These Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers are packed full of nutritious goodness and ready in just 15 minutes. A classic vegetarian starter or main, making stuffed peppers in the air fryer cooks them perfectly every time. They are so easy to adapt with your favourite grain, vegetables or cheese too.
About air fryer stuffed peppers
When we want something light and delicious, but packed full of flavour, then these stuffed peppers are our go-to. It's comfort food, but super nutritious too.
These are usually cooked in the oven, but making stuffed peppers in the air fryer cuts the time in half and you get the most tender peppers.
Looking for other creative ways to use the air fryer, then why not try our delicious Air Fryer Stuffed Chicken Breast, juicy Air Fryer Steak or simple Air Fryer Cheese Toastie?
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Bell peppers - Any colour peppers work here. We find that green peppers tend to be more affordable, but they have more of a bitter flavour. Using red or orange peppers gives a sweeter flavour.
- Shallots - You could use a small brown onion instead.
- Garlic - Freshly crushed is best.
- Tomatoes - We used cherry tomatoes, but you could swap these for sun-dried tomatoes for a more intense tomato flavour.
- Rice - The rice needs to be cooked before it gets mixed with the other ingredients. We used a microwave packet of rice to make this quick and easy, but you can cook rice from scratch first if you prefer.
- Pesto - As easy way to give a real flavour boost to any recipe. We used sun-dried tomato pesto, but any pesto will work.
- Spinach - This can be swapped for kale.
- Cheese - We used feta, but there are other cheese suggestions in the variations below.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
How to make air fryer stuffed peppers - Step by step
One: Slice the peppers in half lengthways. Deseed and remove the membrane.
Two: Put the halved peppers. into your air fryer and cook at 200°C for 5 minutes.
Three: Meanwhile, heat a small amount of oil in a pan and add the shallots and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes.
Four: Add the cooked rice and the spinach. Cook over a low heat for 2 minutes.
Five: Add the chopped tomatoes and the pesto. Mix well.
Six: Remove the part cooked pepper halves from the air fryer and divide the rice mixture between them (a). Top with the crumbled feta (b).
Seven: Carefully place the stuffed peppers back into the air fryer.
Eight: Cook at 200°C for a further 5 minutes.
Serving suggestions
These air fryer stuffed peppers are pretty much a meal in themselves, however if you wanted to make it a bit more filling, then we have some suggestions of sides that work well.
Variations
The great thing about stuffed peppers is how adaptable they are. There are so many different options when it comes to added protein, vegetables and cheese, so you never have to have it the same way twice.
Grain - We used rice, but really any grain will work, as long as it is cooked first. You could use couscous, farro, quinoa or orzo. To keep it low carb, you could even use cauliflower rice.
Meat - We kept this as a vegetarian dish and it really isn't missing the meat. However, if you wanted to add some meat, then you could cook some beef mince in your favourite spice blend and then mix that in with the rice mixture. You could also cook chorizo or sausage meat too.
Beans - For a vegetarian protein boost, why not add some chickpeas or butter beans?
Vegetables - This recipe is such a good opportunity to to add lots of extra vegetables. You could add diced mushrooms, courgette (zucchini), spring onions (scallions) or celery.
Cheese - Pretty much any cheese would well here. We recommend Stilton, Mozarella, Swiss or Monetary Jack.
Sauce - We didn't add any kind of sauce to it, but if you wanted more of a saucy texture, then either our Homemade BBQ Sauce or Pizza Sauce would work really well.
Storage
Store: If you have any leftovers, then they can be stored in a tightly sealed container and covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freeze: These actually freeze really well. Make sure they are completely cooled and then individually wrap in plastic wrap and then aluminium foil, as this will prevent freezer burn. Put them into a freezer safe bag or container and keep for up to 3 months.
Defrost: You can defrost the stuffed peppers in the fridge overnight.
Reheat: You can reheat these in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes. You can also reheat these straight from the freezer if needed. Just add a few minutes to your cooking time
Frequently Asked Questions
This will happen when the rice is cooked in the air fryer. If you don't want that, then you can put some foil over it towards the end of cooking.
You want to make sure that there is not too much liquid in the filling, which is why we have not used a sauce.
Extra tips
• When choosing the peppers, make sure you choose ones that are similar size so that they will cook evenly. Choose ones that are evenly shaped too, so they will sit flat in the air fryer.
• You can always trim the sides or bottoms if you need them to sit better.
• Make sure the peppers are not leaning on each other in the air fryer. There needs to be space between each of them so that the air circulates and they cook evenly.
• Every air fryer cooks differently, so your stuffed peppers might cook quicker in your air fryer, or they might take a little longer.
More pepper recipes
If you’ve tried this stuffed pepper recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
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Recipe
Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 2 Bell peppers - halved
- 2 Shallots - finely diced
- 2 Garlic cloves - crushed
- 125 g (0.75 cups) Ready cooked rice
- 60 g (2 cups) Spinach - chopped
- 8 Cherry tomatoes - chopped
- 2 tablespoon Sun-dried tomato pesto
- 20 g (0.25 cups) Feta - crumbled
Instructions
- Slice 2 Bell peppers in half lengthways. Deseed and remove the membrane.
- Put the halved peppers. into your air fryer and cook at 200°C for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat a small amount of oil in a pan and add 2 Shallots and 2 Garlic cloves. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add 125 g Ready cooked rice and the 60 g Spinach. Cook over a low heat for 2 minutes.
- Add 8 Cherry tomatoes and 2 tablespoon Sun-dried tomato pesto. Mix well.
- Remove the part cooked pepper halves from the air fryer and divide the rice mixture between them. Top with 20 g Feta.
- Carefully place the stuffed peppers back into the air fryer. Cook at 200°C for a further 5 minutes.
Recipe tips
- When choosing the peppers, make sure you choose ones that are similar size so that they will cook evenly. Choose ones that are evenly shaped too, so they will sit flat in the air fryer.
- You can always trim the sides or bottoms if you need them to sit better.
- Make sure the peppers are not leaning on each other in the air fryer. There needs to be space between each of them so that the air circulates and they cook evenly.
- Every air fryer cooks differently, so your stuffed peppers might cook quicker in your air fryer, or they might take a little longer.
Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
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