Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers make a wonderful, hearty, and healthy meal for a busy weeknight! These easy stuffed peppers are cooked in the air fryer, stuffed with classic meat, rice, and tomato filling, and ready in under a half hour.
Remove the stems and seeds from each bell pepper and place them in the air fryer basket, cut side up. Cook at 350ºF/175ºC for 5 minutes to soften the peppers.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef and cook it, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until most of the pink is gone. Drain the grease, if needed.
Add the onion to the beef and cook for another 3-4 minutes, or until the onion has softened and the beef is fully browned.
Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
Next add the spinach, rice, diced tomatoes, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning. Stir to combine.
Divide the filling between the peppers and top each pepper with ¼ cup of shredded cheese.
Cook the peppers at 400ºF/200ºC for an additional 5 minutes, or until the peppers are crisp tender and the cheese is melted and gooey.
Garnish with chopped parsley or green onion and enjoy immediately.
Notes
Pick out the best peppers: The best bell peppers for stuffed peppers are ones that are large, sturdy, and will stand up on their own. Any color will work, or mix up the colors for a fun presentation.
You also want to choose peppers that are roughly the same size so that they will cook at the same rate.
Pre-cook the peppers: The key to making stuffed peppers that are tender is to cook the peppers without the filling first. Then fill them with the hot, cooked meat and rice filling and cook again just to meld the flavors. If you like your peppers extra soft, add 2-3 additional minutes to the first cooking time.
Fill them upright, or slice each pepper in half lengthwise if you think they will fit better in your air fryer.
Meal Prep: You can prep the filling ahead of time! Keep in stored in the fridge or freezer, then make this meal with fresh bell peppers and cheese when you're ready.