Copycat Costco Stuffed Peppers

If you haven’t tried Costco’s stuffed bell peppers from the pre-made meal section, you’re missing out! Each tray is packed with 6 whole peppers loaded with beef, tomatoes, rice, spices and cheese. The peppers are fully prepared and cooked and ready to warm in your oven. I grab a pack of these peppers each time I visit Costco but sometimes I get a craving for this comfort food in between trips so I created this easy and delicious Copycat Costco Stuffed Peppers recipe.

I definitely taste Parmesan in those delicious Costco peppers. When I looked for a copycat recipe one night when I had a craving for this comfort food, I was blown away that 1.) I couldn’t find many copycat recipes for these delicious stuffed peppers but I was even more surprised that 2.) none of them had any Parmesan in them. I’m sure Parmesan is the star of that Costco pepper show so here is my copycat Costco stuffed peppers recipe with Parmesan cheese front-and-center.

Vegetarian copycat Costco stuffed peppers

Trust me when I tell you that vegetarian stuffed bell peppers are just as good as the meat version. The rice and tomato filling is so cheesy and flavorful, you honestly won’t miss the meat a bit. The vegetarian version makes a great main dish or a side dish. Here’s how it’s done.

Follow the regular recipe, but sauté an entire onion instead of half of an onion. For the vegetarian version we’re leaving the pound of meat out so we’ll need to replace it with another ingredient to fill 6 peppers. You have options. You can increase the amount of rice from 1/2 cup to 1 cup, add veggie crumbles in place of the meat or add extra veggies like 8 ounces of chopped and sautéd mushrooms to the filling. You may need to add a little extra salt to this version of the recipe but give it a taste and add as much as you need before stuffing the peppers.

To increase the protein in the vegetarian version, try using quinoa instead of rice. White and brown rice typically have somewhere around 4 grams of protein per serving while quinoa typically has around 8 grams of protein. Keep in mind that quinoa cooks quicker than rice so take a look at the directions on the package and adjust the cook time accordingly.

Make it a weeknight meal

This recipe uses store-bought spaghetti sauce to save time. Spaghetti sauce is already packed with herbs like basil and oregano and garlic which saves you a few steps. To save another 15 minutes, I recommend using precooked rice. Once you’ve cooked your meat and onion mixture, add the sauce, cup of Parmesan cheese and 1 ½ cups precooked rice and skip the water. Stuff the filling into the bell peppers and pop them in the oven.

How to cook Costco stuffed peppers that you’ve purchased from the warehouse

If you’ve stumbled upon this page looking for instructions on how to make premade stuffed peppers that you’ve picked up from a trip to Costco, I want to share my favorite cooking method.

Here’s how it’s done.

• Mix about a cup of store-bought marinara (my favorite is Rao’s) with about 1/2 cup beef broth.
• Place the peppers in a slow cooker and gently pour the marinara/broth over the top of the peppers.
• Slow cook on high for about two hours or on low for 3 hours or until the peppers are thoroughly heated.

Here’s the best part. If you have leftover stuffed bell peppers, you can use them to make an easy stuffed pepper soup.

• Remove the leftover peppers from the slow cooker and chop the entire pepper, filling and all.
• Pop the chopped peppers/filling back into the crock pot.
• Add additional beef broth to the mixture until it reaches a soup broth consistency.
• Taste the broth and add salt and peppers as need.
• Top each bowl of stuffed pepper soup with about 1/2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese before serving.

Copycat Costco Stuffed Peppers

Tender peppers loaded with flavorful cheesy beef and rice. This copycat Costco stuffed peppers recipe is an easy homemade version of the tasty original.

5 from 3 votes

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Course dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ onion diced
• 1 pound ground beef or ground turkey or ground chicken
• 24 ounce jar of spaghetti sauce My favorite is Raos Homemade Marinara.
• 3 or 6 bell peppers, any color 6 peppers if you prefer to stuff the entire pepper or 3 peppers if you prefer to stuff halves.
• ½ cup uncooked white or Basmati rice
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup water or beef broth
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 ⅓ cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese If you prefer a melty cheese, you can substitute one cup of the Parmesan cheese with shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese.
• fresh parsley for garnish optional

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• If you prefer to stuff the entire pepper, you'll use 6 peppers. Cut off the tops and scoop out the ribs/membranes and seeds inside. If you prefer to use pepper halves, you'll use 3 peppers instead of 6. Cut off the tops of the peppers and slice the peppers in half, from stem to the bottom. Remove the ribs/membranes and seeds.
• Discard the stems but chop the peppers from the pepper tops to add to your filling.
• Sauté the onion and chopped peppers from the removed pepper tops, in olive oil on medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the ground beef or ground turkey, crumble and sauté until it's no longer pink.
• Add about 14 ounces (a little more than half the bottle) of the tomato sauce to the meat and onion mixture. Add the salt, rice and water, cover, and cook on low heat for about 15-18 minutes or until the rice is tender.
• Add one cup Parmesan cheese to the mixture, stir. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Divide the filling evenly into the bell peppers.
• Place the peppers in a 9×13 baking dish.
• Optional: Pour the remaining spaghetti sauce over the peppers. Costco’s peppers are not smothered in extra sauce but I find that it keeps the peppers moist and adds to the flavor.
• Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes or until the peppers are tender. Remove the foil and sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese over the peppers. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
• Garnish with fresh parsley (optional).

Notes

Love the stuffed peppers? Try the soup…

https://2sistersmixitup.com/dinner/parmesan-stuffed-pepper-soup/

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