Sloppy Joe Stuffed Peppers

Sloppy Joes are a delicious classic perfect for main meals any time of year. They’re the perfect summer dish with fries, chips, or a delicious loaded potato salad. Their combination of savory and sweet flavors also makes them a cozy meal for the cold weather months, as well. They’re so versatile.

Stuffed peppers are another year-round meal option that we enjoy. Like sloppy Joes, they have a flavor profile that fits any time of year, and they’re a ton of fun to play with. In fact, we have versions like these low carb stuffed peppers and pizza stuffed peppers that we enjoy making in addition to the classic variety.

Now, we’re combining the flavors of two of our favorite classics into one tasty mashup with these sloppy Joe stuffed peppers. The sweet, tangy flavor of the sloppy Joe filling works perfectly with the bright flavor of the bell peppers, and of course, all that cheese!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Easy Ingredients: Like stuffed peppers and sloppy Joes, this recipe only uses a handful of simple ingredients found in your kitchen and local grocery store.
• Convenient: Because these are air-fried, the recipe takes only about 30 minutes from start to finish, and the homemade sloppy Joe filling is super easy to make, too!
• Tons of Flavor: The sweet, tangy filling, combined with the pop of bell peppers and all that cheddar cheese, creates a dish that’s so full of flavor.
• Customizable: It’s easy to adjust this recipe’s ingredients and seasonings to make your own tailor-made version.
• Great for Meal Prep: Make a double or triple batch of the filling, so you can save extra for future use in more stuffed peppers, classic sloppy Joe sandwiches, or topping baked potatoes. It will laslt for up to 3 months in the freezer!
• Fun with Sides: If a side pairs well with sloppy Joes OR stuffed peppers, it will pair well with this recipe. These are great with beer battered onion rings, sweet potato dinner rolls, or loaded cornbread casserole.

Variations

• Low-Fat: Use ground turkey or chicken for that same meaty filling with less fat. Because of the zesty sauce, it’s hard to tell the difference.
• Spicy: Add red pepper flakes for a kick of heat.
• Mexican: Use the filling from our slow cooker Mexican sloppy Joes for south-of-the-border stuffed peppers.
• Southwestern: The BBQ and bacon flavors in our slow cooker Rodeo sloppy Joes filling are a great variation for these stuffed peppers.

How to Make Sloppy Joe Stuffed Peppers

This is a quick overview of the steps needed to make this recipe. You can find the full instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

1. Cook the beef over medium heat until browned. Then, add the onions and garlic and cook over medium heat until fragrant.

2. Add the filling ingredients and 1/2 cup of water. Simmer until heated through and thickened.

3. Prep the peppers as you normally would for stuffed peppers, cutting them lengthwise. Then fill them with the meat.

4. Air fry at 350°F until the peppers are tender but firm. Then, sprinkle with cheese and continue cooking until the cheese is melted.

Expert Tips

• Choose firm peppers free of any marks, dents, or dings, so you have a nice shell that doesn’t fall apart when you cook them.
• There’s no need to drain your beef if you use lean ground beef. You also won’t need to drain ground chicken or turkey.
• Refrigerate your onion for about 30 minutes before dicing it to avoid stinging eyes.
• Check your peppers about halfway through cooking to ensure the top of the filling isn’t burning. If it’s beginning to look a bit too done, place a piece of foil loosely over the peppers.
• Because this is a mashup of two classic dishes that pair so well together, your side choices are almost endless. If you can serve it with sloppy Joes or stuffed peppers, it will work with this recipe!