Turkish · Dinner

Turkish beef-and-rice stuffed peppers (etli biber dolması)

Name: Turkish beef-and-rice stuffed peppers (etli biber dolması)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 12 small green bell or Turkish dolma peppers; 1 pound 85-percent-lean ground beef; 3/4 cup medium-grain rice, rinsed; 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped; 3 ripe tomatoes, divided; 2 tablespoons tomato paste, divided; 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley; 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint; 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 2 cups low-sodium beef stock; 1 cup plain yogurt, for serving

Tender green peppers filled with beef, rice, tomato, onion, parsley, dill, mint, and warm pepper, simmered under bright tomato caps and served with yogurt.

About 1 hr 35 minTotal

About 1 hr 25 minActive

$$Cost

ModerateDifficulty

Makes 6 servings

Equipment

Use a hot sheet pan under an inverted oven-safe metal bowl for the covered phase.
Best value covered pot
Lodge Essential Enamel 6-Quart Dutch Oven · EC6D43
View at Amazon
Another workable path: Use a hot sheet pan under an inverted oven-safe metal bowl for the covered phase.
Paid links. As an Amazon Associate, Kwilt earns from qualifying purchases.
How we chose
Research-backed · reviewed Aug 2026
We matched capacity, lid fit, oven rating, heat retention, maneuverability, care, stable model identity, and usefulness outside bread baking. Kwilt has not baked with this pot.
Lodge Essential Enamel 6-Quart Dutch Oven · EC6D43: The six-quart capacity, heavy cast-iron body, and fitted lid create the enclosed high-heat environment used by these bread methods while remaining useful beyond baking. Trade-off: At more than thirteen pounds it is demanding to move when hot, and the enamel needs gentler utensils and hand washing.
Another workable path: Bake on a preheated heavy sheet pan under an inverted oven-safe metal bowl, keeping face and hands clear when removing the hot cover.
Sources
Lodge six-quart Essential Enamel specifications
Amazon exact product listing

Ingredients

1× recipe · Makes 6 servings

12 small green bell or Turkish dolma peppers
1 pound 85-percent-lean ground beef
3/4 cup medium-grain rice, rinsed
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
3 ripe tomatoes, divided
2 tablespoons tomato paste, divided
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups low-sodium beef stock
1 cup plain yogurt, for serving

Instructions

Cut caps from peppers and remove seeds, keeping the walls intact. Finely chop 2 tomatoes and cut the third into 12 pieces sized to cover the openings.
Mix beef, rice, onion, chopped tomatoes, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, parsley, dill, mint, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, allspice, and olive oil gently until evenly distributed.
Fill peppers only three quarters full so the rice can expand. Seal each with a tomato piece and stand snugly, openings up, in a .
Whisk remaining tomato paste and salt into stock and pour around the peppers to reach halfway up their sides. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook on low 45 to 55 minutes until peppers and rice are tender and filling reaches 165°F.
Rest covered 10 minutes so the rice finishes absorbing liquid. Serve two peppers per person with pot juices and cool yogurt.

TürkiyeTurkish household and palace-derived cooking

From the table

About this recipe

Etli biber dolması is the meat-filled branch of Turkish stuffed peppers, combining raw rice, seasoned beef, herbs, and tomato inside upright peppers that simmer gently in a shallow tomato broth.

Dolma comes from the Turkish verb meaning to fill. Turkey has many meatless, meat-filled, hot, and cold branches; this etli biber dolması is the everyday hot main-dish form with beef, rice, tomato, herbs, and yogurt, not the olive-oil currant-and-pine-nut version served cool. This Kwilt version follows the reviewed household adaptation: Follow the Turkish ministry's accessible household meat-filled branch, add explicit safe-temperature and expansion controls, and use the familiar stuffed-pepper description before the Turkish name.

Sources

Dinner does not stop at the recipe