These Ukrainian stuffed bell peppers are filled with ground beef, par-cooked rice, carrots and onions, then baked in a rich sour cream-tomato sauce until melt-in-your-mouth tender.
This stuffed bell peppers recipe is inspired by Ukrainian cuisine. My grandma used to make the best stuffed bell peppers, and now I do it. She cooked hers in a tradtional clay and brick oven called "pich", which was fired with wood. The meals came out those oven were single best things I have ever tasted. While I make my best bell peppers in the standard oven, if you ever cook over an open campfire or outdoor grill, try it there for a touch of that authentic flavor.
Recipe at A Glance: Ukrainian Stuffed peppers
- Cuisine: Ukrainian/Eastern European
- Course: Main dish
- Flavor and texture: Melt in your mouth peppers with tender and juicy filling, savory, hearty, subtly sweet and comforting.
- Equipment needed: Deep baking dish or dutch oven, non-stick frying pan, box grater, 1 medium mixing bowl and a large mixing bowl.
- Cooking method: Oven-baked. Can be also cooked on the stove top (our outdoor in a cast-iron).
- Servings: 6 stuffed bell peppers
Ingredients
These is all the ingredients you will need for making Ukrainian stuffed peppers. All the quantities can be found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
- Uncooked White Rice: I used jasmine rice, but you can use any rice.
- Bell Peppers: Any color will work, I prefer grabbing a few of each to make the dish more eye-pleasing and fun.
- Ground Beef: I used 15% fat. I recommend using meat with more fat content ( for juiciness). You can also use a mix of pork and beef.
- Olive Oil: Or any other oil to saute the vegetables.
- Carrots and Onion: They will be added to the meat mix.
- Fresh Parsley: It adds some extra flavor a the dish.
- Spices and herbs: I used sweet paprika, dried thyme, black pepper and bay leaves.
- Salt: you will need some salt to add to the meat and rice mix. You can also use some bullion for flavor, just make sure to reduce the salt if using the bullion.
- Water: You will need water for cooking rice; also some for the meat mix and for making the sauce.
- Tomato Paste: For the sauce that peppers will be cooking in.
- Sour Cream: For the sauce and for serving.
Realistic Recipe Timeline
- Active Prep & Hands-On Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Baking & Resting Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total Recipe Time: 2 hour 40 minutes
Recipe Instructions
0-20 min: Prep and measure all the ingredients. Rinse the rice a few times in cold water and drain. Using a box grater, shred the carrots on the coarse side. Dice the onion. Measure the spices, salt, tomato paste and sour cream.
20-40 min: In a medium pot, add water, rice and boil it until the water is absorbed and the rice is almost cooked, but slightly al dente in the middle. Once it's done, transfer rice to a large mixing bowl to cool down.
While the rice cooks, Rinse the bell peppers. Cut off the tops without breaking them. Remove the stems and seeds out of the peppers. Set aside.
40-50 min: Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add diced onions. Cook until translucent. Add shredded carrots and cook stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes until they are soft. Let them cool slightly.
50-1 hr 20 min: Add cooked vegetables, ground meat, thyme, thyme, paprika, black pepper and chopped parsley to the cooked rice. Give it a nice mix, add about ¼ cup of water and mix it again. Fill each bell pepper with the meat mix. This amount should be perfect for 6 peppers, depending on the size of the peppers Arrange the stuffed peppers in a deep baking dish.
Note: Adding water to the meat mix will make the filling juicier/
1 hr 20 min-1 hr 30 min: In a separate medium bowl, add 1 cup of hot boiling water, tomato paste, and some salt to taste (or bullion). Whisk it together well, pour the sauce into the baking dish, avoiding pouring it over the peppers.
1 hr 30 min-1 hr 35 min: Now add the remaining hot water, bay leaf, and add few tablespoons of sour cream straight to the sauce in a baking pan. Make sure the water is covering at least ¾ of the peppers.
1 hr 35 min-2 hrs 40 min: Cover the dish with foil or a lid tightly and bake for one hour or until the peppers are tender and meat is fully cooked. Remove the cover and cook for another 5-10 minutes to give the tops that broiled look.
How to Serve Ukrainian Stuffed Peppers
Traditional Ukrainian stuffed peppers (farshyrovani pertsi) are served warm, smothered in their rich sauce, and almost always accompanied by a dollop of sour cream.
Essential accompaniments:
- Fresh Sour Cream (Smetana): A generous dollop of cold, full-fat sour cream spooned over the top or served on the side is non-negotiable in Ukrainian cuisine-it cuts through the richness of the meat and tomato sauce.
- Fresh Herbs: Heavily sprinkle chopped fresh dill and parsley right before serving for a fresh flavor and contrast.
- Bread: Serve with thick slices of fresh sourdough, rye bread, or Ukrainian garlic bread (pampushky) to mop up the savory tomato-sour cream pan sauce.
- Pickled Vegetables: Pickled cucumbers, pickled beets, pickled tomatoes, or sauerkraut add a crisp and vinegary bite that complements the rich taste of peppers.
Storing and reheating
- To refrigerate: Transfer the cooked peppers to a shallow container to cool down quickly. Cooling the peppers and sauce separately helps them reach room temperature faster. Recombine the sauce and peppers, cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- To reheat: Microwave until heated through, or simmer in a small saucepan with a splash of water. Slice the peppers in half to reduce reheating time.
- To Freeze: Allow the baked peppers and sauce to cool completely at room temperature. Transfer individual portions into airtight freezer-safe containers with some of the braising sauce. Freeze for up to 2 months.
More Ukrainian recipes
📖 Recipe
Baked stuffed bell peppers
Equipment
- 1 Deep baking pan or dutch oven
- 1 Frying Pan
- 1 Box grater
- 1 large bowl
- 1 medium bowl
- 1 foil sheet if no lid
Ingredients
- ½ cup rice
- 1 cup water
- 6 bell peppers
- 1 pound ground beef at least 15% fat
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- ½ medium onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, coarsely grated on a box grater
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt (divided into 1 teaspoon and ¼ teaspoon)
- 3.5 cups water, divided 1 cup for rice, ½ cup for meat mix, 3 cups for the sauce.
- 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 Tablespoons (plus more for serving) sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Measure out all ingredients. Wash and dry the bell peppers and parsley. Dice the onion and shred the carrots. Rinse and cook rice according to the package instructions. Cut off the peppers tops. Do not discard them. Remove all the seeds.
- Rinse the rice a few times. Transfer rinsed rice to a small pot with water, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to low, cover, and simmer until the water is fully absorbed and the rice is slightly al dente in the center. Transfer the rice into a large bowl to cool down.
- While the rice cooks, carefully slice off the tops of the bell peppers, remove the seeds and inner ribs, and set the hollowed peppers aside.
- In a large bowl, add together rice, vegetables, ground beef, chopped parsley, salt, thyme and paprika. Mix it until all ingredients are combined. Add ½ cup of water to the meat and mix it again. Stuff each pepper with the juicy meat mix. Arrange each stuffed pepper in a baking dish standing up and cover with the tops.
- Heat tbsp olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook for about 3 minutes until translucent. Add the shredded carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until soft. Add the sautéed vegetables into the large mixing bowl with the cooked rice and allow the mixture to cool down slightly.
- Preheat your oven to 375℉. To the cooled rice and vegetable mixture, add the ground meat, dried thyme, paprika, black pepper, chopped parsley, 1 teaspoons of salt,and ¼ cup of cold water. Mix thoroughly until well combined. Evenly stuff each hollowed bell pepper with the meat mixture, packing gently. Arrange the stuffed peppers upright in a deep baking dish (they should fit snugly side-by-side).
- Boil 3 cups of water. In a medium bowl, whisk 1 cup of boiling hot water together with the tomato paste and ¼ teaspoon of salt (or bouillon) until completely smooth. Carefully pour the tomato mixture into the baking dish around the peppers (avoid pouring directly over the tops). Add the remaining 2 cups of hot water, bay leaf, and 3 tablespoons of sour cream directly into the pan liquid. Gently stir the liquid around the base of the peppers until the sour cream blends into a light, creamy sauce. Ensure the sauce reaches at least ¾ of the way up the sides of the peppers.
- Cover the baking dish tightly with heavy-duty foil or a fitted lid. Bake for 1 hour until the peppers are completely soft and tender and the meat is fully cooked through (165℉ internal temperature). Remove the cover and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes to lightly brown the pepper tops and reduce the sauce slightly. Remove from the oven and let rest in the baking dish for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with freshly chopped dill parsley and a dollop of sour ream.
Notes
- Refrigeration: Transfer cooked peppers to a shallow container to cool. Cooling the peppers and sauce separately helps them reach room temperature faster. Recombine, cover, and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a small saucepan with a splash of water or sauce. Slicing the peppers in half speeds up reheating.
- Freezing Raw (Recommended): Assemble stuffed peppers in a freezer-safe dish without the sauce. Wrap tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, pour fresh braising sauce around them, and bake as directed (adding 10-15 minutes to the covered bake time).
Karen says
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