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September 28, 2018

Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Mexican Stuffed Peppers

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Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Mexican Stuffed Peppers–bell peppers are stuffed with brown rice, black beans and salsa and cooked perfectly in your electric pressure cooker or your crockpot. You can make them vegetarian or with meat, it’s up to you. Top with a dollop of sour cream and enjoy this healthy weeknight dinner. 

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Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Mexican Stuffed Peppers--bell peppers are stuffed with brown rice, black beans and salsa and cooked perfectly in your electric pressure cooker or your crockpot. You can make them vegetarian or with meat, it's up to you. Top with a dollop of sour cream and enjoy this healthy weeknight dinner. 

Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Mexican Stuffed Peppers

My daughter helped me plan our meals this week and has been helping cook too. She requested that we try stuffed peppers. I happily obliged since stuffed peppers is a dish that I love but don’t make very often. I don’t why because these instant pot/slow cooker mexican stuffed peppers were amazingly easy and so tasty. I topped mine with a dollop of sour cream. I also used some of my prepped chicken in the recipe. However you don’t need to use any meat at all if you don’t want to.

My son took one of the leftover peppers to lunch the next day in his mini lunch crockpot*. He has become quite the talk of his classroom. Each kid wonders and guesses what he will bring in it. Sometimes it’s pasta, sometimes it’s soup. His teacher even got on board and ordered herself one. She lets Skyler plug his crockpot into the outlet in their classroom.

Give these stuffed peppers a try! Add them to your menu. I bet you’ll be surprised at how much flavor comes from just a few ingredients.

Pin this recipe for later!

Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Mexican Stuffed Peppers--bell peppers are stuffed with brown rice, black beans and salsa and cooked perfectly in your electric pressure cooker or your crockpot. You can make them vegetarian or with meat, it's up to you. Top with a dollop of sour cream and enjoy this healthy weeknight dinner. 

More recipes you’ll love…

Slow Cooker Quinoa and Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

Easy Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce

Instant Pot Tomato Basil Parmesan Orzo

Pin this recipe for later!

Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Mexican Stuffed Peppers--bell peppers are stuffed with brown rice, black beans and salsa and cooked perfectly in your electric pressure cooker or your crockpot. You can make them vegetarian or with meat, it's up to you. Top with a dollop of sour cream and enjoy this healthy weeknight dinner. 

What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?

To make Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Mexican Stuffed Peppers I used my 6 quart oval Kitchenaid slow cooker* and my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.

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Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Mexican Stuffed Peppers


★★★★★

4.5 from 13 reviews

  • Author: Karen Petersen
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 6 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
  • Total Time: 21 minutes
  • Yield: 4-5 servings 1x
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Description

Bell peppers are stuffed with brown rice, black beans and salsa and cooked perfectly in your electric pressure cooker or your crockpot. You can make them vegetarian or with meat, it’s up to you. Top with a dollop of sour cream and enjoy this healthy weeknight dinner. 


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/2 cups water (Instant Pot version only)
  • 4 large green peppers or 5 medium green peppers
  • 1/2 cup uncooked instant brown rice
  • 2 cups picante sauce (I used mild Pace’s Picante sauce)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 (14 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • Optional: 1 cup cooked and chopped chicken or 1 cup cooked ground beef or turkey
  • Grated cheddar and sour cream, for topping

Instructions

  1. Remove and discard the tops, seeds, and membranes of the bell peppers.
  2. In a bowl stir together the rice, picante sauce, salt, cumin, garlic powder, beans, and meat, if desired.
  3. Scoop the mixture into the hollowed out peppers.
  4. If using the Instant Pot: Pour 1 1/2 cups water in the bottom of your pot. Place a trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Place the peppers on top of the trivet. You may have to arrange them to fit. Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 6 minutes on high pressure. When the time is up let the pot sit for about 5-10 minutes before moving the valve to venting. Remove the lid. If using the slow cooker: arrange the filled peppers in the bottom of your slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours or on high for 3 hours.
  5. Serve the peppers topped with a bit of grated cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream, if desired.

Notes

I have only tried this recipe with instant brown rice. I believe that uncooked, rinsed quinoa or long grain white rice would also work. Let me know if you try it and how it turns out.

This recipe is gluten free.

  • Category: Meatless
  • Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
  • Cuisine: Southwest

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 stuffed pepper (no meat)
  • Calories: 211
  • Sugar: 11 g
  • Sodium: 1594
  • Fat: 2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 42 g
  • Protein: 8 g

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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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48 Comments Filed Under: Gluten Free, Healthy, Instant Pot, Meatless, Mexican, Rice, Summer, Slow Cooker

Recommendations

Comments

  1. Carol says

    December 9, 2021 at 8:42 am

    If I used Boca Crumbles, would I need to thaw them first? I have made this recipe numerous times, but I never added a meat substitute.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 9, 2021 at 1:20 pm

      I bet you wouldn’t have to thaw them but I am not 100% sure!

      Reply
      • Carol Newman says

        December 15, 2021 at 7:35 am

        Thanks! I had the same thought because they are messy to handle when they are thawed.

        Reply
  2. Jim E says

    June 17, 2021 at 8:13 pm

    This is only the second thing I cooked in my Instant Pot (The other was just chicken thighs which I put BBQ sauce on) and it was good but frustrating. Maybe because I am new at it. I used everything exactly as the recipe calls for but I had two problems. 1) getting them out of the pot without them falling apart or falling over. I tried initially with my hands (fingers) but they just tore apart. Then I tried with tongs and that didn’t work. 2) I drained the beans completely but the finished product was very soupy. As it turned out, I pretty much had to scoop everything out with a ladle because they tore and everything went into the pot itself along with the 1 1/2 cup of water used to generate the steam/pressure. I don’t know if taking them out at 5 minutes instead of waiting the full 10 would have made a difference or not. Thanks for recipe though. I appreciate it.

    ★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      June 19, 2021 at 8:43 am

      Keep trying! I am sorry this recipe didn’t work well for you. But don’t give up on the IP yet…it is a great tool!

      Reply
      • Jim Ertle says

        June 20, 2021 at 3:23 pm

        I’m not giving up at all. On this one, I just have to figure out how to keep the peppers intact, not so soupy, and how to get them out of the pot. It was very good. Just difficult to manage.
        Thanks

        Reply
        • Karen says

          June 23, 2021 at 3:37 pm

          Good!

          Reply
  3. Kathleen says

    October 17, 2020 at 3:07 am

    I use red, yellow or orange peppers and I cut them lengthways as I can pile up the filling more and put more grated cheese on top.
    If I’m feeding four I would cook two in the pot and then another two whilst the cheese on the first two is melting and colouring under the grill.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 19, 2020 at 7:00 pm

      Sounds like an awesome idea to me!

      Reply
  4. Sunny says

    October 12, 2020 at 5:49 pm

    Hi, I got inspired, and changed up the recipe a bit. First I had no trivet, so I used 2 forks, put them in the IP face down and crossed, that worked well. Then I used a small vegetable ceramic dish and did one Red Bell pepper. I stuffed it with: spices, shredded broccoli (my Instacart thought that was same as shredded cabbage.lol), black beans, corn, cooked/cut potatoes (my IP fav) and with roasted red salsa and sprinkled w nutritional yeast (a great vegan sub for cheese). It came out delicious, served w a side salad of greens/cherry tomatoes/avocado. TY for the recipe and the other ideas!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 12, 2020 at 8:26 pm

      Cool! I’m glad you are so innovative. Sounds like it worked out great!

      Reply
  5. Stacy says

    August 23, 2020 at 4:10 pm

    Delicious. I used 1 small jar mild picante and 1 small medium. I added 1 cup frozen corn, 1 jalapeño pepper seeded and finely chopped and 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped. Nice flavor. My husband said these are his favorite stuffed peppers!

    ★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 24, 2020 at 11:57 am

      Nice compliment from your husband! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
  6. Sharon says

    July 14, 2020 at 7:25 pm

    It was good. Used only 1 1/4 cups water in the bottom of the IP instead of 1 1/2 cups and it was enough. I salted and peppered the inside of the cavities, after using a grapefruit spoon to get the seeds and membranes out. It was good with rotisserie chicken cut up in in. I didn’t have any instant brown rice, so used instant jasmine rice.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      July 14, 2020 at 7:48 pm

      I like that idea with the grapefruit spoon! I need to get one.

      Reply
  7. Troy Turner says

    May 24, 2020 at 11:15 am

    Not sure if you meant to say Pico De Gallo or mild salsa, but two cups of Picante sauce is just 16 ounces of straight up hot sauce. I was sceptical at first but decided to trust the recipe, and my suspicions were true. Both in prep and after being cooked, the stuffing was an extremely soupy mess, and more resembled a hot sauce soup than a stuffed pepper. Not sure how I was the only review with this issue (David benders review seemed to be close to mine) but I will try again with Pico De Gallo (what I’m assuming you actually used) and see if I have better results.

    ★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 25, 2020 at 12:32 pm

      Hi Troy, I used Pace Picante Sauce Mild and it was great for me. I will change the recipe to state the brand I used.

      Reply
  8. Lynnora Sims says

    May 3, 2020 at 2:02 pm

    If the peppers don’t sit evenly, shave off some of the pepper, it will balance on the trivet nicely.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 5, 2020 at 2:00 pm

      Thank you. I love this idea.

      Reply
  9. Catherine says

    April 26, 2020 at 5:16 pm

    Made these tonight! Added a little more meat, about 1 1/4 cups lean ground turkey and used 1 cup of cooked cauliflower rice. Also used mango habanero salsa for some spice. Cooked on high pressure for 6 minutes with 6 minute natural release. Perfect and delightful!!! Will definitely make again! 😃

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 27, 2020 at 12:05 pm

      I love the idea of the cauliflower rice! I am going to try that!

      Reply
  10. Anne Shepard says

    January 4, 2020 at 6:55 pm

    I made the Mexican stuffed peppers by your instructions in the 6qt Instant Pot. It was perfect, one of my husband’s favorites! Any idea how nutritional values are affected by addition of ground beef or ground turkey?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 6, 2020 at 7:32 pm

      Hi Anne I guess it would probably depend upon if the ground turkey or beef was lean and how lean it was. You can check nutrition info on myfitness pal. That’s what I do!

      Reply
  11. Pam says

    November 8, 2019 at 2:13 pm

    Is there a way I can use regular brown rice instead of instant?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      November 8, 2019 at 8:12 pm

      If it’s cooked you could!

      Reply
  12. Catherine L Page says

    November 5, 2019 at 2:27 pm

    Loved it! So easy, quick & pocketbook friendly! I’ll be having this often.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      November 6, 2019 at 6:41 pm

      Thanks Catherine. I’m so glad you liked it!

      Reply
  13. David Bender says

    August 13, 2019 at 7:12 pm

    Tried with brown basmati rice since I’d had good success with your Mexican rice and beans. 22 minutes left me with a mess, with very soft peppers and a soupy slop in the bottom of the IP. Probably needed a pot in pot, which I have but did not use. Silly me. Beans and rice were just right. Tofurkey Italian sausage instead of meat – delicious.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 14, 2019 at 3:24 pm

      oh shoot! sorry it didn’t work out for you. You would have had better luck with cooked brown rice.

      Reply
  14. Rachael says

    August 5, 2019 at 4:47 pm

    Love this recipe!! I added spinach and corn to it. This will now be a staple in our home. Quick and easy and very nutritious, Thank you! 😊

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 6, 2019 at 9:32 pm

      Love the idea of corn!

      Reply
  15. Sally Bruner says

    May 7, 2019 at 9:56 am

    If you add ground turkey how long do you cook it in the instant pot?

    ★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 7, 2019 at 10:13 am

      Keep the same cooking time. The turkey should be browned first.

      Reply
  16. Susan says

    March 23, 2019 at 6:38 pm

    Made tonight, delicious. I did some changes to recipe.
    I did use quinoa, worked nicely.
    I added a chopped, sautéed in olive oil, half of a red onion.
    I thinly sliced 6-8 green olives and added.
    I added 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
    My peppers were red and orange, we don’t like green peppers.
    6 minutes at high pressure and 6 minutes before steam release was perfect timing.

    Thanks for letting my husband realize he could like stuffed peppers after hating the ground beef with tomato sauce ones he had in school cafeterias.

    Susan in No. California

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 24, 2019 at 7:27 pm

      yay!! win!!

      Reply
    • Rod says

      January 19, 2020 at 12:20 am

      Hi Susan
      Did you use cooked or uncooked quinoa when you made it?
      thank in advance
      Rod

      Reply
  17. Christy says

    January 1, 2019 at 6:01 pm

    I made this last night and it was delish! I may add corn to the mixture next time I make this 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  18. Jay says

    December 4, 2018 at 5:10 pm

    For slow cook , whether the valve to be set as sealing or venting?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 4, 2018 at 8:34 pm

      It doesn’t matter really. I would set it to sealing but it doesn’t matter because it isn’t reaching pressure.

      Reply
  19. Linda says

    October 26, 2018 at 7:22 pm

    Made these today. I didn’t use any meat. They are delicious! the trickiest part was removing them from the insert. I forgot to look for peppers with even bottoms and a couple of mine were kind of supported by others! When it came time to remove them, i had to keep some from falling over! Next time I will pay more attention to the bottoms of the peppers! So simple and delicious I will definitely make again!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 29, 2018 at 1:03 pm

      Oh, yeah, good tip Linda. Thanks!

      Reply
    • Becky says

      July 19, 2019 at 11:08 am

      I always look for sturdy 4-lobed peppers. They sit nicely. Seems like most peppers are 3-lobed.

      Reply
  20. Izzy says

    October 10, 2018 at 8:50 am

    Can I use your recipes for a newcook silver 9 in 1 multi-purpose cooker please

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 10, 2018 at 10:38 am

      I am not familiar with that cooker. As long as it has the pressure cook feature then yes you can use it!

      Reply
  21. Karen says

    October 3, 2018 at 7:50 pm

    Made this for dinner tonight. Missed the part where it’s “instant rice” so my rice was a little crunchy. The taste was amazing, easy to throw together, and I’ll definitely be making this again (with instant rice this time!!).
    Thanks for the great recipes.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 4, 2018 at 10:42 am

      Oh oops! Yes I don’t use instant rice a lot but this recipe needed it.

      Reply
  22. Susan Lawrence says

    September 28, 2018 at 3:31 pm

    Karen, I haven’t made stuffed peppers in my IP yet but I have used quinoa and frozen brown rice with other fillers. Both are very good. I tend to favor the quinoa more than rice. Especially over white rice. I also use the sweeter yellow and orange peppers for stuffing. I will definitely be trying this recipe and using my IP. This sounds delicious!!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      September 28, 2018 at 7:43 pm

      I hope you like it!

      Reply

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Hi, I’m Karen. I know that dinner time can be less than relaxing. Busy schedules and cranky kids and a hundred other things can lead to weariness when it comes to putting dinner on the table. I can help! I make homemade, family-friendly slow cooker and Instant Pot dinners and share the recipes with you.

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