Bryan Grove Community
From our kitchen

Jack-o’-Lantern Stuffed Peppers

From our kitchen · October 27, 2026

Orange bell peppers carved with jack-o’-lantern faces and filled with seasoned beef, rice and melted cheddar, in a baking dish.
AI illustration

If I am going to carve something on a weeknight, I prefer it to become dinner. Orange bell peppers are easier to manage than pumpkins, and their faces look cheerful even when my triangles don’t match.

The filling is a simple mixture of beef, rice, tomatoes, and cheese. I cook it before stuffing the peppers so the oven only has to soften the shells and finish heating everything together. Use a small knife for the faces and keep the openings modest, or dinner starts escaping through the mouth.

The cut-off tops go back on for the table. Lift them away, add a spoonful of sauce from the dish, and eat the pepper along with the filling.

Serves
4
Prep
25 min
Cook
55 min
Total
1 hr 20 min

Ingredients

  • 4 large orange bell peppers with reasonably flat bottoms

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 pound lean ground beef

  • 1 small onion, finely diced

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 can (14½ ounces) diced tomatoes, drained

  • 1 cup cooked rice

  • 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt

  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

  • 1 cup shredded cheddar, divided

  • ½ cup low-sodium beef broth

Directions

  1. 1

    Heat the oven to 375°F. Cut the tops from the peppers and save them. Remove seeds and membranes. Using a small knife on a stable cutting board, carefully cut small eyes and mouths into the pepper walls.

  2. 2

    Put peppers upright in a snug baking dish. Add broth to the base, cover tightly with foil, and bake 20 minutes.

  3. 3

    Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook beef and onion 8–10 minutes, breaking up the beef, until it reaches 160°F. Drain excess fat. Add garlic and cook 1 minute.

  4. 4

    Stir in tomatoes, rice, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and ½ cup cheese.

  5. 5

    Carefully uncover peppers. Fill them with the hot beef mixture and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Set pepper tops alongside in the dish. Cover and bake 20 minutes; uncover and bake 5–15 minutes more, until peppers are tender and filling reaches 165°F.

  6. 6

    Rest 5 minutes. Set the tops on for serving, then remove them to eat.

One family tip

Choose peppers of similar height so they soften at roughly the same rate.

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