Tuscan Beef-Stuffed Peppers
with Pearled Couscous & Melted Monterey Jack
- Wheat
- Milk
Didn’t grow up with stuffed peppers? Here’s a quick 101: Hollowed out bell peppers are filled with any combination of meat, grains, vegetables, and spices. Of course, that doesn’t quite sum up how delicious and, for some, nostalgia-inducing they are. They’re sweet, savory, and hearty—perfect any occasion. Whether you’re familiar with stuffed peppers or a newbie, there’s a lot to love about this version. The foundation is pearled couscous, which lends a nutty taste and unrivaled texture. Ground beef, juicy tomatoes, and Tuscan spices are stirred in, and, once stuffed, the peppers receive a sprinkle of melty Monterey Jack. Tucking into one of these will make you feel like a kid again.
Ingredients
2 unit
Green Bell Pepper
½ cup
Israeli Couscous
(Contains: Wheat)
1 unit
Tomato Paste
1 unit
Onion
1 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
10 ounce
Ground Beef
½ cup
Monterey Jack Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Tomato
1 tablespoon
Tuscan Heat Spice
Not included in your delivery
5 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry all produce. • Halve bell peppers lengthwise; remove stems and seeds. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle each with oil; rub to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange cut sides down. • Roast on middle rack until browned and softened, 18-20 minutes.
• Melt 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add couscous and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until toasted, 2-3 minutes. • Stir in ¾ cup water (1½ cups for 4). Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until couscous is tender, 6-8 minutes. • Keep covered off heat until ready to use in step 4. • Meanwhile, halve, peel, and dice onion. Finely dice tomato.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a large, preferably ovenproof, pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 4-5 minutes. • Add beef* and Tuscan Heat Spice; season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned and cooked through, 4-5 minutes. TIP: If there’s excess grease in your pan, carefully pour it out.
• Stir tomato paste and diced tomato into pan with beef mixture until thoroughly combined, then add stock concentrate and 1⁄3 cup water; season with salt and pepper. Simmer until slightly thickened, 1-2 minutes. • Stir in couscous until thoroughly combined. Turn off heat.
• Once bell peppers are done roasting, remove from oven. Carefully stuff each half with as much filling as will fit. Place in pan with remaining filling, nestling each stuffed pepper into mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Monterey Jack. TIP: If your pan isn’t ovenproof, transfer mixture to a small baking dish and arrange stuffed pepper halves in there.
• Bake stuffed peppers on middle rack until cheese has melted, 3-4 minutes. • Divide pepper halves and remaining filling between plates and serve.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the Tuscan spices and couscous combo, though some found it a bit bland and wanted more tomato flavor.
- Ease of prep: Quick and easy to make, with several mentioning it's faster than traditional stuffed pepper recipes.
- Suggestions: Consider cooking peppers less to maintain firmness; some preferred rice over couscous for texture.
- Leftovers: Generous portions often provided extra meals, with some noting the flavors improved the next day.
- Cheese: Several wished for more cheese, suggesting adding extra for a richer, meltier topping.
Reviews from our home cooks
I've never tried couscous before. I like the texture and flavor it adds to the beef stuffed peppers. I'll substitute couscous in place of rice when making my beef stuffed peppers recipe. I like the idea of trying new foods, and spicing up old recipes by adding different spices and ingredients.
This was ok. But (in my opinion) after doing it, I think the peppers should have been stuffed standing, not cut in half lengthwise and stuffed laying down. Also the monterey jack cheese is not a good choice, it's way too stringy. I'd just leave it out.
We love stuffed peppers and this dish did not disappoint! It was a bountiful meal and the Pearled Couscous was delicious.
For a change, the 2 bell peppers were fresh and quite large, a welcome change from the puny peppers in the last stuffed pepper recipe. Very good ground beef and liked the couscous too.
This is my favorite stuffed pepper recipe of all time. The couscous makes it different in a good way and the flavoring is excellent.
I'll never be making stuffed peppers with rice again. Love the large pearl couscous.
The Tuscan spice was a little overpowering/bearing. We had to add a bit from whole jarred tomatoes and sauce to help tone it down. Maybe for a double meal have people start with one packet and add as needed to taste. Maybe note that if the peppers roasted even one minute too long they become mush. So watch carefully.
I think this stuffed peppers recipe would have been much better with sweeter red, orange or yellow bell peppers. Green pepper taste overpowered the dish and it seemed almost metallic for some reason?
Quicker and easier to prepare than many stuffed pepper recipes, and quite tasty! This is one of the few meals that makes enough food to have leftovers for lunch the next day.
I always love HelloFresh's couscous. The peppers were fresh, and the seasonings were warm and savory. I cooked the peppers a little too long so they didn't look stuffed, but that was my fault. They still tasted amazing!
