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These Meal Prep Unstuffed Pepper Bowls are loaded with stuffed pepper flavors and packed with veggies like zucchini, onion, tomatoes, and bell peppers! Pair with your fave rice or side for the perfect make-ahead lunch!
Reader Love
I just started meal prepping and this was a PERFECT first meal!! Delicious and easy to make!! Made more than enough and I love the veggies!
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Note from Danielle
My main goal with this meal prep dish – all the flavors and comfort of stuffed peppers, without spending time actually stuffing the peppers. It’s got more of a stir fry/big bowl of comfort vibe going on, and I hope you like it 🙂
These Unstuffed Pepper Bowls were a hit in my house and I’m thoroughly loving this recipe. Here’s why:
- So easy to eat, no knife required
- Loaded with veggies but it doesn’t really feel like it
- Tastes great as leftovers
- No complicated ingredients
- Sloppy joe vibes but still very different
I hope you love this delicious meal prep as much as we do!
By the way – here in the post content, you’ll find detailed information on the ingredients used, possible substitutions, and helpful tips for successful results based on my experience with this recipe.
For the printable recipe card with a list of ingredients followed by concise instructions, please keep scrolling down or hit the ‘Jump to Recipe’ button at the top of the page. Frequently asked questions are located below the recipe card.
Where do Stuffed Peppers come from originally?
Stuffed peppers actually seem to be a super common dish in lots of cuisines, with the main roots being in Spain and India. Ingredients and type of pepper being stuffed is highly dependent on the region. Here’s a more comprehensive guide on stuffed peppers from various cultures – Stuffed Peppers Through Time and Space from The Cookful.
This recipe is based on the North American version made with multiple colors of halved or hollowed out bell peppers stuffed with ground beef, rice, tomatoes, and more.
For this recipe, to save time and make it more meal prep friendly, I ‘unstuffed’ the peppers, meaning the filling and bell peppers are all diced up and mixed together. I prefer to serve rice on the side and mix it in as I eat!
Recipe Overview
Total Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Method: Stovetop
Prep: Make-Ahead Friendly
Watch how to make these Meal Prep Unstuffed Pepper Bowls (1 min 45 sec):
What are the ingredients in these Meal Prep Unstuffed Pepper Bowls?
The ingredients for this dish are super common and you might already have most of them on hand! Here’s what we’ve got:
- ground beef – This recipe uses 85% lean ground beef. Yes, you can use ground turkey or ground beef with less fat, but this is my preference for max flavor.
- bell peppers – Bell peppers are the star of this show and definitely required. Pick your favorite colors. I like a combo of two green and one red for this recipe.
- onion & garlic – Yes to my favorite flavor backbones of nearly any meal I cook. If you don’t have onion or garlic, you can sub with garlic powder or onion powder.
- zucchini – It’s still zucchini season around here and I love how well it blends in with the rest of the dish, adding more veggies, moisture and bulk.
- tomato sauce & diced tomatoes – I’ve used both tomato sauce and diced tomatoes to give this dish a sloppy joe effect and keep it nice and saucy.
- worcestershire sauce – Required for that stuffed peppers/sloppy joe/saucy flavor kick you know and love from the condiment nobody can pronounce.
- fine sea salt & fresh ground black pepper – Add sea salt and fresh ground black pepper while cooking and season at the end to your tastes.
- shredded cheese – Cover in your fave shredded cheese! I like mozzarella or pepper jack for this recipe.
- rice of choice & cooking liquid – For this kind of meal prep, you can use any kind of rice you prefer. I like to use jasmine rice cooked in broth (homemade if I have it) made in my Instant Pot (here’s my favorite Instant Pot Rice guide!)
How do you make these Meal Prep Unstuffed Pepper Bowls?
To make this recipe, start by getting your rice going, so that it’s done at the same time as the rest of the dish. You can make your favorite kind of rice in your favorite method – for this dish, it’s up to you.
After prepping all the veggies, it’s time to start cooking. Begin by cooking the ground beef over medium heat until it’s nearly cooked through. Don’t worry – it’ll finish cooking with the veggies.
Next, we’ll add the peppers and onions and let them cook for a few minutes until they’re beginning to soften. Then, add the zucchini and garlic. These take less time to cook than the peppers and onions, so they’re added a little later.
After that, add the remaining ingredients except the cheese. That includes the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, worcestershire sauce, and salt & pepper to season. Let everything get bubbly and simmery for 3-4 more minutes and there you go!
Cheese can be added before or after portioning with rice for meal prep or serving immediately.
How do you meal prep this recipe?
To meal prep this recipe, simply cook up the Unstuffed Pepper skillet as well as your chosen rice, and store in the fridge in airtight containers until you’re ready to eat it.
You can keep everything in one container, or portion your meals into meal prep containers before storing in the fridge.
Alternative customization ideas:
Customize this recipe as much as you’d like! Here are some ideas for you:
- Add other veggies, swap out the zucchini, etc (keep the peppers)
- Use your favorite cheese and rice
- Added corn & beans for southwest vibes
- Fire roasted tomatoes or homegrown diced tomatoes
Reader Love
This was soooo good. I used ground turkey since that is what I had on hand. I doubled the recipe and meal prepped it for me and hubby. Lunches were super tasty. Will definitely make again.
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Where do you get those meal prep containers?
I always recommend glass containers for storing your food. Here are some options for this meal:
- 2 Compartment Glass Meal Prep Containers (affiliate link!) – These are pictured in this post. The brand is Prep Naturals and I love their 2 and 3 compartment containers! If you don’t want your foods to touch until you eat them, these are the containers for you.
- 4-cup Pyrex Round Glass Containers (affiliate link!) – I love Pyrex and I have several of these containers. However, the lids are slightly inferior and will rip after a couple years of continued use. Still love the glass containers though!
- Pyrex 3-cup Rectangular Glass Containers (affiliate link!) – Another Pyrex option I own, just a different shape 🙂 Obviously this is a 1 compartment container, so your food will touch!
See all my meal prep container recommendations here!
How to store Meal Prep Unstuffed Pepper Bowls:
Store prepared meal prep bowls in airtight containers in the fridge and enjoy within 4 days.
How to freeze Meal Prep Unstuffed Pepper Bowls:
Freeze these meals in freezer safe containers with tight fitting lids for up to 3 months for best quality. Remove from the freezer the night before eating and then reheat normally, or defrost slowly in the microwave until hot and steaming all the way through before eating.
How to reheat Meal Prep Unstuffed Pepper Bowls:
Reheat cold meal prep in the microwave loosely covered for 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Thaw frozen meal prep overnight before eating and then reheat normally, or defrost slowly in the microwave.
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Meal Prep Unstuffed Pepper Bowls
These Meal Prep Unstuffed Pepper Bowls are loaded with flavor and packed with veggies like zucchini, onion, tomatoes, and peppers, of course! Pair with your fave rice or other side for the perfect make-ahead lunch!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice of choice + cooking liquid
- 1 pound 85% lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
- 1 teaspoon each fine sea salt & fresh ground black pepper
- 2 green bell peppers, finely diced
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 1/2 medium onion, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small zucchini, quartered and sliced
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce (about 3/4 cup)
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, extra liquid drained
- 3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
- salt & pepper to taste
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella or pepper jack cheese
Instructions
- Cook rice: Prepare your preferred rice (1 1/2 cups) according to package directions in water or broth (I generally make jasmine rice with chicken broth in my Instant Pot).
- Cook the meat: Place a large deep non-stick skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, add ground beef (1 pound), salt and pepper (~ 1 teaspoon each). Use a wooden spoon or spatula to break the meat into small pieces as it cooks. Cook the meat for about 4-5 minutes or until just barely cooked through, stirring occasionally.
- Add the veggies: While the meat continues to cook, add the peppers (2 green 1 red, finely diced) and onions (1/2 medium, finely diced) to the same pan and cook until beginning to soften, about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the garlic (4 cloves minced) and zucchini (1 small, quartered and sliced), and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Make it saucy: Finally, add the tomato sauce (1-8 ounce can), diced tomatoes (1-14.5 ounce can), worcestershire sauce (3 tablespoons), along with salt & pepper (~1/4 teaspoon each) to season. Reduce heat to low and cook for 3-4 minutes, letting it simmer and bubble, stirring occasionally. Add additional salt & pepper to taste.
- Meal prep it: If serving immediately, add shredded cheese (3/4 cup) and cover for 90 seconds to melt. For meal prep, add about 1/2 cup or so cooked rice to each of four or five meal prep containers. Portion the unstuffed pepper mixture into each meal prep container and add a heavy sprinkle of cheese. Store for up to four days in the refrigerator, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Notes
Zucchini is optional – I added it because it’s zucchini season and extra veggies are never a bad idea. Skip the zucchini to reduce volume and keep this recipe at 4 servings.
Adapted from Stuffed Bell Peppers from Food Network. Nutrition information estimated with My Fitness Pal. Video added 10/14/22.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1 meal prep bowl
- Calories: 645
- Sugar: 11g
- Fat: 22g
- Carbohydrates: 77g
- Fiber: 7g
- Protein: 32g
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use ground turkey instead of ground beef?
Yes, you can use ground turkey instead of ground beef in this recipe. Note that ground turkey generally has a lot less fat than ground beef, so the final result may be slightly less flavorful than using ground beef as written in the recipe.
Mary C. says
This was soooo good. I used ground turkey since that is what I had on hand. I doubled the recipe and meal prepped it for me and hubby. Lunches were super tasty. Will definitely make again.
Danielle says
So glad you liked it Mary!! Thank you so much for your review and rating, I appreciate it! -Danielle
Mallory says
What do you think you’d consider a “meal prep bowl” serving size? How much rice and how much of the meat mixture? It says nutrition info estimated from my fitness pal, but how was that created?
Danielle says
Hi Mallory – For the meat mixture, if you divide it into four portions, that would include 4 ounces of ground beef which I consider to be one portion. It’s about 1 1/2 cups of meat mixture. If you include a zucchini, it really bulks up the volume and the mixture could stretch to 5 portions. For the rice, it’s about 1 cup each. But please feel free to adjust the amount of rice to your preferences. I estimated the nutrition info in My Fitness Pal by entering all the ingredients listed and indicating 4 portions. But please keep in mind it’s just an estimate based on the ingredients I used. I hope this helps!
Monica says
Loved this meal but I was trying to figure out the carbohydrates. It reads 77g which seems a bit high. Is that a typo by chance or did that needed to be divided by the 4 meals?
Danielle says
Hi Monica – So glad you love this recipe! Thank you for your awesome rating! The 77g of carbs includes white rice on the side. Without the rice, each portion has approximately 17g of carbs. Hope this helps!!
Katelyn says
Great meal prep!!! Enjoyed every bite.
Danielle says
So glad to hear this Katelyn!! Thank you for leaving a review and comment, I appreciate it very much! -Danielle
Aimee says
Just made this for dinner and to meal prep for lunch and it was so easy! My grocery store had some pre-cut veggies so that saved me an extra step. This dish is very flavorful and fills you up! Will definitely make it again.
Taylor says
I just made this and it was great! I’m so excited to have it for the rest of the week! I used cheddar cheese instead and minced garlic and it came out v good!