1. oh yum. i'm making these.

2. so jealous you got to so see jen. living in kansas sucks.

Wow do these look good and versatile - I bet you could use cooked/leftover quinoa instead of rice and maybe even add other diced vegetables.

Did you brown the meat first? Also, how lean was your meat?

Thanks!

lol, Laura. I would love to visit Kansas!

~m--quinoa would totally work. Oats probably would too---I think anything that you would normally use in a meatloaf recipe would taste awesome.
the meat was totally raw! And it browned perfectly---I used 94% lean beef.
xox
steph

I love stuffed peppers, but always cook the peppers, and the meat, and the rice, and whatever else goes into it first. I can't wait to try this with only having to cook rice!!
it sounds so easy and with a whole lot less dishes!!

They do look amazingly good yep!!

Do you brown the meat first?

Love your stuff..........Did you have a pot pie recipe? I have a recipe I made up with my family in mind. I think I could tweek it to a crock pot recipe for you!

i'm so excited about making these!! and i love love love that you don't have to brown the meat!! excellent!

I adore your blog and being crock pot less or slow cooker less as we call them over here in the UK, I could stand it no longer so have just treated myself to one ... so can I join you for the ride?
all love Denise x

I have always wanted to make these but all the recipes seemed so complicated. I cant wait to try your version.

Happy Mothers Day =)

Those look delicious!!! I'm definately going to be trying those!

I never would have believed you could use the meat raw--wow, does that make it easier! Also, we use ground turkey breast a lot in our peppers, I bet that would be good. When I try this, I'm going to try tomato juice instead of water--I have a recipe that involved simmering the stuffed peppers in tomato juice for hours, until it forms a nice thick sauce--I'm wondering how that would work in the crock.

mom24, what an *excellent* suggestion to use tomato juice! yum!

This looks awesome. I have been looking for a recipe for stuffed peppers and I think yours it the one I will be using.

OK, these are in the crockpot! :) But (drumroll for dumbest question ever)...how do I eat them? Do you pick them up? Or put them on a plate/bowl and use a fork and knife.

They smell really yummy!

Thanks!

~m--I removed them with kitchen tongs, and ate with a fork and knife.

I'm so glad that you're trying them out!
-steph

I made these today and instead of water added pasta sauce. YUMMY!!!

Thank you for another new recipe to try out in our crock pot. They turned out great - hubby loved them and even our 10-month-old enjoyed the stuffing inside the peppers. I cooked ours for 8hrs on low and next time I am going to check them after 6hrs as they turned out a little soggy on the outside (inside was perfect) and I am going to add some salt or other seasonings to give em' a little kick.

I really appreciate and enjoy your blog. Keep up the great work!

I found your blog by searching "crockpot stuffed peppers" and am so glad I did! Not only did I find a great recipe but a wonderful blog to add to my daily reads! Thank you!

We had these the other night & we really liked them. I have always wanted to make stuffed peppers but never knew exactly what to put in them.

I am cooking these right now, on high, for a few hours because I was at work too long to only cook them for 6 or 8 hours. Hope they turn out OK...

Just FYI... cooking them on high turned out GREAT, they were done in 2.5 hours. So good!

I was new to the stuffed pepper thing and we have a garden that is out of control with peppers and my husband really wanted me to try to do stuffed peppers. I found your blog because I figured crockpot was my easiest way to go. I also LOVE mine!

I did them with ground turkey breast instead of beef and they were FABULOUS! What a super healthy dish!

Thanks!

Kristy

Just tried these. My husband proclaimed them "phenomenal." Made a few small changes - used brown rice, didn't have tomatoes so used about 10 oz. of tomato puree, did only 1 tbsp. of ketchup since it looked a bit soupy already, and added the excess filling to the center of the crockpot. They cooked for about 12 hours and the peppers were quite mushy, but tasty. The stems popped right off, so we could eat the rest of the tops easily.

I found your blog about a week ago while searching for crockpot recipes and I am hooked! We had the stuffed peppers for dinner last night and they were amazing. Thank you!

So glad I found this - great recipe. We like Bison and I added some parmesan cheese and it turned out very tasty. I also like the suggestion for using Tomato Sauce instead of water - makes for a great sauce.

I made this recently using the recipe with the following substitutions: I used ground turkey breast for the meat and cooked quinoa for the grain. It was tasty! Thanks for the great recipe!

Hi there! Your recipe looks great. I am attempting at my own in the crock pot for the first time. I usually use an oven but since I am not living at home, I now live in a place without an oven!

USUALLY I put cooked rice in peppers with a mixture of whatever is around - I've used pears (it is weird but tasty), mushrooms, chives... whatever I feel like. On the outside (not in the peppers) I put a mixture of tomato soup (straight from the can, no added water) and sugar. it's pretty good like that! I'm going to try to make it in the crockpot tomorrow. :)

~CML

Here's what I did because I was really hungry and HAD to use the peppers before they went bad:

Cooked 1 lb of beef with finely chopped onion and 2 T of Worcestershire sauce. Drain and place in bowl. Mix in 3 T of ketchup, 1 C cooked rice, and drained seasoned diced tomatoes. Stuffed the peppers (4) and placed in 6 quart crock. Filled wth tomato juice until 2/3 - 1/2 full (almost the whole can...).

I cooked on high for a bit over 2 hours (like I said, I was hungry) and they were GOOD. The peppers were still firm (easy to get out) and had lots of flavor to them. I ladled the hot tomato juice over the peppers when I served them.

They were boyfriend and bachelor neighbor approved.

I'm helping out my in-laws since my mother-in-law had knee-replacement surgery. She is on a restricted sodium diet, so I made it with a can of Italian diced tomatoes with no salt and salt-free ketchup. I also used cooked barley in place of the rice.

They turned out great, and the flavor was wonderful. I didn't even miss the salt.

I'll be making some for their freezer later this week.

Thanks much. This one is definitely a keeper.

We tried this recipe a couple of nights ago and my 9 and 11 years olds vote:

It was good!! Two thumbs up!!

I was going to make stuffed peppers today, but in the oven. However, it is too warm today for the oven. So I found this, sounds great. I will try tonight, but am going to use orzo pasta instead of rice.


Linda

I'm cooking a low-sodium version, like Michelle did back in July. Using ground turkey, cooked rice, diced tomatoes, onion and spices. Many other recipes suggest putting tomato paste, sour cream, or other things around the peppers instead of water, but I'm trying the water. Used 2 c of water instead of 1/3 cup, and I'm leaving the caps off so I can cram the hole at the top full of cheese toward the end; the water still only comes halfway up the side of the peppers. 4 peppers fit in my crockpot: green yellow orange and red. I'm excited to try them in 7 hours or so.

My mom always used to use uncooked rice when she made any kind of meatloaf. The rice would cook naturally in the juices and give a lot fuller flavor, plus it took away the sogginess.

I did the same and it turn out great, so don't even worry about cooking the rice first.

I absolutely love crockpot stuffed peppers. I've even done 2 layers and it all cooks fine.

I use my pasta sauce instead of water and when serving I offer plain yogurt or sour cream as an add on.

I think its time to do this again.

These are in the slow cooker right now and they smell wonderful! I played around with the recipe a bit and I'm anxious to see how they taste.

I used ground lamb meat instead of beef, used brown rice with grains and added some "all spice". It's similar to a Lebanese recipe my family makes called Kousa Mahshi. Instead of peppers you use squash. I'm sure that would work great in the slow cooker as well. This recipe is so versatile!

I use 1/3 cup chopped onions and jar spaghetti sauce instead of water.Also uncooked rice with the meat mixture always turn out great.

I have found that if you use a mediun grain rice( like river rice)instead of long grain rice it comes out better. Adding a bit of garlic, a fresh tomato & chopped parsley & onion in the meat/rice mixture adds a lot of flavor!

These are cooking away right now. I followed the recipe to a T, but it only made enough for 3 stuffed peppers, and barely that. Did you double it when you made 6? Three is actually enough for us, but others may have problems if they were counting on 6. My peppers were fairly large--the ones that come 6 to a bag from Costco. Was that the problem?

I was looking for a stuffed pepper recipe and found you had this one. I plan to replace the tomatoes with an equal amount of salsa for a southwest version. Maybe even add a bit of cumin for a smokey flavor. I am also using ground turkey and chicken broth instead of the water. At the end I will sprinkle the top with a little cheddar cheese. I can't wait to try them.

I never cook the rice either. I add dill and diced onion to the meat. Been making these in the oven for 20 years now :) I also pour the 1/3 cup of water and 1 can of pureed tomatoes around the bases of the peppers.

I never pre-cook the rice either and I use tomato soup instead of canned tomatoes or sauce and I usually serve with homemade mashed potatoes..always a bit hit at my house even with the kids, they usually just eat the stuffing and not the pepper though!

I looked this recipe up online and discovered that i had no rice so i browned the hamburg and used a box of rice-a-roni spanish rice, made it as directions called for on the box added the hamburg and about 10 minutes before it was done put 2 cubes of cheese in every half of pepper and put in the spanish rice mix and put in the crockpot poured large can tomato sauce(garlic & onion) on and around the peppers and cooked for 6 hours, before serving add shredded cheese to the top enjoy!!

These came out really good!!! I, being lazy, took the advice of some of the others and didn't cook the meat or the rice and it came out perfect!

The only thing I would do next time around is maybe add a small can of tomato sauce to the meat/rice mixture so there is a bit more moisture! But I was impressed and very pleased with how they came out!

I made these tonight using zucchini, beef (which I browned first)pre-cooked rice, fresh tomatoes, and tomato sauce. They came out tasty but a litte soggy. i cooked on high for 4.5 hrs..and there was a ton of water in the the crockpot (which i did not add) after. I am new to the crockpot and I have a cuisinart one. Has this happened to anyone? How long should I cook them for?

I made these yesterday. I made the filling the night before, stuffed the peppers, put them in the crock liner, and then put it in the fridge. Then in the morning I just threw them into the crock pot itself, and cooked on low for 7 hours. They were on warm for about 2 more hours. They came out REALLY good! I used ground turkey, and probably only 3/4 of a cup of rice because that's what I had leftover. I topped them with parmesan cheese when we were ready to eat. Delish!! I had 2 leftover so my husband and I are having them for lunch. I love that they were so easy and I basically didn't have to do anything! They were just there when I got home!

We have a Vegetarian night once or twice a week so I used Zucchini instead of beef turned out awesome

Kristin, crock pot cooking always retains more liquid than most other cooking methods because it doesn't really evaporate. All of the water probably came out of the peppers. I'd try just using less liquid in the recipe to see how it turns out.

I have a question for those of you who used uncooked rice - did you halve the amount, or use a full cup? I'm not sure how much it will expand when cooked this way, but I love the idea of not having to pre-cook it.

Okay, I ended up making these with brown rice so I figured I'd better cook it first. I added a handful of low-fat Mexican cheese blend to the filling, but I don't think it added anything. Since I was using 90% beef I omitted the water, figuring there would be plenty of liquid at the bottom. And I was right! Some of the pepper skin roasted where it was right up against the crock.

After 7.5 hours in the crock, the peppers looked on the verge of falling to pieces, so I fished them out as best I could even though I didn't feel super-confident about the filling being done. The pink color from the tomatoes and the texture of the steamed meat threw me off at first, but I soon realized it was fully cooked, just not the color/texture that I'm used to.

At first taste I found these bland, but after being topped with parmesan and sriracha they were delicious! I'm looking forward to having another on my "dinner break" at work tonight.

I made these and they had NO flavor....please help!

Making these now...the house smells GREAT!

Bringing this post back from the dead lol! I didnt know if I should brown the meet or not (started to, then read this before it was done) so I hope it doesnt turn out too dry! Thanks :)

I don't want the peppers to be soft, can I put them in at the end?

I'm definitely trying this recipe. So versatile, I'm already planning different ways to make them.

Mine are in the crock pot as I write this. I used diced tomatoes plus Italian seasoning as suggested, but now I'm kind of wishing I had used salsa instead. I always use it in meatloaf, and its the only version my husband likes. I hope these arent too bland. I KNOW my husband will add hot sauce! He's pretty predictable on that note. I also wonder if you could throw in some wine instead of water.

These were pretty tasty! I added fresh oregano and sage as well as some salt and cayenne and cooked it on high for 3 hours. I topped them with marinara sauce and a little Parmesan. Will definitely make again, thanks for the recipe.

Hi Stephanie! I didn't scroll through ALL the posts, so someone may have already asked this, but ... What size can of tomatoes?? Thanks!!

Hi Julie, good question!
It's a standard 14.5-ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes. Diced will work in a pinch, but I really love the added flavor fire-roasting provides.
steph

Do you recommend cooking the beef ahead of time if it isn't lean? I have 80% chuck and I don't want it to be swimming in grease :/.

Hi Eliza, yes, I think that's a great idea. If you at least half-way cook the meat, a lot of fat will render out that you can discard.

Just finished eating these for dinner. We didn't cook the meat, used leftover quinoa and made a BBQ meatball type sauce for the top. Super yummy and husband approved!:) just a note, cooked them for about 5 hrs on low, checked temp, meat was done so I switched to warm for another 2.5. Peppers still had shape but we're super soft. Hubby loved um, I'm thinking just a little less cooking next time. But there will definitely be a next time!!:)

PS long time reader, first time poster. Thanks so much for your blog! I've become the "crockpot lady" with my friends, completely as a result of my obsession with your blog and my crockpot thanks to it. Best wishes!:)

:-) thank you, Mrs C!! I'm so happy you enjoyed your dinner.