This Instant Pot stuffed pepper casserole is so flavorful and simple to make! Like a stuffed pepper casserole but cooked in your pressure cooker and way easier than the old fashioned method! With ground beef and rice you can make it as cheesy as you want.

Instant Pot stuffed pepper casserole with ground beef comes out amazingly well as you see. It is definitely one of our favorite Instant Pot recipes now and you should definitely give it a whirl this week. Sponsored by HemisFares™ at Kroger. (affiliate links present)

Instant Pot Unstuffed Peppers

So we love stuffed peppers here at the house…yes even our kids. They are a little labor intensive since you need to blanch peppersstuff them, precook the rice etc.. Since our family loves these flavors so much we thought “we should be able to make this without all the work, but the same ingredients.” Totally worked!

When we first made a deconstructed version we tried it as an easy Ninja Foodi recipe the other day. It came out great!! All the wonderful flavors you love in one pot and no precooking or boiling required to make this easy. Not only can you skip cooking the rice but you can saute the meat right in the same pot. That means less dishes too.

If you are new to pressure cooking we have a lot of easy one pot meal recipes for you here. To begin with let's start with a few basic tips:

You can PRINT this —–> Instant Pot cooking times cheat sheet that will help you understand how long meat, vegetables and beans take to cook in your pressure cooker.
We HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot.
- You should know how to deglaze a pressure cooker after sautéing but it won't have as many issues with this better liner.

For reference, this is the model we have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.

A white Instant Pot with a Star Wars theme sits on the kitchen counter, ready to tackle your favorite beef arm roast recipe. The digital display glows "On." Next to it lie a patterned cloth and some green onions, all against the backdrop of blue kitchen cabinets and a stovetop.

Ninja Foodi Stuffed Pepper Casserole

If you've never had stuffed peppers may we say we hadn't either before we married our husband. It is something he remembered his grandma making so he taught us this easy stuffed green peppers recipe she used and we made them as often as we had time.

We knew there was a much easier way to get the same flavors, but a lot less tedious prep time. This is how to do it for sure. You throw it all in and cook in under 20 minutes. The only thing you need to ensure with this method is that you do NOT stir in the rice.

sprinkle in at the end and gently submerge. If you have been using this machine for a while you understand this trick and why it is done. You don't want it sitting on the bottom or it will stick, burn, and it may cause the display to show the burn message. NO good.

Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Casserole Typical Mom

Here are a few questions you might have before you get started. Believe us, you won't be disappointed. Yes it will look different from your childhood but is a game changer because it tastes the same!

What can we do with frozen bell peppers?

Great question. If you love batch cooking and found them on sale so you bought a BUNCH this is a great way to use them. Since the texture changes a bit when they defrost it won't matter since they're diced.

How many bell peppers make a cup?

1 usually when diced will fill a measuring cup full. For stuffed pepper casserole it doesn't have to be exact. Use a bit less or more depending on your taste buds. They add great texture to the dish for sure though.

Do you use the same ingredients for stuffed peppers to make inside out stuffed pepper casserole?

Yes! It is easier to make since you don't need to blanch the green peppers. You precook the ground beef, make the rice, saute the vegetables and then combine together to bake or pressure cook together with cheese.

Do we cook rice before adding to a casserole?

Nope, we never do with any one of our Instant Pot casseroles. sprinkle on top, submerge into the liquid but do NOT stir or it may trigger the burn message. That is a real time saver for sure. Don't worry, it will become as fluffy and tender as if it were cooked all by itself. Here's what it looks like, yummy right??!! The kids love it!

Instant Pot Bell Pepper Casserole

Too many steps can make us not want to make something when we barely have an hour at home to cook. We wasn't sure exactly how this one was going to turn out but the rice was cooked perfectly the first time around.

This deconstructed stuffed pepper recipe is packed with flavor! We will say that if we have our choice we will use half a pound of spicy ground sausage and half lb. of ground beef. You do want some fat for more flavor so nothing less than 80/20 should be used in our opinion.

When adding additional seasonings we do so gently because we love the flavors as is and the pasta sauce itself. Of course you can amp it up with more by adding a bit more chili powder if you like a little heat. That part is totally up to you……

One Pot Stuffed Pepper Casserole

If you need this to be dairy free you can find lactose free cheeses at the store, or leave out.

Instant Pot or pressure cooker – we have a basic 6 qt version
1. We HIGHLY suggest you get a non stick pot too!
White rice – we like Jasmine rice
1. We haven't tried it with brown rice yet but believe others have
2. NO need to precook white rice beforehand, that's handy
Bell peppers (we like a few colors)
Onion

Ground beef – you could use ground sausage too – This is how to defrost Instant Pot frozen ground beef in case you forgot to thaw it out the night before.

Pressure Cooker Stuffed Green Pepper Casserole

We have made air fryer ground beef for prep before too.

Mozzarella cheese (optional but a definite must for us here)
Jar of spaghetti sauce
Can of petite diced tomatoes
Beef broth or water but broth is so much tastier
Spices
1. We'd season with salt and pepper at the end
2. Adding cheese on top at the end is a must for us too

If you want a looser consistency you can also try our Instant Pot stuffed pepper soup which is equally good. Serve it with some Instant Pot cornbread for a completely good meal even the kiddos will love.

Pressure Cooker Stuffed Pepper Casserole

Here is a quick step by step of how we made this. We would recommend watching the video we made in this post before starting. It will give you a good idea of exactly what we did.

Add olive oil. Set your Instant Pot to saute, normal or low and start to brown your ground beef.
When it is still slightly pink add in diced bell peppers and onion and continue to cook together so onions/peppers soften and beef is browned.
Turn Instant Pot off to avoid burn notice.
Leave ground beef on bottom of pot. Pour in spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, spices, chiles, uncooked rice, and either water or vegetable broth on top (broth is better). DO NOT STIR!

Close the lid on your Instant Pot or pressure cooker, close steam valve, and set to manual, pressure cook, low for 10 minutes cook time. (if you don't have the ability to put it on low set for 7 minutes on high)

Allow to naturally release steam for 5 minutes, then let out rest.
Stir and serve topped with mozzarella cheese.

How do you save a leftover casserole?

Make sure it reaches room temperature before transitioning what's left into airtight containers. We like to store as much as we would reheat at a time. Transfer to microwave safe dish and warm. Below is a printable version of this unstuffed pepper recipe. Throw it into your recipe box or come back and see us every time you want to make it.

Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Casserole with ground beef

Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Casserole Recipe

By This Instant Pot stuffed pepper casserole is so flavorful and simple to make! Like deconstructed stuffed peppers in your pressure cooker but way easier! Prep: 10 minutes minsCook: 10 minutes minsTotal: 20 minutes minsServings: 8 Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

2 bell peppers, diced
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1 can chiles, diced, 4 oz.
2 c spaghetti sauceHemisFares used
1 c diced tomatoes we prefer petite version, canned
1 1/2 c white rice, uncooked
2 c beef broth, or water, or vegetable broth
1/2 tsp chili powder, or more
1 tsp seasoned saltor more, to taste
1 c mozzarella or parmesan cheese, shredded
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp minced garlic

Instructions

Add olive oil. Set your Instant Pot to saute, normal or low and start to brown your ground beef. When it is still slightly pink add in diced bell peppers and onion and continue to cook together so onions/peppers soften and beef is browned.
Turn Instant Pot off.
Leave ground beef on bottom of pot. Pour in spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, spices, chiles, uncooked rice, and either water or vegetable broth on top (broth is better). DO NOT STIR!
Close the lid on your Instant Pot or pressure cooker, close steam valve, and set to manual, pressure, low for 10 minutes. (if you don't have the ability to put it on low set for 7 minutes on high)
Allow to naturally release steam for 5 minutes, then let out rest.
Stir and serve topped with mozzarella cheese.