Easy Southwestern Stuffed Peppers with Cheese

Mix the filling ahead of time to save time in the morning instead of mixing just before adding to your crockpot. Prepare the raw bell peppers and store the filling and the peppers in sealed containers in the refrigerator until ready to use. When ready to cook, fill the peppers and place in the slow cooker. Cook as directed.

Absolutely! If you prefer, you can bake the peppers at 350ºF for about 25 minutes, then top with the remaining shredded cheddar cheese and bake for 10 more minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.

You can add a pound of cooked, chopped chicken, cooked ground turkey, or cooked ground beef for the meat-lovers in your house. You will end up with more filling, so plan to either add another pepper or two or freeze the extra filling.

Beans. Any type of beans will work in this recipe, and black beans would go especially well with the southwestern flavors.

Cheese. You can substitute Monterey jack cheese, quesadilla cheese, or a Mexican blend cheese for the cheddar cheese.

Rice. An equal amount of cooked quinoa  or brown rice would substitute well for the white rice.

Vegetarian: This recipe is vegetarian as written when using A-1 sauce instead of Worcestershire sauce.

Gluten-free: Use gluten-free Worcestershire sauce for gluten-free Stuffed Peppers with Cheese.

Vegan: Use A-1 sauce instead of Worcestershire sauce and omit the cheese or use a non-dairy cheese for vegan stuffed bell peppers in the slow cooker.

I do not recommend freezing raw bell peppers. Raw vegetables tend to lose their moisture when frozen and thawed, so the cooked result will be a different texture and taste than when cooked from fresh. There are two better options for freezing:

Freeze the filling. The filling freezes well, so if you’d like you can double the filling recipe and stock your freezer. Simply prepare the filling as directed and freeze in a container or freezer bag. Date and label with "Slow Cooker Southwestern Stuffed Pepper Filling: Thaw and stuff 6 seeded bell peppers with vegetable mixture. Place in slow cooker, cover, and cook on low 6-8 hours (high: 3-4 hours). During the last 30 minutes of cooking time, sprinkle with ¼ cup of cheese and allow cheese to melt." Use within 4 months.

Freeze the cooked peppers. Prepare and cook the stuffed bell peppers as directed but do not top with shredded cheese. Freeze either in bulk or individually. Label and date. Use within 4 months. To use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and top with ¼ cup of cheese. Reheat the stuffed peppers in the microwave (2-4 minutes per pepper) or oven (25 minutes at 350ºF).

You'll save prep time by using ingredients already available as leftovers from a previous meal or by prepping ingredients for the week together. A smart way to integrate Stuffed Peppers with Cheese into your meal plan would be to plan a meal with rice early in the week and save a couple of cups of cooked rice for the stuffed peppers. 

The recipe is flexible and you could use either the raw onion that is called for or sautéed onion. If you are sautéing onions for a recipe earlier in the week you can save ¼ sautéed onion to use in the filling for the stuffed peppers. (I don't recommend saving chopped raw onions since they get stronger and change texture after chopping.)

Sample Menu: 

Day 1 - Grilled Steak (reserve leftover steak)

Day 2 - Beef and Broccoli over Rice (uses leftover steak; make extra rice)

Day 3 - Hash Brown Soup (make extra sautéed onions)

Day 4 - Southwestern Stuffed Peppers with Cheese (uses leftover rice and leftover sautéed onions)

This stuffed pepper recipe is a well-balanced hearty meal by itself, so I usually just add a Mexican-style salad to go with it.