Ghost-Shaped Stuffed Peppers

Ghost-Shaped Stuffed Peppers turn orange bell peppers into jack-o’-lantern faces packed with cheesy, savory beef and rice, then baked until tender. The filling stays juicy thanks to melted butter and a splash of ketchup mixed right into the meat. From carving to plate, you’re looking at about an hour and 25 minutes.

This version comes from Allrecipes, developed by Bahareh Niati, and it skips the usual bland pepper shell. Instead of just salt and pepper, she blends ketchup into the beef, adding a sweetness that plays off the tomato sauce below. It’s a small swap that makes a big difference.

The technique that matters most here is the foil. Covering the dish loosely traps steam for the first hour, which softens the pepper walls without drying out the beef inside. Pull the foil for the last 10 to 15 minutes and the tops brown just enough to hold their carved shape.

Ghost-Shaped Stuffed Peppers

Recipe by Paula

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: Dinner

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

10

minutes

Calories

613

kcal

Bahareh Niati’s Halloween classic turns dinner into a jack-o’-lantern lineup, with a beef and rice filling held together by melted Cheddar and a hit of Worcestershire. Most of the hour and 10 minutes goes to letting the peppers soften under foil before they finish uncovered.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil (1 cuillère à café d’huile d’olive)
  

• 4 large orange bell peppers (4 gros poivrons orange)
  

• 1 pound (450g) ground beef (450 g de bœuf haché)
  

• 1 cup cooked rice (1 tasse de riz cuit)
  

• 1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese (1 tasse de cheddar fort râpé)
  

• ⅓ cup thinly sliced green onions (⅓ tasse d’oignons verts finement tranchés)
  

• 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted (2 cuillères à soupe de beurre salé fondu)
  

• 2 tablespoons ketchup (2 cuillères à soupe de ketchup)
  

• 3 cloves garlic, minced (3 gousses d’ail hachées)
  

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt (2 cuillères à café de sel casher)
  

• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (1 cuillère à café de sauce Worcestershire)
  

• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper (½ cuillère à café de poivre noir moulu)
  

• 3 pinches cayenne pepper, or to taste (3 pincées de poivre de Cayenne)
  

• 2 cups seasoned tomato sauce, warmed (2 tasses de sauce tomate assaisonnée, réchauffée)
  

Directions

• Gather all ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) with the oven rack in the upper position. Coat a baking dish with olive oil.
  
• Cut eyes, a nose, and a mouth into the flattest side of each pepper, just like a jack-o’-lantern. Cut around the seed pods and remove the tops, trimming and discarding any seeds from under the stems. Trim the white membranes from inside each pepper and shake out any seeds. Place peppers in the prepared baking dish.
  
• Combine the ground beef, cooked rice, Cheddar cheese, green onions, melted butter, ketchup, garlic, salt, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and cayenne pepper in a bowl.
  
• Divide and stuff the beef mixture into the peppers, then cover with the reserved pepper tops.
  
• Wrap the baking dish loosely with aluminum foil and place it on a baking sheet.
  
• Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove the foil and continue baking until the peppers are tender and the ground beef is cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes more.
  
• Place about 3 tablespoons of warm tomato sauce on each plate, then place a stuffed pepper on top. Serve the remaining sauce on the side.
  

FAQs

Why cut the faces before stuffing instead of after baking?

Raw pepper walls are firm enough to hold a clean knife line, so you carve them before anything touches heat. Once baked, the walls soften and tear the second a blade goes near them. Keep the cuts shallow and stop at the flesh so the shapes hold through the full bake.

Why orange peppers instead of green or red?

Orange bell peppers are sweeter and less bitter than green ones, so the filling doesn’t fight the pepper’s flavor. Red peppers work too, but they’re softer raw and can split when you carve the eyes and mouth. Stick with orange or yellow if you want peppers sturdy enough to hold their shape.

How do I keep the pepper tops from sliding off while baking?

Trim the underside of each top so it sits flat against the rim instead of resting on top of the filling. A wobbly lid slides as the filling shrinks slightly during baking. Press each top down gently after stuffing so it seats into place before it goes in the oven.

Can I assemble these the night before and bake them the next day?

Yes, stuff the peppers and refrigerate them covered, but don’t bake straight from cold. Add 10 to 15 extra minutes covered so the center of the beef mixture catches up to the pepper walls. Let the dish sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before it goes in the oven.

Why does the recipe use cooked rice instead of raw?

Raw rice needs more liquid and time than a stuffed pepper can give it in an hour. Cooked rice just needs to heat through and soak up flavor from the beef and butter around it. If your rice is fridge-cold, warm it slightly before mixing so the filling bakes evenly.

How do I reheat leftovers without the tops turning mushy?

Reheat peppers uncovered in a 350 degree oven instead of the microwave. The microwave traps steam and softens the walls even more, since they’re already tender from the first bake. Fifteen minutes uncovered brings the filling back to temperature while the tops firm back up slightly.