Name: Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 9 min
Total time: 24 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Water, (for the Pressure Cooker); 4 med-large Bell Peppers ((any color, I like red)); 1 cup Cooked Rice ((or parboiled rice)); ½ lb Lean Ground Turkey or Beef ((85% to 93% lean)); 1 Egg, (beaten); 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder; ½ small Onion, (diced (or 1/2 tsp Onion Powder)); 1 teaspoon Salt; ½ teaspoon Pepper; 3 Tbsp Bread Crumbs; 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning; 2 teaspoons Paprika ((optional)); 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce; 1 cup Shredded Cheese, (divided in half); 1 (14 oz) can Tomato Sauce, (divided in half)

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Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers are so easy to make, and very tasty! A great weeknight meal. Nicely seasoned ground beef and rice in fresh bell peppers make pressure cooker Stuffed Peppers a win in my house!

Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Peppers are total comfort food. I have fond memories of Mom making these in the tiny kitchen of my childhood.

The pressure cooker is a great way to cook stuffed peppers because they cook much quicker than in the oven.

If you don't want to turn on the oven and heat up your kitchen, the Instant Pot is a great option, and cooks these stuffed peppers perfectly, keeping your kitchen cool.

Add the sauce to the peppers right before you close the lid.

If you want cheese melted on top, add that after pressure cooking.

Is the meat and rice cooked or uncooked to start?

For these pressure cooker stuffed peppers, the meat goes in uncooked, but the rice is already cooked. You can use parboiled white rice if you'd like.

Here I am using the "Pot-in-Pot" or PIP method, which means I put the peppers in a separate dish to cook in, and that dish goes into the pressure cooker's cooking pot.

I like to do this when I have a sauce that I don't want to get watered down. Normally, you will put the peppers directly on the trivet. PIP cooking requires a bit longer cook time.

When choosing your peppers for this recipe, try to get the smaller sized bell peppers so they will fit in your pot.

I can usually get 4 small or 3 medium sized bell peppers into my 6 qt pressure cooker.

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If you make this yummy pressure cooker stuffed peppers recipe, please leave me a comment below. Let me know how you liked it!

4.75 from 27 votes

Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

9 mins

Total Time

24 mins

Delicious Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers are made with ground beef or turkey and rice, and are easy to make, and very tasty! A great weeknight meal.

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Slavic

Keyword: instant pot stuffed bell peppers

Servings: 4

Calories: 208 kcal

Author: Sandy Clifton

Ingredients

1 cup Water, for the Pressure Cooker

For the Peppers

4 med-large Bell Peppers (any color, I like red)
1 cup Cooked Rice (or parboiled rice)
½ lb Lean Ground Turkey or Beef (85% to 93% lean)
1 Egg, beaten
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
½ small Onion, diced (or ½ tsp Onion Powder)
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Pepper
3 Tbsp Bread Crumbs
2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
2 teaspoons Paprika (optional)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 cup Shredded Cheese, divided in half
1 (14 oz) can Tomato Sauce, divided in half

Instructions

Put the cup of water into the inner liner of the pressure cooker. Also place the trivet in the pot for the peppers to sit on.
Rinse the peppers and cut the tops off. Deseed and remove the membrane.
Add the rice to the mixing bowl.
Add the ground turkey or beef (raw) and all other ingredients (except for half of the tomato sauce and half the cheese) to the mixing bowl. Mix to combine thoroughly with the rice.
Fill each pepper with enough of the meat mixture to come a little bit above the top of the pepper. Don't pack them too tightly or they won't cook evenly.
Place stuffed peppers on the trivet in the pot. They will be sitting above the water.*
Pour remaining tomato sauce on top of the peppers.
Put the lid on and close it, turning the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button, and then the +/- button to select 9 minutes. High Pressure (Cook time may vary by size of peppers and how full they are stuffed).
After the cooking cycle ends, turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to do a Quick Release of the pressure.
When the pin in the lid drops and all of the remaining pressure is released you can open the lid.
Check the internal temperature using an instant read thermometer. The temp should be at least 165° for ground turkey, and 160° for ground beef.
If they aren't fully cooked, put the lid back on and wait for 2 to 5 minutes, then check again.
Sprinkle reserved cheese on top of each pepper and put the lid on to melt it.
Remove peppers with tongs to serve.

Recipe Notes

*If using the "pan in pot" method where the peppers are cooked in a stainless pan that sits on the trivet, add about 2 minutes cook time. This may vary with size of peppers, etc.

Updated 6/2019

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