the sides of the peppers. Bake for 15 minutes, then top with the cheese and continue baking until the filling is heated through and the cheese is melted and browned in spots, about 10 to 12 minutes.
• Serve it hot with your favorite side dish.

Nutrition

Calories: 532kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 26gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 14gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 90mgSodium: 351mgPotassium: 776mgFiber: 4gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 4565IUVitamin C: 164mgCalcium: 321mgIron: 3mg

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