Töltött paprika is a comforting Hungarian dish of sweet peppers filled with seasoned pork and rice, then simmered in a tomato and paprika sauce until the peppers are soft and the filling is cooked through. The sauce does most of the work, making the peppers mild, rich, and savory, and a spoonful of sour cream at the end rounds everything out.
In this recipe, you’ll learn how to fill peppers so they hold their shape while simmering, how to build a flavorful tomato sauce without browning the paprika, and how to finish with sour cream that stays smooth.
Recipe Information
- Yield: 6 stuffed peppers, serving 3 to 4
- Hands-on time: About 20 minutes
- Total time: About 1 hour 15 minutes
- Equipment: 4- to 5-quart Dutch oven or wide, deep pot with a lid, paring knife, grater, mixing bowl, instant-read thermometer
Ingredients
For the Peppers
- 6 medium bell peppers or sweet Hungarian peppers (about 1 1/2 lb / 680 g), choosing ones with flat bottoms if possible so they stand upright
For the Filling
- 1 lb (454 g) ground pork, or half pork and half ground beef
- 1/2 cup (95 g) long-grain white rice, rinsed
- 1 small yellow onion (about 5 oz / 140 g), finely grated
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon (6 g) sweet Hungarian paprika
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) fine salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Sauce
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) neutral oil or lard
- 1 small yellow onion (about 5 oz / 140 g), finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon (6 g) sweet Hungarian paprika
- 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) strained or crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) low-sodium broth or water, plus more if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) fine salt
For Finishing
- 1/2 cup (120 g) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (8 g) all-purpose flour
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the Peppers
Cut off the tops of the peppers, about 1/2 inch (1 cm) down, and set the tops aside. Remove the seeds and white ribs with a paring knife, then rinse the peppers.
If a pepper won’t stand upright, shave a thin slice off the bottom. Stop before you cut through the wall.
Step 2: Make the Sauce
Heat the oil in the Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until soft and translucent but not browned.
Remove the pot from the heat and wait 1 minute. Stir in the paprika for about 30 seconds so it coats the onion without scorching. Add the tomatoes, broth, and salt. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer, then keep it warm over low heat.
Step 3: Mix the Filling
In a mixing bowl, combine the ground pork, grated onion, rinsed rice, egg, paprika, salt, and black pepper. Mix with your hands for 1 to 2 minutes, until the filling is evenly combined and holds together.
Step 4: Stuff the Peppers
Spoon the filling into each pepper, packing it gently until the pepper is about three-quarters full. Leave some room at the top, since the rice will swell as it cooks. Replace the tops.
Step 5: Arrange the Peppers in the Pot
Stand the peppers upright in the sauce, side by side and snug. The sauce should come about one-third of the way up the sides. If it doesn’t, add 1/2 cup of hot water.
Watch How the Peppers Go in the Pot
How upright peppers sit in the sauce and how high the liquid should come are easier to judge from video than from a measurement.
Step 6: Simmer the Peppers
Bring the pot to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 45 to 50 minutes. Check after 30 minutes and add a splash of water if the sauce is reducing too quickly.
The peppers are ready when the walls are tender and a knife slides through easily. Insert an instant-read thermometer through the pepper wall into the center of the filling. It should read 160°F (71°C). Cut open one pepper to check that the rice is tender.
Step 7: Finish With Sour Cream
In a bowl, whisk the sour cream and flour until smooth. Add about 1/2 cup of the hot sauce from the pot to the sour cream a little at a time, whisking constantly so it doesn’t curdle.
Pour the sour cream mixture back into the pot and spoon the sauce over the peppers. Gently shake the pot to distribute it. Simmer uncovered over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Don’t let it boil.
Step 8: Rest and Serve
Turn off the heat and let the pot rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Serve one or two peppers per plate, spooning plenty of sauce over them. Crusty bread is good for soaking up the extra sauce.
Useful Cooking Tips
- Grate the onion for the filling. A grated onion melts into the meat and keeps the filling moist, while chopped pieces can stay firm.
- Choose straight-walled peppers. Peppers with flat bottoms and even walls stand better and hold more filling.
- Make the filling ahead. You can mix the filling up to a day ahead and keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to stuff the peppers.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Overpacked peppers: Rice swells as it cooks, and tightly packed peppers can split. Leave some room at the top.
- Peppers that tip over: Peppers that aren’t level sway in the sauce and lose their filling. Trim the base so they stand.
- Bitter paprika: Paprika that cooks over direct heat turns bitter. Add it off the heat, as in Step 2.
- Undercooked rice: Rice that’s still firm means the peppers need more time. Add a little water and keep simmering.
- Boiling the sour cream: High heat makes the sauce grainy. Keep it at a gentle simmer.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerate the peppers and sauce in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat them covered over low heat with a splash of broth or water until the center reaches 165°F (74°C).
You can freeze the peppers for up to 2 months. Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight before reheating. The sour cream may look slightly grainy after thawing, so reheat it slowly and stir gently.
Variations
- All-beef filling: Replace the pork with 1 lb (454 g) of ground beef. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the filling if the beef is very lean.
- Red peppers: Use red bell peppers for a sweeter result. The cooking time stays the same.
- Mushroom filling: Replace the meat with 12 oz (340 g) of finely chopped mushrooms. Cook them in a dry skillet until their liquid evaporates, then mix them with the rice, onion, egg, and seasonings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do my peppers keep falling over?
Trim a thin slice from the base of each pepper so it sits flat. Also check that the peppers are snug against each other in the pot. Peppers that have room to shift can tip during simmering.
Can I use cooked rice?
Yes, but reduce the simmering time to about 30 minutes. Cooked rice doesn’t need time to soften, so the peppers only need to heat through and become tender.
Do you prefer green or red peppers for stuffing? Tell us which you use.
Editor’s note (not part of the article)
- Video position: I placed the video after the peppers are arranged in the pot because how upright the peppers sit and how high the sauce comes are easier to judge visually. Readers can confirm they’re on track before the long simmer begins.
- Blogger improvement: Add a print-friendly option through your theme so cooks can keep the ingredient list and steps handy while they work in the kitchen.
- Metric to watch: Track the bounce rate for visitors from Google Search. Many people search for quick weeknight dinners, so the clarity of the time information in the title and recipe information will affect whether they stay.