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!
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.
- 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 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
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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.
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Rinse the peppers and cut the tops off. Deseed and remove the membrane.
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Add the rice to the mixing bowl.
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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.
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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.
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Place stuffed peppers on the trivet in the pot. They will be sitting above the water.*
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Pour remaining tomato sauce on top of the peppers.
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Put the lid on and close it, turning the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
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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).
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After the cooking cycle ends, turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to do a Quick Release of the pressure.
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When the pin in the lid drops and all of the remaining pressure is released you can open the lid.
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Check the internal temperature using an instant read thermometer. The temp should be at least 165° for ground turkey, and 160° for ground beef.
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If they aren't fully cooked, put the lid back on and wait for 2 to 5 minutes, then check again.
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Sprinkle reserved cheese on top of each pepper and put the lid on to melt it.
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Remove peppers with tongs to serve.
*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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Shelly
Just made it using stainless steel bowl in my IP had to double cook time to 16 minutes I might have overstuffed them a bit though
Rose
4 peppers or 6 peppers?
Sandy
I try for 4, if they will fit. Otherwise 3.
Gerri
Did you put the pan or dish on the trivet first or did you just put it in the water?
Sandy
I put them on top of the trivet.
Sharon
I have some left over cooked ground meat. How long would you instant pot it?
Sandy
Just a few minutes, Sharon. It will depend on what you are cooking along with it.
Pat
Loved this recipe. I used some leftover quinoa in place of the rice, through in some shredded Mexican cheese, also left over, filled 5 large red peppers, cooked for an extra 3 minutes and, Voila. Awesome supper!
Farrel
I made these for dinner tonight in my 6 qt. Ultra Instant Pot. I have not eaten stuffed peppers since I was a kid, because as a child, I did not like them. My mother used green peppers and I thought they were kind of gross. But these were so good, I will definitely make them again. I made four stuffed peppers, using two red peppers, an orange and a yellow. I followed the directions and they turned out perfectly. Husband also liked them. Thank you for such a great recipe!
Sandy
Hi Farrel! I'm so happy that this recipe worked for you! Sometimes it just takes a different version, and you find that you now like something you didn't before! Thank you for your review!
Cheryl
I just made these today - yum!!! Easy recipe and easy instructions to follow!!! Thanks so much!!!
Sandy
That's great, Cheryl! Thank you for your review!