How to freeze stuffed peppers for the winter: recipes for meat, rice, vegetables, minced meat

For culinary specialists, freezing vegetables and fruits has long been a common thing. This way of preserving food for the winter allows you to cook delicious dishes at any time. But experienced housewives have completely adapted to harvesting not only vegetables, but also ready-to-cook homemade semi-finished products in this way. For example, frozen stuffed peppers for the winter in the freezer are a real find for all busy women. After spending just one evening, at any time after that, you can pamper your loved ones with a delicious and satisfying dish. After all, for this it is enough just to remove the blanks from the freezer and send them to stew.

Great preparation for the winter, helping to save time

How to freeze stuffed peppers for the winter

The successful preparation of stuffed peppers for the winter in the freezer depends not only on the recipe itself, but also on the correct choice of the main ingredients.

The very first thing that should be given special attention is the selection of the Bulgarian fruit and its preparation. It is best to give preference to vegetables of the same size, while they should not be too large. Late varieties should be chosen, as they are more fleshy and have a dense skin, which will allow them to retain their shape during freezing. Be sure to look at the integrity of the fruit. They should not have any damage or dents.

Having chosen suitable and completely complete copies, you can proceed to the preparatory work, which are concluded in the following steps:

1. First, the fruits are thoroughly washed under running water.
2. Then they are wiped with a paper towel so that the skin becomes completely dry.
3. They begin to remove the stalks, this should be done carefully, without damaging the fruits.
4. Cleanse the inside of the seeds.

Having completely washed and cleaned the peppers, you can start stuffing them for the winter for freezing.

How to stuff pepper for the winter for freezing

You can stuff peppers according to different recipes, for example, with meat, minced meat and rice, or with vegetables, but the principle of filling the fruit itself remains unchanged. To do this, prepare the filling and fill it tightly with pre-peeled peppers.

Next, wrap a wooden cutting board with cling film and lay the stuffed fruits on it so that they do not touch each other. Then, before sending the blanks to the freezer, they must be cooled, for this they are placed in the refrigerator for an hour. After cooling, the pepper is sent to the freezer at a temperature of -18 degrees, if possible, it is better to use the “Super Freeze” mode. After about 3-4 hours, the blanks are checked, if the peppers are at least slightly crushed when pressed, they should be left for another 20-30 minutes. But you can not freeze semi-finished products for more than 8 hours, otherwise all the liquid will freeze and they will be dry when ready.

Completely frozen homemade semi-finished products are packaged in plastic bags or sealed containers. And again sent to the freezer for further storage.

Peppers stuffed with meat for the winter in the freezer

Peppers stuffed with meat for the winter can be frozen according to the following recipe. It is the simplest and takes little time to prepare. In this way, you can harvest semi-finished products if you have a fairly large crop.

For 1 kg of bell pepper, you will need the following ingredients:

• mixed minced meat (beef and pork) – 0,5 kg;
• rice – 1 tbsp.;
• 1 head onion;
• salt and pepper – to taste.

Freezing steps:

1. Rice is washed and boiled until half cooked.
2. During the cooking of rice, peppers are prepared (they wash and remove the stalk with seeds).
3. Peel the onion and finely chop it.
4. Boiled rice is washed under cold running water, allowed to cool completely, and then mixed with rice and onions. Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Fill with stuffing peppers.
6. Stuffed peppers are placed in a plastic bag and laid out in the freezer so that they do not touch each other. Therefore, it is desirable to pack them in portions of 4-6 pieces.

It is best to cook stuffed peppers frozen in the freezer in this way in tomato sauce

Freezing peppers stuffed with vegetables for the winter

For vegetarians, there is also an interesting recipe for peppers stuffed with vegetables frozen for the winter in the freezer. Such semi-finished products can be an excellent dinner if stewed in tomato sauce.

For 6 medium-sized peppers, prepare:

• 1 head onion;
• young carrots – 5 pcs.;
• salt – 2/3 tsp;
• sugar – 1 st. l .;
• 2-3 tbsp. l. sunflower oil.

Manufacturing steps:

1. Bulgarian peppers are washed, the stalks and seeds are removed in them.
2. Peel the onion from the husk, finely chop it. Put the pan on the stove, pour oil into it and let it heat up. Then onions are poured into it. Fry it until transparent.
3. Carrots are peeled and chopped in any convenient way (you can grate it or use a food processor).
4. Shredded root vegetables are sent to the pan, stir occasionally, stew vegetables for 15 minutes. Then salt and sugar are added, everything is thoroughly mixed.
5. The finished filling is removed from the stove and allowed to cool completely, after which peppers are filled with it. It is advisable to put each fruit in a glass and send it to the freezer in this form until completely frozen.
6. After they are removed and packaged in bags. Put it back in the freezer and store it for the winter.

Peppers should be stuffed with carrots as tightly as possible.

Freezing peppers stuffed with meat and rice for the winter

Another great step-by-step recipe for freezing stuffed peppers for the winter in the freezer is a simple option with meat and rice. And to complete such a workpiece, you will need:

• sweet pepper – 30 pcs .;
• meat (pork and beef) 800 g each;
• oblong rice – 0,5 tbsp.;
• dark rice (wild) – 0,5 tbsp.;
• onions – 2 large heads;
• 6 carrots;
• egg – 1 pcs .;
• vegetable oil – 2-3 tbsp. l .;
• spices – to taste;
• fresh herbs – to taste.

Procedure:

1. 2 types of rice are washed well and boiled until half cooked. Rinse again and leave to cool completely.
2. Meanwhile prepare the peppers. They are also washed under running water, the stalks and seeds are removed. Spread them on a steam bath to soften.
3. Start preparing the filling. To do this, the meat is passed through a meat grinder, pour 2 types of boiled rice into it, salt and add spices to taste, break the egg. Everything is thoroughly mixed.
4. Onions and carrots are peeled, chopped (onions are cut into small cubes, carrots are rubbed on a grater).
5. Oil is poured into the pan, put on the stove and then chopped carrots and onions are fried until golden brown. Stew vegetables for about 8 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the stove and allow the fried vegetables to cool completely.
6. In a cold form, the fried vegetables are transferred to minced meat, finely chopped greens are also poured there. Everything is mixed until smooth and proceed to stuffing the peppers.
7. Then lay out 3-4 pieces. in bags and sent to the freezer.

The addition of fried vegetables makes this preparation much tastier.

Freezing peppers stuffed with minced meat for the winter

This recipe for harvesting in the form of frozen stuffed peppers for the winter in the freezer will save time on cooking. To do this, you will need the following ingredients:

• sweet pepper – 1 kg;
• any minced meat – 600 g;
• 2 heads of onions;
• rice – 1/3 st.;
• 1 egg;
• salt, spices – to taste.

Step by step execution:

1. Wash each pepper, removing the stem and seeds.
2. Pour boiled water over the peeled fruits so that they become softer.
3. Next, move on to the rice. It is washed well and sent to boil in boiling water for no more than 5 minutes. Then recline in a colander and rinse again. Leave to cool.
4. Pour spices and finely chopped onions into the minced meat. Crack an egg and add undercooked rice.
5. The pods of sweet pepper are densely filled with the prepared minced meat. Spread them on a wooden cutting board and send them to the freezer.
6. After complete freezing, semi-finished products are packaged in portions in bags.

In this way, you can prepare a large number of semi-finished products in order to please your family more often with a delicious dinner.

Recipe for stuffed peppers for the winter: freezing with frying

In addition to the above recipes that offer to freeze stuffed peppers for the winter, there is the option of preparing an almost complete dish, if you also prepare a fry in addition.

Ingredients:

• 20 pcs. sweet pepper;
• mixed minced meat – 1,5 kg;
• round rice – 1 tbsp.;
• egg – 1 pcs .;
• 4 heads of onions;
• 8 pcs carrots;
• tomatoes – 8 pcs .;
• sunflower oil – 4 st. l .;
• butter – 1 tsp;
• wheat flour – 1 tsp;
• salt and spices to taste;
• fresh herbs – optional.

Method of preparation:

1. Rice is washed under running water and sent to boil. After boiling, it should be kept for no more than 5 minutes, then thrown into a colander and washed again. Let cool.
2. Peel and wash the peppers, scald them so that they are soft.
3. The bulbs are cleaned and finely chopped. Carrots are rubbed on a medium grater, the same is done with tomatoes.
4. Put a frying pan with butter and vegetable oil on the stove, then, after heating, put onions, carrots and tomatoes into it. Salt to taste. Stir, continue to simmer for 7-10 minutes over low heat.
5. While the roast is stewing, proceed to minced meat. A little fried carrots with onions are added to it. Crack an egg and add spices to taste. Put chopped greens.
6. Peppers are filled with minced meat. They are laid out on a wooden cutting board and sent to the freezer.
7. Don’t forget the roast. Add some flour and stir. Then take it off the stove and let it cool down. A container is prepared, the roast is poured into it, tightly closed and also placed in the freezer.

Additional frying cooking will further simplify the cooking process itself

Freezing peppers for the winter stuffed with pork and rice

Freezing such a preparation for the winter as stuffed peppers is a great opportunity to save a big harvest. And among all the existing recipes, it is worth highlighting the option with pork and rice. Although minced meat and rice are present in almost all recipes, this one differs in that the finished dish turns out to be quite fatty and juicy.

For stuffing 1 kg of bell pepper, the following ingredients are needed:

• 700 g minced pork (it is desirable to give preference to a fatter option);
• rice – 5 tbsp. l .;
• a bunch of fresh herbs;
• salt and additional spices to taste.

Algorithm of actions:

1. Wash and clean peppers.
2. Separately, minced pork is combined with finely chopped herbs and raw rice. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. The stuffing is not very dense, since the rice in the recipe is supposed to be taken raw.
4. Taking a large bag, lay the peppers on it and send them to the freezer until completely frozen, after which they are packaged in portions.

Thanks to fatty minced pork, the finished dish will be quite juicy.

How to freeze blanched stuffed peppers for the winter

In order to preserve the original shape of the peppers as best as possible, they should be stuffed for the winter to be frozen in the freezer after preliminary blanching.

For 2 kg of sweet pepper you will need:

• meat – 1 kg;
• onion – 300 g;
• egg – 1 pcs .;
• rice – 150 g;
• salt and spices to taste.

Freeze option:

1. First prepare the peppers (wash, remove all unnecessary).
2. Then start blanching. To do this, bring water to a boil in a saucepan, reduce the heat and lower the peeled vegetables there. Bring to a boil again, remove from stove. Remove the peppers and leave to cool completely.
3. Then they move on to rice. It is well washed and slightly boiled until half cooked.
4. Lean meat and at the same time onions are passed through a meat grinder.
5. Undercooked rice is added to the minced meat, salt and spices are added as desired. Break the egg and mix everything thoroughly.
6. Start stuffing.
7. Next, the peppers filled with filling are laid out on a cutting board and sent to the freezer for 3-4 hours. After that, they are removed and laid out in small packages.

Peppers freeze much faster thanks to blanching.

Should I defrost before cooking?

There is no need to defrost stuffed peppers before cooking. It is enough to take them out of the freezer, put them in a saucepan or on a baking sheet, pour over the sauce and send to stew.

Storage Rules

It is possible to store such a preparation as stuffed peppers when frozen for the winter for quite a long time. Naturally, the shelf life will directly depend on the recipe. It can vary from 3 to 12 months under appropriate conditions.

It is also important to understand that the homemade semi-finished product is frozen only once. Re-freezing is completely excluded, as this will affect not only the quality of the dish, but also its taste.

Conclusion

Stuffed peppers for the winter in the freezer are an excellent preparation that will save not only cooking time, but also money, because in the winter season such a vegetable has a considerable cost. In addition, the dish itself, after cooking, can even be served on the festive table.