Pimiento Relleno (Puerto Rican Stuffed Peppers)

Peppers stuffed with rice and ground beef, seasoned Puerto Rican style. It's a combination of a few traditional stuffed pepper and Pastelon recipes. I used homemade sofrito, but you can substitute with the Goya® stuff. It's easy to make and delicious served with plantains. I like a lot of filling in my stuffed peppers, so this recipe only yields 4 peppers.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 40 mins
• Total Time: 60 mins
• Calories: 510 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 1 ½ cups cooked white rice
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ¼ teaspoon oregano
• 2 tablespoons sofrito
• 4 bell peppers

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Step 2

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook bell peppers in boiling water until softened, about 10 minutes. Arrange peppers in a baking dish with the cut side on the bottom of the dish.

Step 3

Bake peppers in preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Step 4

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onion in hot oil until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir sofrito, garlic, salt, cumin, oregano, and black pepper with the onion; let mixture cook together for about 1 minute. Break ground beef into small pieces into the skillet; cook and stir until the beef is crumbly and completely browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir tomato sauce, capers, and rice through the beef mixture; spoon into the peppers. Sprinkle cheese over the top of the stuffed peppers.

Step 5

Continue baking in oven until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.