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Halloween night runs on a tight schedule: costumes on, photos taken, out the door before the porch lights go dark. Dinner has to be filling, mostly hands-off and appealing enough that nobody holds out for the candy bucket. These peppers check every box, and the faces do the persuading.
The filling is a classic: browned ground meat, rice, tomatoes and a little smoked paprika, finished with cheddar. Carve the peppers, stuff them, bake them, and the sheet-pan vegetables roast on the rack below at the same time.
- Prep time
- 30 minutes (including carving)
- Cook time
- 45 minutes
- Total time
- about 1 hour 15 minutes
- Servings
- 6 (one pepper each)
- Difficulty
- Easy to moderate. The carving is the only part that asks for patience.
Ingredients
For the peppers
- 6 large orange bell peppers, with flat-ish bottoms that stand on their own
- 1/4 cup water, for the baking dish
For the filling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb lean ground beef (90/10) or ground turkey
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
- 2 cups cooked white or brown rice (from about 2/3 cup uncooked, or one 8.8 oz microwavable rice pouch)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack, divided
For the sheet-pan side
- 1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (quartered if large)
- 1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch sticks, or 1 lb baby carrots
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oven. Set racks in the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 375°F.
- Carve the peppers. Cut off the tops, scoop out the seeds and ribs, and carve the faces as above. Stand the peppers upright in the baking dish and pour the 1/4 cup water into the bottom of the dish.
- Start the filling. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds.
- Brown the meat. Add the ground beef or turkey, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, oregano and cumin. Cook, breaking up the meat, until no pink remains, 7 to 8 minutes. Drain off excess fat if needed.
- Finish the filling. Stir in the drained diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and cooked rice. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes until heated through and slightly thickened. Take the skillet off the heat, stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese, and taste for salt.
- Stuff. Spoon the filling into the peppers, pressing gently so it fills behind the faces and mounds slightly on top. A little peeking through the eyes is part of the look.
- Prep the vegetables. On the sheet pan, toss the Brussels sprouts and carrots with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread them out with the sprouts cut side down. Add the pepper lids to the pan.
- Bake together. Cover the baking dish with foil and set it on the upper rack. Put the sheet pan on the lower rack. Bake 30 minutes, stirring the vegetables once halfway.
- Add the cheese. Uncover the peppers and top them with the remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake uncovered 10 to 15 minutes more, until the cheese is melted and the peppers are tender when pierced with a knife. The vegetables are done when browned at the edges and tender, 35 to 45 minutes total; for more color, move them to the upper rack for the last 5 minutes.
- Check the temperature. Insert an instant-read thermometer into the center of the filling of one or two peppers. It should read at least 160°F for ground beef or 165°F for ground turkey or chicken. If it’s not there yet, return the peppers to the oven for 5 minutes and check again.
- Rest and serve. Let the peppers rest 5 minutes, then serve each one with a scoop of vegetables and a roasted lid leaning on the side.
Swaps and Notes
- Milder for kids: skip the cumin and use regular paprika instead of smoked. The faces carry the fun; the seasoning doesn’t have to.
- Dairy-free: use a dairy-free shredded cheese, or skip the cheese and finish with a spoonful of extra tomato sauce.
- Vegetarian: replace the meat with one 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed, plus 1 cup frozen corn. Bake until the filling is hot all the way through, 165°F in the center.
- Gluten-free: the recipe as written is gluten-free if your tomato sauce, spices and shredded cheese are labeled gluten-free. Check labels.
- No orange peppers? Red or yellow peppers taste the same, though the jack-o’-lantern effect is strongest in orange.
Make Ahead and Freezer Notes
- Carve ahead: carve the peppers up to 1 day ahead. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator with a damp paper towel so the cut edges don’t dry out.
- Filling ahead: cook the filling up to 2 days ahead, cool it, and refrigerate in a covered container. Cool it quickly; don’t leave it out more than 2 hours.
- Assemble cold: stuff the cold peppers with the cold filling just before baking, and add 10 to 15 minutes to the covered bake time. Always check that the center of the filling reaches 165°F, since you’re reheating cooked meat.
- Refrigerate leftovers: within 2 hours of baking, in a covered container, for up to 3 to 4 days. Reheat covered at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes, or in the microwave, until the center reaches 165°F.
- Freeze: for the best texture, freeze the cooled filling on its own in a freezer bag for up to 3 months, then thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and stuff fresh peppers. You can also freeze fully baked, cooled peppers individually wrapped for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat covered at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes, until the center reaches 165°F. Frozen peppers come out softer and the faces relax a little, but they still taste like dinner.
Fed, warm and out the door on time. The candy can wait its turn.
More for Halloween Night
- Jack-o’-Lantern Sheet-Pan Pizza for a second jack-o’-lantern dinner
- Mummy Mini Pizzas for little hands
- Maple Roasted Carrots if you want the carrots a little sweeter
- A Little Spooky Chocolate Bark for dessert
- Easy Caramel Apples for the after-trick-or-treat treat
- Trick-or-Treat Safety Plan for once everyone’s fed
- Everything Halloween
Pin it: An actual dinner before the candy dinner. Save these to your Halloween board so dinner is decided before the costumes go on.
If there’s a better way to holiday, it’s probably here. Every holiday, handled.