I never imagined marrying a man who doesn’t like tomatoes or cucumbers. The good news? I get to eat them off of his salad in restaurants. The bad news? His salads are a little lame. Needless to say, when red pepper season rolls around, we get pretty excited. An excellent source of Vitamins A and C, potassium and dietary fiber, we love adding red peppers to anything and everything all year round. Less bitter than green peppers, they are extremely versatile and add a delicious, sweet and crunchy texture to pastas, salads, stir-fries, soups and more.
Red pepper season is in full swing which means we buy 5-6 peppers a week to roast, grill, stuff or simply dip into hummus. Today I am sharing a new twist on a classic: Stuffed Peppers with Beef and Bulgur Wheat. Growing up, my mom always served bulgur wheat in lieu of white rice so making the swap was a given. By bulking up the beef with fluffy bulgur wheat and loads of fresh veggies, these stuffed peppers will leave you full and happy.
Your fork is waiting.
Stuffed Peppers with Beef and Bulgur Wheat
Ingredients
- 4 red peppers tops removed and seeded
- 1 c bulgur wheat cooked
- 1 lb ground sirloin
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 3 cloves garlic grated
- 2 tbs fresh rosemary
- 1 tbs dried oregano
- 1/2 tbs dried thyme
- 1 zucchini chopped
- 32 oz tomato sauce
- 1/4 c Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 c fresh parsley minced
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place prepared peppers in a glass baking dish.
- Slice off small portion of the bottoms to create a flat surface reserving any excess pepper to add to the filling.
- Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat and spray with non-stick spray.
- Add ground sirloin and break down with a potato masher or wooden spoon.
- Once meat starts to brown, add onions, salt and pepper.
- Cook for 5-6 minutes until onions start to soften.
- Stir in spices, garlic and zucchini.
- Continue to cook until meat browns and veggies soften. (Important: Don't be afraid to let the meat mixture brown and caramelize! This is flavor, my friends. Walk away from the pan. It will be ok, I promise.)
- Once mixture is browned and you simply can't stand another minute or watching it darken, pour in half of the tomato sauce.
- Use wooden spoon to scrap up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan.
- Stir in cooked Bulgar wheat and check for seasoning. Add salt and pepper if needed.
- Scoop mixture evenly into the 4 peppers. Since the wheat is already cooked, you can fill them to the top!
- Pour the remaining tomato sauce in the bottom of the pan to create a little bath for the peppers.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and top each pepper with about a tablespoon of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- Bake, uncovered, for 15 additional minutes. Serve with fresh parsley.
Danijela
October 20, 2013 at 5:14 pmI use yellow ones. But who cares, I love love love stuffed peppers! ;) 5 star recipe.
Liz DellaCroce
October 21, 2013 at 8:32 amLove yellow peppers too!!! Thank you so much!
EA-The Spicy RD
July 28, 2013 at 11:31 amI’ve been on a huge red bell pepper kick lately-these look divine! I’m thinking quinoa in place of the bulgur wheat for a gluten-free version, OR black beans-yum!!
Liz DellaCroce
July 28, 2013 at 1:55 pmThose are both awesome ideas!!! I like the way you think!! :)
Aggie
September 5, 2012 at 9:26 pmI really love this healthier twist on stuffed peppers, it looks so delicious! I don’t cook with buglur enough, I’ve used in tabouli and that’s about it! Need to keep some on hand and experiment. I love that peppers are in season…one of my favorite veggies!!
Barbara F.
August 30, 2012 at 4:38 pmI just bought a big bag of red peppers at Wegman’s and I am going to stuff them. Filling sounds delicious. xo
The Lemon Bowl
August 30, 2012 at 4:56 pmLet me know how they turn out!!
Rachel Cooks
August 30, 2012 at 1:29 pmThese look fantastic Liz!
The Lemon Bowl
August 30, 2012 at 2:32 pmThey were so good! Lots of leftover filling too which Asher loved (and mom too.) :)