Easy One-Skillet Recipe: Unstuffed Peppers
Stuffed peppers are complicated, but unstuffed peppers are easy and cook all in one skillet! Try this easy weeknight dinner recipe that is chock full of vegetables, but so full of beefy flavor your kids won’t even mind the veggies.
Servings Prep Time
4-6People 20minutes
Cook Time
30minutes
Servings Prep Time
4-6People 20minutes
Cook Time
30minutes
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Prep
  2. Start cooking your rice. I use a rice cooker with 1 3/4 cups of rice and 2 1/2 cups of water. It takes about 50 minutes to cook, and by the time the rice is done, so is the rest of the meal.
  3. Dice the two bell peppers and one sweet onion.
  4. Measure all your seasonings into a small bowl so you’ll be ready to add them later. Includes: – 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes – 1/4 tsp pepper – 1/4 -1/2 tsp salt – 1/2 tsp onion powder – 1/2 tsp garlic powder – 1 tsp Italian seasoning – 1 tsp ground cumin – 1 Tbsp chili powder
Cook!
  1. Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
  2. Add peppers and onions and saute until softened.
  3. Add 1 tablespoon of minced garlic (3-5 cloves), 1 Tbsp of tomato paste (1/2 if concentrated), and all your seasonings. Saute for about 1 minute more.
  4. Move the vegetables to the side of the pan and add 1 lb of ground beef. Break up the beef as it browns, and stir in the vegetables as you finish cooking the beef.
  5. Stir in the fire roasted tomatoes and 1 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce. Cook off most of the liquid from the tomatoes. Then add the pasta sauce and heat through. Cook until desired consistency – not too liquidy!
Serve
  1. Serve over rice, top with Mexican cheese, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes

If you have leftovers from this recipe, adding the leftovers to a jarred pasta sauce is a great way to get a second meal out of this without the family feeling like they are eating the same thing again.

Giving credit where it is due — this recipe is my simplified and made-to-my-taste version of Chelsea’s Messy Apron’s unstuffed peppers.

For more easy “unstuffed” one-skillet meals, check out my Unstuffed Burritos recipe.