Smoked stuffed peppers are a delicious and easy dinner recipe that everyone will love. Stuffed peppers are always delicious, but the flavor is hugely intensified when you pop them on the smoker to finish cooking. These stuffed bell peppers are made with seasoned ground beef, hearty rice, and healthy cabbage, and topped with a layer of melty cheese. If you have a pellet grill, you have to try smoking peppers; you will love it!
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I certainly have my fair share of favorite grill recipes, and this smoked stuffed pepper recipe is one of our new favorites. I was going to make my yummy stuffed peppers, and then thought, I wonder if I can smoke them? You know what? Yes, you can! They turned out fabulous! Read on for my easy and quick recipe on how to smoke peppers!
Jump to:
- Why you will love smoked peppers
- What you need to make smoked stuffed peppers
- How to make smoked stuffed peppers
- How long to cook smoked stuffed peppers
- Substitutions
- Variations for easy grilled stuffed peppers
- Equipment
- Storage
- Top tips for making these stuffed smoked peppers
- More Smoker Recipes
- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)
- More Dinner Recipe
- 📋 Recipe
- Storage
- Food safety
- 💬 Comments
Why you will love smoked peppers
- Easy-to-make dinner recipe
- Fantastic smoky flavor
- Made with fresh, healthy ingredients
- Hearty and filling
- Ready in 45 minutes
- Great for meal prep
What you need to make smoked stuffed peppers
- Bell peppers: Use any sweet peppers you like.
- Ground beef. I used 1 pound of ground beef. You could also substitute ground turkey, ground chicken, or Italian sausage.
- Rice, cooked. I used jasmine rice, but you could use brown rice, Basmati rice, or quinoa.
- Cabbage, shredded.
- Onion. I used red onion, but yellow onions would be great too.
- Garlic. I used garlic cloves. You could also use garlic powder.
- Cheese. Shredded cheddar cheese melted on top is amazing.
- Marinara sauce, homemade or store-bought.
- Seasonings: Italiano seasoning, salt, and pepper.
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to make smoked stuffed peppers
- This recipe is so quick and easy to make. First of all, heat a large non-stick skillet on the stove over medium heat. Next, add the ground beef, diced onion, and garlic.
- Brown the meat until no pink remains, stirring frequently. Use the spatula to break the meat into smaller pieces. Drain any fat.
- Add in cooked rice and shredded cabbage and mix until well combined.
- Add in marinara sauce and Italiano seasoning. Heat for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Cut sweet peppers in half, remove the seeds and membrane and discard. Place peppers on a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Stuff peppers with the cooked ground beef mixture until the peppers are full.
- Finally, top each stuffed bell pepper with shredded cheese (yum).
How long to cook smoked stuffed peppers
Place the baking sheet with stuffed bell peppers directly on the grill grate in a preheated smoker at 325 degrees F and smoke for about 30 minutes, or until the peppers are heated through, and the cheese is brown and bubbly on top. The peppers are done when they are tender and can be pierced with a fork. Enjoy!
Hint: Make sure the hopper for the wood pellets is full on the smoker.
Substitutions
These smoked peppers can have ingredients substituted to include your favorites!
- Beef - instead of ground beef, use ground turkey or chicken
- Cabbage - use shredded carrots or shredded zucchini instead of cabbage
- Cheese - Use your favorite cheese
- Smoked stuffed peppers vegetarian: Leave out the ground beef and use extra rice, plus add a can of black beans.
- Vegan: Follow as above for vegetarian, and leave out the cheese
- Low carb - Use cauliflower rice instead of regular rice, or just make smoked stuffed peppers without rice
Variations for easy grilled stuffed peppers
These stuffed bell peppers are so tasty, and you can easily switch up ingredients to suit specific tastes. Try some of the following ideas:
- Extra veggies: Add extra vegetables such as spinach, carrots, or zucchini to the ground beef mixture, chopped fine or shredded (a clever way to sneak in more veggies).
- Spicy - Use jalapeno peppers instead of bell peppers for delicious smoked stuffed jalapeno peppers.
- Chicken - Make smoked chicken stuffed peppers with ground chicken instead of ground beef.
- Southwestern flavor - Try these Southwestern Traeger Stuffed peppers for a spicier version of the same recipe.
See this oven-baked version of stuffed peppers on my website!
Equipment
Smoker: Our smoker is an electric Pit Boss smoker 8-1 grill that uses 100% wood pellets as fuel instead of gas or propane.
Wood pellets: We like the Competition Blend and Hickory Blend.
High-quality temperature probe: This is a must-have item if you own a smoker. We invested in a digital meat thermometer, it is so easy to use!
Storage
Fridge: Leftover smoked stuffed peppers will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Freezer: Leftover smoked stuffed peppers will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. We love using a Foodsaver to freeze our food; it keeps it fresh so much longer!
If you have lots of leftovers, wrap each individual stuffed pepper in plastic wrap and place it in a Ziploc bag. Then, pop it in the freezer for easy meal prep for school or work lunches.
Top tips for making these stuffed smoked peppers
I don't mind spending time in my kitchen preparing meals, but sometimes, I don't have time for much prep. You can prepare these stuffed peppers even quicker if you plan a little bit. Some great shortcuts to make this recipe a breeze are:
- Leftover rice. I make extra rice the night before I plan to make stuffed bell peppers so that I just have to dump the rice in and heat it up with the seasoned ground beef.
- Leftover ground beef. Use leftover cooked ground beef instead of fresh to speed up the process even faster.
- You can prep these peppers ahead of time and store them in the fridge covered up until 24 hours before baking them in the oven. Perfect on those super busy nights!
- Meal prep idea: After these peppers are cooked, wrap them individually in plastic wrap then place in a freezer bag and place them in the freezer. Grab 1 or 2 from the freezer for a quick lunch or dinner.
More Smoker Recipes
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)
Place the baking sheet with stuffed bell peppers directly on the grill grate in a preheated smoker and smoke for about 30 minutes until the peppers are heated through and the cheese is brown and bubbly on top. The peppers are done when they are tender and can be pierced with a fork.
Yes, you can! They are absolutely delicious, and they are so easy to make!
You do not need to precook the peppers for these smoked peppers as they would be too soft after being cooked on the smoker. However, they are nice and tender after 30 minutes on the pellet grill.
It takes 30 minutes to smoke peppers on the grill to get the delicious smoke flavor.
I smoke my stuffed peppers at 325 degrees F for 30 minutes until heated through, and the cheese is bubbly.
Yes, cook the meat before stuffing peppers. Cook the beef in a skillet over medium heat until no pink remains; add the rest of the ingredients, stuff the peppers, and pop them on the smoker.
The peppers can be stuffed and refrigerated up to 24 hours ahead. You will need to add 10 minutes of cooking time.
There have been some recent studies that suggest that smoked meats are healthier than grilled meats. The high heat from grilling causes possible risks when the flames interact with animal fat. Since smoked meats are cooked at lower temperatures, the same risks are avoided.
I like to cut my peppers in half as it is a smaller surface area, and they heat up quicker on the smoker. However, some recipes call for peppers to be cut with the top off so that you can put more filling in, which works great too, but it takes a lot longer to heat the filling in a whole pepper than half a pepper.
Red peppers pack the most nutrition because they've been on the vine the longest. Green peppers are harvested before they turn yellow, orange, and then red. Compared to green bell peppers, the red ones have almost 11 times more beta-carotene and 1.5 times more vitamin C.
I prefer to freeze stuffed peppers after they are fully cooked. They are easy to reheat for a quick and healthy dinner on those super busy nights.
To freeze, let them cool, then place them in a freezer-safe container with a tight-fitting lid. They will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat, place them in the fridge the night before to thaw. Then, place them on a baking pan, cut side up, and bake in a 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until warmed through.
These peppers will keep in the fridge in a container with a tight-fitting lid for 3-4 days.
More Dinner Recipe
If you've tried these Smoked Stuffed Peppers or any other recipe, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you!
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📋 Recipe
How To Make Smoked Stuffed Peppers
Equipment
- Pit Boss Pellet Grill
- Wood pellets, either Competition Blend or Hickory Blend, or your favorite
- ThermPro Wireless Remote Digital Thermometer
Ingredients
- 6 bell peppers, any color
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 cup rice* cooked
- 3 cups marinara sauce
- 4 cups cabbage shredded
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 tablespoon Italiano seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Cut bell peppers in half, take out the seeds and trim the membrane and discard.
- Heat a large skillet on the stove on medium heat. Add the ground beef, diced onion, and garlic.
- Brown the meat until no pink remains, stirring frequently. Break the meat into smaller pieces. Drain any fat.
- Into the skillet, add rice and cabbage. Stir together until well mixed and heated through. The cabbage will cook down and blend in with the meat.
- Add in marinara sauce, Italiano seasoning, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Heat for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Preheat smoker to 325 degrees F.
- Spoon cooked ground beef mixture evenly into peppers.
- Top each pepper with shredded cheese.
- Place parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet and place stuffed peppers on it. The baking sheet will catch any cheese that melts off.
- Place the baking sheet with peppers directly onto the grill grate of the preheated smoker. Close lid and smoke for 30 minutes, or until peppers are heated through and cheese is bubbly on top. The peppers are done when they are tender and can be pierced with a fork.
Notes
Storage
Fridge: Leftover smoked stuffed peppers will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Freezer: Leftover smoked stuffed peppers will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. We love using a Foodsaver to freeze our food; it keeps it fresh so much longer! If you have lots of leftovers, wrap each individual stuffed pepper in plastic wrap and place it in a Ziploc bag. Pop it in the freezer for easy meal prep for school or work lunches.Nutrition
Food safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
Eli
Such a great idea and recipe! Will definitely be adding these to the weekly rotation!
Genevieve
These look so delicious and a great way to use up those bell peppers!
Mama Maggie's Kitchen
This looks insanely, incredibly good. Sooo yummy!
Julie
I am loving this stuffed pepper idea! Wonder if I can make it minus the cheese?
Jeri
Of course! It would still taste great!
Andrea White
such a great and delicious recipe!