recipepinboard.＋ Add a recipe

THE COOKING NOTEBOOK · Beef

Beef and zucchini stuffed peppers: tender shells and a filling that stays mounded

Pre-roast the pepper halves, evaporate vegetable liquid and check the filled centers at the final bake.

THE COMPLETE FREE RECIPE

Beef & zucchini stuffed peppers

Roasted red pepper halves hold a savory filling of ground beef, diced zucchini and tomato, with oregano and no grain filling.

1 hr 5 minEstimated total time4 servingsYield
four lengthwise red pepper halves filled with ground beef, diced zucchini, tomato, onion and oregano flecks.
Read the walkthrough

Ingredients

Volumes are approximate. For baking, use a scale; Metric keeps the specified gram weights.

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Put the 8 pepper halves cut-side up in a large baking dish or rimmed sheet, using two dishes if necessary so they do not overlap. Brush with 0.282 oz oil, sprinkle with 0.0353 oz salt and roast for 18–20 minutes, until beginning to soften.
  2. While the peppers roast, heat the remaining 0.423 oz oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook for 7–9 minutes, breaking it into small crumbles. Check the beef in several places with a food thermometer and continue cooking until it reaches 160°F (71°C). Wash hands and utensils that touched raw beef.
  3. Add the onion and zucchini to the beef. Cook for 7–9 minutes, stirring often, until the onion softens and most released liquid evaporates. Add the garlic, tomato paste and oregano; stir for 1 minute.
  4. Add the diced tomatoes with their juices, remaining 0.0705 oz salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 5–7 minutes, until moist but thick enough to mound on a spoon rather than run. Remove the pepper dish from the oven and carefully pour away any watery liquid pooled in the halves.
  5. Divide all the hot filling evenly between the 8 pepper halves, gently mounding it. Bake for 12–18 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the center of the filling reaches 165°F (74°C). Rest for 5 minutes. Serve 2 filled halves per person, using all the filling across 4 servings. Pack leftovers into shallow containers and refrigerate promptly at 40°F (4°C) or colder, within 2 hours of cooking or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C). Use within 3–4 days; reheat to 165°F (74°C).

Estimated nutrition

Per serving · 1 of 4
Calories
358 kcal
Protein
35.2 g
Total carbohydrate
19 g
Total fat
16.5 g
Total sugars
12.3 g

Calculated from the listed ingredients and yield. Brands, draining, cooking and portioning can change the result. Not a laboratory analysis.

Calculation notes & sources

Estimated from listed ingredient amounts and identified food-composition profiles, divided by the stated number of servings. Not laboratory analysis or kitchen testing. The ingredient-sum method uses raw or cooked food profiles matching the ingredient state. Moisture gain/loss does not change the stated serving count. No general cooking/fermentation nutrient-retention factors are applied. Unless a discard/absorption blocker is listed, all measured pan fats and sauces are assumed consumed. Actual amounts left in pans, on utensils or during cooking can reduce intake. Optional additions are excluded when noted. Calories are kcal. Protein, total carbohydrate, total fat and total sugar are grams. Total carbohydrate includes fiber; these are not net carbs. No %DV or FDA-compliance claim. Null means unavailable, never zero. Sodium and fiber are omitted because retention, brands, rinsing and missing source rows make them less reliable here.

View the ingredient calculations · Source 1

Times and nutrition are estimates. Check product labels, quantities and safe cooking. US measures are approximate; exact Metric amounts remain available.

By Recipe Pinboard · October 6, 2026 · 4 min read

These stuffed peppers use beef, zucchini and tomato without a grain filler. Because both zucchini and peppers release water, the recipe controls moisture in two places: the filling is simmered until it mounds, and any watery liquid in the pre-roasted pepper halves is poured away before filling. That keeps the final portions moist without making them soupy.

The recipe at a glance

Beef & zucchini stuffed peppers makes 4 servings, with 1 hr 5 min estimated total time. View the standalone recipe page.

Prepare eight stable pepper halves

Weigh 600 g red pepper after removing stems and seeds, arranged as eight lengthwise halves. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and place them cut-side up in a roomy dish or on a rimmed sheet. Use two dishes if necessary rather than allowing the halves to overlap and block one another’s sides.

Brush with 8 g olive oil and sprinkle over 1 g salt, reserving the remaining oil and salt for the filling. Roast for eighteen to twenty minutes until the peppers begin softening. This preliminary stage gives the shells a head start so a thoroughly cooked filling does not have to wait inside raw, rigid peppers.

Cook the beef before introducing the diced vegetables

While the shells roast, heat the remaining 12 g oil in a wide skillet. Add the 600 g ground beef and cook for seven to nine minutes, breaking it into small crumbles. Check several areas for 160°F (71°C); ground meat does not use the lower whole-steak endpoint or a surface-color test.

Add the finely diced onion and 1 cm zucchini cubes. Cook for another seven to nine minutes, stirring as they soften and release liquid. A wide skillet gives that liquid room to evaporate. Do not cover this stage and then expect the same dry-down while moisture is being held inside the pan.

Build a thick tomato filling rather than a loose sauce

Stir in garlic, tomato paste and oregano for one minute, then add diced tomatoes with their juices, the remaining salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for five to seven minutes. The mixture should stay moist but hold a mound on a spoon instead of immediately running into a thin puddle.

Keep the specified no-added-sugar tomato products and their stated ingredient limits when following the recipe’s dietary criteria. Similar red sauces can contain other ingredients. Do not add rice or breadcrumbs to absorb a watery mixture: those are not part of this formula. Let the stated uncovered cooking stage control its moisture instead.

Drain the shells and distribute all the filling

Remove the pepper dish from the oven with oven gloves. Carefully pour away watery liquid pooled inside the halves, supporting the hot dish securely rather than tipping it awkwardly over the worktop. The softened peppers can tear if squeezed, so use a spoon or wide utensil when repositioning them.

Divide the entire hot filling across all eight halves, gently mounding it. Work across the full set so the first few are not overfilled while the last ones receive mostly tomato. The recipe makes four servings of two filled halves, so the whole measured filling belongs in those portions rather than an uncounted extra pan.

Finish to temperature and rest before lifting

Bake the filled halves for twelve to eighteen minutes, continuing until the peppers are tender and the center of the filling reaches 165°F (74°C). Check a central, well-filled portion rather than the hottest exposed surface. The earlier 160°F beef check and this final filled-dish check are different stages of the same method.

Rest for five minutes before lifting two halves onto each plate. A broad spatula helps support the softened shells. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within two hours, or one hour above 90°F (32°C), use within three to four days and reheat to 165°F (74°C). Do not judge safe reheating only by a hot pepper skin surrounding a cooler filling.

Common questions

Why is there liquid in the bottom of my peppers?

The shells and zucchini naturally release water. Pre-roast and drain the shells, then simmer the filling until it mounds before assembly. Adding an unlisted grain is not necessary to follow this recipe.

Why check 160°F first and 165°F later?

The first check establishes doneness of the ground beef in the skillet. The later check confirms the center of the assembled stuffed dish at the endpoint specified by the recipe; one does not replace the other.

Keep cooking