Air fryer stuffed peppers are a fresh and flavorful, comforting meal that your whole family will love! This recipe is made vegetarian but can just as easily be converted to a ground chicken or ground turkey stuffed pepper version. Serve these Mexican-flavored peppers on their own or pair them with your favorite meats and seafood, a side salad, or even homemade air fryer tortilla chips and dip. Made in a fraction of the traditional oven time, they’re quick, easy, and beyond delicious!
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📋 About the Recipe
Because I’m not always the best rule follower and could never truly stick to a recipe myself without ever slightly changing ingredients or flavors, often my recipes reflect that and allow you to experiment as much as possible, as well. These air fryer stuffed peppers are made with Mexican-inspired ingredients, but can easily be made with other healthy and delicious flavors.
For Italian stuffed peppers, simply follow the “filling” instructions in this Italian stuffed zucchini recipe, with or without the ground chicken, all the way down to the mozzarella cheese. Instead of adding the filling to hallowed out zucchini, scoop it inside your favorite colored bell peppers, top them with the cheesy breadcrumb mixture, and cook according to these air fryer stuffed pepper instructions.
For Asian stuffed peppers, you can whip up some instant pot chicken fried rice, again omitting the chicken if you prefer a vegetarian dish, stuff it inside the peppers and cook in the air fryer by following the cook times below. You might need to add a tad more sesame oil or soy sauce to keep the filling perfectly moist.
And for Cajun stuffed peppers, follow instructions for a traditional dirty rice recipe, add the rice inside the peppers, and then air fry. You might need to add a bit more tomato sauce for a more saucy filling. You can also opt to add your favorite cheese on top or simply leave it off.
Dinner has never tasted better! With one quick and easy recipe, there are SO many ways you can experiment.
For more easy and healthy dinner inspiration, check out these great ideas!
🛒 Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- You can bulk up the recipe by adding ground chicken, ground turkey, or ground beef. Place the pot over medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Brown the meat in the olive oil and proceed with the rest of the instructions, starting with adding the onion, jalapeño, rice, salt, and pepper.
- If you’d like to use a different grain, like brown rice or quinoa, instead of basmati rice, just adjust the amount of liquid and the cook time according to their package instructions.
- If you want to add some spiciness, add a few dashes of cayenne pepper along with the other spices.
- Any extra rice filling can be used as a side dish, quick leftover lunch, or to stuff additional peppers and other vegetables for dinners throughout the week.
📓 Instructions
1. Place a dutch oven or medium-sized pot on the stove over medium heat.
2. Add in olive oil, onion, jalapeño, uncooked rice, salt, and pepper. Stir so the onion and rice don’t stick or burn. Cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, allowing the onions to turn translucent and the rice to turn slightly golden brown.
3. Stir in all of the spices, garlic, canned tomatoes, and chicken/vegetable broth.
4. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes.
5. While waiting for the filling to cook through, prepare the peppers. Cut them in half lengthwise and then remove the ribs and seeds.
6. When the rice mixture is cooked through, remove it from the heat. Mix in the corn and black beans.
7. Set the peppers on their side and scoop the filling into the hallowed out center. Place the stuffed peppers in the basket of your air fryer. You might need to cook the peppers in batches, depending on the size of your basket.
8. Air fry the peppers at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
9. Remove the basket from the air fryer and top the peppers with the cheese. Air fry at 350 degrees F for another 2 minutes, or until the cheese gets perfectly melty and bubbly.
10. Top air fryer stuffed peppers with sour cream, homemade salsa, or guacamole. Serve warm, either as a side dish or main meal.
🔍 FAQs
The majority of stuffed pepper recipes require pre-cooking any meat, rice, and vegetables that go in the filling. But I have also seen a few recipes that allow you to cook ground meat right inside the peppers. In my opinion, you can impart more flavor into the meat if you pre-cook it along with the rice and veggies, but this could really be up to you and how much time you have to spend in the kitchen.
These Mexican flavored peppers are great on their own or they are equally as delicious served as a healthy side dish beside grilled chicken, salmon, shrimp, or steak. You can think of them as the grain and vegetable part of your meal, simply pairing them with your favorite protein, or they can serve as the entire meal encompassing all 3 components: grains (basmati rice), vegetables (peppers, corn, onions, tomatoes), and protein (black beans and optional chicken, turkey, or beef).
There are a few different ways you can store and reheat stuffed peppers.
Always allow them to cool completely before storing! If you store peppers while they’re still warm, they will become soggy and turn to mush.
Storing in the refrigerator: Store the cooled stuffed peppers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat the peppers, place them back in the air fryer and heat them at 300 degrees F for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until the filling inside is warmed through.
Storing in the freezer: To prepare stuffed peppers ahead of time, you can either make the filling and freeze it on its own so that it’s ready to be added into fresh peppers when it’s time for you to make dinner. Or, you can complete the entire recipe, cooking the filling and peppers together, allowing them to cool, and then freezing them whole so that they’re ready to be eaten almost immediately.
-- Freezing the filling: If you choose to just make the filling and prepare the rest later, allow the filling to cool completely before placing it in an airtight container and freezing it. When it is time to make the peppers, defrost the filling and add it into fresh peppers. Then, follow the recipe instructions for cooking.
-- Freezing the peppers whole: If you choose to make the entire recipe before freezing, allow the stuffed peppers to cool completely before placing them in an airtight container in the freezer. When it is time to reheat them, place them right in the air fryer basket and air fry at 350 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the filling inside is warmed through.
To make this recipe in the oven instead, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Follow all of the recipe instructions, but instead of air frying, place the stuffed peppers in a shallow baking dish. Pour about a half inch to an inch of water in the bottom of the dish, around the sides of the peppers. This will steam and help them soften a bit. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the peppers become tender and the cheese gets bubbly.
💭 One More Tip
Like I mentioned earlier, these air fryer stuffed peppers can really be stuffed with any filling you can think of. Typically stuffed with a combination of rice and protein (beans, ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground beef), you can turn these peppers into your very own concoction of flavors with your favorite combination of grains (quinoa, barley, farro, cauliflower rice), meats, and chopped vegetables!
🍴 Related Recipes
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers
Equipment
- air fryer
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ yellow onion chopped
- 1 jalapeño diced small
- 1 cup white basmati rice uncooked
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp oregano
- ¼ tsp paprika
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 14.5 oz canned diced tomatoes
- 14.5 oz canned chicken or vegetable broth (around 1 ⅔ cup)
- 6 bell peppers, any color halved lengthwise, cleaned out and deseeded
- 15.25 oz canned corn drained
- 15.25 oz canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese
- salsa, sour cream, or guacamole for topping
Instructions
- Place a dutch oven or medium-sized pot on the stove over medium heat.
- Add in olive oil, onion, jalapeño, rice, salt, and pepper. Stir so the onion and rice don’t stick or burn. Cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, allowing the onions to turn translucent and the rice to turn slightly golden brown.
- Stir in all of the spices, garlic, canned tomatoes, and broth.
- Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- While waiting for the filling to cook through, prepare the peppers. Cut them in half lengthwise and then remove the ribs and seeds.
- When the rice mixture is cooked through, remove it from the heat. Mix in the corn and black beans.
- Set the peppers on their side and scoop the filling into the hallowed out center.Place the stuffed peppers in the basket of your air fryer. You might need to cook the peppers in batches, depending on the size of your basket.
- Air fry the peppers at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
- Remove the basket from the air fryer and top the peppers with the cheese. Air fry at 350 degrees F for another 2 minutes, or until the cheese gets perfectly melty and bubbly.
- To pair fryer stuffed peppers with sour cream, homemade salsa, or guacamole. Serve warm, either as a side dish or main meal.
Notes
- You can bulk up the recipe by adding ground chicken, ground turkey, or ground beef. Place the pot over medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Brown the meat in the olive oil and proceed with the rest of the instructions, starting with adding the onion, jalapeno, rice, salt, and pepper.
- If you’d like to use a different grain, like brown rice or quinoa, instead of basmati rice, just adjust the amount of liquid and the cook time according to their package instructions.
- If you want to add some spiciness, add a few dashes of cayenne pepper along with the other spices.
- See above in-post recommendations on storing and freezing stuffed peppers.
- To make this recipe in the oven instead, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Follow all of the recipe instructions, but instead of air frying, place the stuffed peppers in a shallow baking dish. Pour about a half inch to an inch of water in the bottom of the dish, around the sides of the peppers. This will steam and help them soften a bit. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the peppers become tender and the cheese gets bubbly.
- Any extra rice filling can be used as a side dish, quick leftover lunch, or to stuff additional peppers and other vegetables for dinners throughout the week.
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