Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers

These Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers provide all of the comfort and flavor of the classic recipe in half the time!

One of my biggest complaints about classic stuffed peppers is how time-consuming the process is. You have to make the rice, cook the beef, and pre-boil the peppers (if you want to cut down on the cooking time). It just feels exhausting after a long day of work.

Quicker Stuffed Peppers In The Instant Pot

So when I am really craving stuffed peppers, I get out my Instant Pot and let it do all of the work for me. I start by cooking the rice in the Instant Pot unless I have frozen pre-packaged rice from Trader Joe’s or leftover rice from the night before.

Cooking the peppers in the Instant Pot doesn’t require any pre-cooking of the beef or pre-boiling of the peppers. Once the peppers have been filled with the stuffing mixture, covered with tomato sauce, and placed on the trivet, the pressure created by the Instant Pot cooks everything perfectly.

Using the residual heat to melt the mozzarella cheese on top of the peppers means I don’t have to turn on the broiler. This is one time when multi-tasking is a good thing.

The Instant Pot also creates a wonderful tomato broth that I love to serve with the peppers. I put it in a creamer and let people pour it over the top of their peppers if they want. I usually have to refill the creamer at least once.

So next time you want stuffed peppers, but really don’t want to go through all of the time of the classic stuffed pepper recipe, give this one a try.

Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers

• Author: Christine Pittman
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Entrée
• Method: Instant Pot
• Cuisine: American

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DESCRIPTION

These Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers provide all of the comfort and flavor of the classic recipe in half the time!
Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 large bell peppers, tops cut off and peppers hollowed out and seeded. (I like to use yellow, red, orange, and green.)
• ¾ lbs. ground beef
• 1 and ½ cups cooked white or brown rice
• 1 and ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
• ¼ cup minced onion
• 1 and ½ tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
• ½ cup water

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Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the beef, rice, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, 1 cup mozzarella, onion, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and mix thoroughly.
2. Divide the beef mixture between the 4 peppers, stuffing loosely. If the stuffing comes over the top of the pepper, it’s OK.
3. Pour water into the inner pot of Instant Pot and place the trivet in the bottom.
4. Arrange the peppers upright on the trivet and place 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce over each of the peppers. Place the tops of the peppers on top.
5. Close and lock the lid. Make sure the steam release handle is in the sealed position.
6. Select Pressure Cook and cook on high. Adjust the [+] or [-] button to set 5 minutes of pressure cooking time.
7. When the time is up, allow it to naturally release for 5 minutes. Turn the steam release handle to the venting position to release any remaining steam. When the valve has dropped, unlock the lid and open carefully.
8. Carefully remove the pepper tops and set aside. Cover the peppers with the remaining mozzarella, dividing evenly between them. Cover the Instant Pot and allow the residual heat the cheese to melt, about 3 – 5 minutes.
9. Remove and garnish with chopped parsley and replace the pepper tops. Serve with the tomato cooking liquid if desired.