Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers

Air fryer stuffed peppers are quick, easy, and always tasty. They’re colourful peppers stuffed with a classic bolognese-style sauce, topped with cheese, and air-fried to perfection. Yum!

Stuffed peppers are great. 

Tasty, juicy, fairly healthy, and easy to make, they always look a little bit fancy. 

They might not be your first thought for a family meal, but kids often love something a little different, and what’s cooler than being able to eat the bowl?

These air fryer stuffed peppers are super tasty and super quick—a fab midweek dinner. 

Why I Love Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers

Air fryer stuffed peppers with ground beef are awesome because:

• The minced beef filling is a fairly straightforward bolognese-style tomato sauce, just a little thicker, so most kids are already familiar with it. 
• I love colourful food, so a whole bell pepper is always a win!
• You can top them with lots of cheese. Which, in my book, makes everything better. 
• Minced beef is a great start, but once you’ve made these minced beef stuffed peppers, you can experiment with different fillings and flavours. 
• A stuffed peppers recipe gives you a contained meal, making it easy to add different sides, colours, and textures to your plate. 
• Stuffed peppers are a great air fryer recipe – making stuffed peppers in the air fryer isn’t too different from baking them. Just faster. 

Ingredients For Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers

When I make Air fryer bell peppers, I use:

Olive Oil – You can use other cooking oils too. 

Red Onion

Garlic Puree 

Minced Beef – I use lean ground beef (5% fat or less) to further reduce moisture. 

Red Wine

Chopped Tomatoes

Oregano

Basil – You can swap these for mixed herbs/mixed Italian seasoning. 

Beef Stock Cube

Tomato Puree

Large Peppers – Ideally, they should have pretty flat bottoms so they can easily stand up. Any colours are fine. 

Mozzarella Cheese – Shredded.

You’ll Also Need

Stuffed bell peppers air fryer are fairly simple. I use:

• Air fryer with crisper tray. 
• Sharp knife and chopping board. 
• Spatula
• Flameproof non-stick pan or dish. I use my Dutch oven. 

How to Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers – Step-by-Step Instructions

Full, easy-to-follow instructions and quantities are available in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Step One

Warm half the oil in a large, non-stick, flameproof pan or dish. I use either my cast iron Dutch oven or a large frying pan. 

Step Two

Add the onions and fry for 10 minutes until soft, stirring often. 

Step Three

Stir in the garlic. If you are using fresh garlic, cook for 2 minutes before moving on. 

Step Four

Add the mince, break it up with your spatula, and fry for 5 minutes until brown, stirring often.

Step Five

Pour in the wine and bring to a simmer. 

Step Six

Simmer for 3 minutes, stirring often. 

Step Seven

Add the chopped tomatoes, oregano, basil and tomato puree. Stir well. 

Step Eight

Crumble in the stock cube. Stir and bring to a simmer. 

Step Nine

Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Step Ten

While the meat is cooking, carefully cut the top off the peppers and scoop out the seeds. 

Step Eleven

Lightly brush the outsides with oil. 

Step Twelve

Brush the crisper tray of your air fryer with oil. I just rub a little on with my fingers. You can also spray if you have a spritzer bottle. 

Step Thirteen

Place the peppers on the tray, top (open side) down. 

Cooking your peppers before stuffing them isn’t essential, but it does help some of the moisture escape, meaning they are less soggy when you serve them. 

It also means that your peppers get a chance to soften, which they wouldn’t if they just got five minutes cooking when they were stuffed. 

Step Fourteen

Air fry for 5 minutes at 200 degrees C.

Step Fifteen

Leave to cool in the air fryer basket, top down so the excess moisture can escape. 

Step Sixteen

Once the meat has simmered for 30 minutes, remove it from the heat and let it stand for 5 minutes. It should be fairly thick by now. 

Step Seventeen

Turn the peppers the right way up and carefully spoon in the meat, filling to the top if possible. If they stand up securely, you can even heap on a little. 

Step Eighteen

Sprinkle liberally with grated cheese. 

Step Nineteen

Air fry for 5-10 minutes at 200 degrees C. I recommend checking after 5 minutes and using a food thermometer to make sure the meat is piping hot before serving. 

Step Twenty

Carefully remove them from the air fryer basket and serve straight away.

Top Tips for Perfect Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers are yummy! But they can be too soft, not soft enough, too wet and soggy, or even too dry. Sometimes, it’s just a case of having the right peppers and practising. 

But my top tips to help you get it right are:

• Cook the peppers for 5 minutes before stuffing them. This helps remove some moisture, so you don’t end up with soggy stuffed peppers.  
• To do this, I recommend turning them over so the open side is facing down on the tray of your air fryer. This makes it easier for moisture to escape. 
• Once cooked, leave the peppers in the basket, face down, to cool before stuffing. The juice will keep running out. 
• Simmer your filling for 30 minutes and let it stand for 5 minutes to allow it to thicken before stuffing your peppers. 

Serving Suggestions

I typically serve my stuffed peppers with salad and rice. 

You could serve them with garlic bread, wedges, or even pasta. 

Just serve with salad or roast veggies for a low carb dinner. 

Variations

There are a few things that you can do differently when you make stuffed peppers in the air fryer. 

Skip the Wine

The wine adds a lovely flavour, but if you’d rather not cook with wine, just move straight onto the stock. 

Use Different Cheese

Mozzarella melts really well, making it ideal for dishes like this. But you can use cheddar or even experiment with other cheeses. 

Of course, you can always skip the cheese entirely. 

Use Different Colour Peppers

I use whatever comes in a multipack. But a mixture of colours would look really good. 

Unless your kids are fussy. Then just get their favourites. Mine absolutely wouldn’t go near green bell peppers!

Blanch the Peppers

I part cook my peppers to remove some of the moisture and soften them slightly. 

You can skip this altogether. Instead, you can blanch them in warm water for 5-10 minutes before removing them and leaving them to drain. 

Change the Shape

If your peppers are super wonky or have quite rounded bottoms and they don’t stand, leave the tops on and cut in half down the middle instead. 

Scoop the seeds out and lay them on their sides instead of standing them up. 

If your air fryer basket is small, you might be able to do only two peppers at a time. 

Leftovers

You can reheat leftovers. Use the reheating setting on your air fryer, air fry at 150 degrees, or reheat in the oven or microwave. 

I recommend using a food thermometer (affiliate link) to make sure the meat in the middle is above 75 degrees C before serving. 

Storage 

Store leftover stuffed peppers in a sealed tub in the fridge for 1-2 days. 

FAQ

Other Recipes 

If you like this recipe, you might also want to try these air fryer recipes:

• Corned Beef Hash
• Air Fryer Tikka Wraps
• Air Fryer Lasagne
• Enchiladas in the Air Fryer
• Air-fried cottage pie
• Air fryer chicken and chorizo pasta bake. 

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