Instant Pot stuffed peppers
Italian-style peppers stuffed with rice, white beans, spinach and mozzarella in marinara, tender in 8 minutes of pressure cooking.
- 40 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $3.43 a serving
- 460 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 2 red bell peppers
- 2 yellow bell peppers
- 1 package microwave rice pouches
- 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 1½ cups marinara sauce, divided
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella, divided
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
From your pantry
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup water
Each serving has about 460 calories, 25 g protein, 60 g carbs and 14 g fat, and costs about $3.43 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No shredded mozzarella? Provolone slices work.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the tops off the peppers and pull out the seeds and ribs.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
In a bowl, in the rice straight from the pouch and mix with the beans, spinach, 1 cup marinara, 1 cup mozzarella, the parmesan, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and salt.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Dolly’s tip: The rice is already cooked, so no need to heat it first.Pack the filling into the peppers.
Pour the water into the Instant Pot, set the trivet in and stand the peppers on it.
Spoon the rest of the marinara over the tops.
Lock the lid, set the valve to Sealing and pressure cook on High for 8 minutes. Let the pressure come down on its own for 5 minutes, then vent.
Timer: 13 min
Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella over the peppers, put the lid back on without sealing and let the cheese , 3 minutes.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Timer: 3 min
Lift the peppers out carefully with tongs and a big spoon underneath.
Dolly’s tip: They’re soft and full of hot sauce. Support the bottom so they don’t tip over.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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