When making stuffed bell peppers, why do you have to cook the pepper before stuffing it?

Question

I know many people who boil them first and have seen this step in several recipes I've found online, however when I was growing up, and even today, my mom doesn't cook her pepper or the stuffing before putting it in the oven. Just wondering if there's a benefit to boiling it first.

Answer 1

most often the peppers are filled with cheese and herbs. the bell peppers are pre cooked because in just cooked after they were stuffed the bell peppers would be undercooked whilst the cheese and herbs are perfectly cooked. cooking the peppers before hand gives the peppers a head start to cook so that they will take the same cooking time as the stuffing for it.

Answer 2

I don't cook mine first. I use a Croatian recipe where you simmer the stuffed peppers in a seasoned tomato sauce on top of the stove. The peppers don't fall apart, but are tender, and the filling is delicious with the sauce. This is the best recipe for stuffed peppers I have found.

Answer 3

You don't actually "have" to cook the peppers, but boiling them until they are soft but still firm will give your stuffing more of a bell pepper flavor after you bake them.

Answer 4

because the pepper will be hard and not soft if u cook it while its stuffed and u may burn the filling best thing is to put them in oven ahead of time then add filling cooked on top of oven like beef sauce rice and beans or make chili and add it

Answer 5

I've never heard of people cooking them before hand. I would think that this would soften the peppers too much...try them both ways and see which one works for you dear.

Answer 6

I checked several cookbooks and none of them tell you to cook the peppers first so I would go with that and start off with them raw.

Answer 7

I never cook it first... :) How the hell do you stuff a cooked pepper, they fall apart like paper!

Answer 8

ive never cooked the pepper
if you do that youll lose all the pepper flavor and it wont go into your meat

Answer 9

i've never done it that way, i'd think it would make it harder to stuff them