Cuban Inspired Stuffed Peppers with Ground Beef Recipe

Hello, and welcome to another episode here at the Cuban Redneck kitchen. Today I am bringing you a classic with a twist. I am talking about stuffed peppers with ground beef. If you are familiar with the classic Cuban stuffed pepper recipe, you may be a little taken back by the ingredient list, but trust me, everyone who has tasted this, including my mom, agrees, this is the best stuffed peppers they have ever had! Why? It is yummy. It is tender and moist while maintaining that traditional stuffed pepper taste profile. One thing I won’t be doing is adding rice. Not sure who came up with that idea, but in my book, it is a fail!

This recipe makes four large bell peppers. Some of my friends think that half a pepper is a portion. In my house, one pepper is a portion. This is a savory dish that I often pair with rice and Maduro’s (sweet riped, fry plantains) – The ingredients, as shown in the video, are as follow:

• 4 – Large Bell Pepper
• 1 lb of ground beef (I prefer 75~80% lean)
• 1 egg
• 1 onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 3-4 branches of Italian Parsley (optional)
• An additional ¼ of a Bell Pepper
• 1 Cup of bread crumbs (I prefer plain, but Italian will do!)
• 1 Cup f milk
• 1 Cup of stock (Vegetable, Chicken, Beef, any will do as well as water!)
• 1 Cup of Pasta or Tomato Sauce
• 1 Teaspoon of Salt, Black Pepper, Cumin, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Oregano
• ½ Teaspoon of Cinnamon Powder
• 2 Slices of Bacon (optional)
• 8 oz. Bar of Cheese (I used Colby Monterey, but any type will do!)
• 8 Slices of the same type chase as above

Here is how you make the best stuffed peppers ever.

Step 1 – Dice your onion, the ¼ of the pepper, the garlic, bacon, and the cheese

Step 2 – Put a tablespoon of butter on a skillet with the bacon over medium-high heat. Once the bacon starts to render the fat, add the onions and the pepper. Cook until the onions become translucent and set aside to cool off.

Step 3 – In a medium mixing bowl – mix the bread crumbs, the milk, and the Parsley. Mix it well and let it stand.

Step 4 – Deposit the ground beef in another mixing bowl and start to break it down with a flat edge spatula. Mix all your dry spices well and dust it over as you work the beef. Once everything is well incorporated, add the onion mixture and the bread crumbs mixture. Set aside.

Step 5 – Prepare your bell peppers by cutting the top about a ¼ inch from the top. Cored them and washed them, and place them upside down over a napkin. Something I did on the video and forgot to mention is that I created small holes all around the bottom with a toothpick to allow steam and any rendered fat to escape.

Step 6 – By now, your ground beef mixture should be ready. Check for moisture, and if dry, add more stock, tomato sauce, or even milk. Then whip the egg add it to the mixture along with the cheese cubes. Work it slowly to make sure you have an even dispersion of cheese. Then proceed to stuff your peppers and place them in an oven-safe casserole dish.

Step 7 – Pour the previously made tomato sauce over the now stuffed peppers and place in the center of a pre-heat 325-Degree ven for 1 hour.

Step 8 – Once the time has expired, raise the temperature of the over to 350. Please take out your stuffed peppers and lay two slices of cheese over each of them. Now, this is 100% optional but awesome! If you don’t care for the extra cheese, simply bake the stuffed peppers for 65-minutes straight, and that is it!

My friend, I hope you try this recipe soon and look forward to having you as a subscriber on my next video!