Stuffed peppers are great. There’s no arguing that the classic combination of rice and ground beef tucked into a bell pepper is anything but, but since variety is the spice of life it’s good to change things up once in a while. These stuffed peppers have a lot in common with the classic version… but they have a little more island flavor going on. If you appreciate a Hawaiian pizza, you’re going to love this flavor combo!
You start by slicing the tops off of four to six bell peppers and hollowing them out. (You can choose one color or go with a variety.)
And then you saute some chopped red onion, just until it starts to soften.
Some chopped ham goes in next and hangs out until the edges are golden brown.
That gets mixed with some rice, teriyaki sauce, pineapple, and green onion…
… before you spoon it into the peppers and top it with some mozzarella.
As it bakes, the peppers get wonderfully tender and they lend some of their zesty flavor to the rice mixture that fills them. With the sweetness of the pineapple, the saltiness of the ham, and the tang of the teriyaki, it’s a seriously great combo.
Much of the beauty of a stuffed pepper is that each one is like a personal complete pre-portioned meal. There’s everything you could need for a meal all in one little package – you’ve got a veggie, you’ve got a starch, some protein, some fruit (at least in this case). Pineapple on pizza may be a controversial thing, but when it’s tucked into these little guys, there aren’t a lot of naysayers.
Hawaiian Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 4-6 large bell peppers
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4 cup red onion, diced
- 1 1/2 cups ham steak, cubed
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
- 1 cup pineapple, chopped (canned or fresh)
- 1/2 cup green onions, sliced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F and set aside a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Cut the tops off of the peppers and remove the seeds.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the red onion and cook until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add ham and cook until edges brown, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
- Add rice and teriyaki sauce and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Remove from heat, and stir in pineapple and green onion. (Drain pineapple if using canned.)
- Spoon mixture into bell peppers, top with cheese, and arrange in baking dish.
- Pour 1/2 cup water into the bottom of the baking dish, cover tightly with foil and bake until peppers are tender and filling is heated through, 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until cheese is lightly browned, 5 minutes more. Enjoy!