Dishes with stuffed vegetables are called “dolma” and are categorized two ways: served warm as a meal, or served cold as a second course or appetizer. This recipe for dolmeh felfel is meant to be served warm as a meal, but the leftovers make for a great, cold lunch the next day.

Roasted peppers stuffed with rice.

🌟Why you’ll love this recipe

  • The rice is par-boiled with the spices, which gets it to absorb the flavors and cook perfectly after stuffing it in the peppers.
  • The spices in this recipe are a classic base of cumin, turmeric, salt, and pepper. They impart wonderful flavor!
  • The peppers stay slightly crisp, providing a different texture to the ground meat and rice filling.
  • This recipe is delicious both warm and cold, making for great leftovers. Same with the more classic dolmas, grape leaves stuffed with rice.

🧾Ingredients in this recipe

Ingredients for stuffed peppers.
  • bell peppers – You can stuff almost any of your favorite peppers for this recipe. I have made it with poblanos, hatch chiles, and more. However, depending on the pepper, you may need to cook it or char it prior to stuffing because not all peppers taste good when left crisp. This recipe yields a pepper that still has a slight crunch to it.
  • ground lamb or beef – my favorite in this recipe is ground lamb, but it is also delicious with ground beef (the more traditional option), chicken, turkey, and even a plant-based ground meat substitute.
  • rice – this recipe uses basmati rice. However, I have made it with other grains like farro and it is also delicious. You will need to adjust the amount of water you add to the recipe if changing the grain.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

👩‍🍳How to Make This Recipe

Yellow rice in a pot.
  • Preheat to 350F. In the meantime, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Cook the diced yellow onion until translucent. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of cumin and 1/4 teaspoon of ground turmeric. Season with some salt. Add the washed 3/4 cup of basmati rice and 3/4 cup water. Cover and cook 8-10 minutes until the water is absorbed.
Mixing meat and rice mixture in a pot.
  • Remove from heat and add the pound of ground meat, 1/2 cup of fresh chopped herbs, diced tomato, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Mix well, kneading the ingredients together.
Stuffing peppers with rice filling.
  • Cut the tops off the 8 bell peppers. If using large bell peppers, you will only need 4-6. Remove the seeds and any large white parts. Stuff each bell pepper with as much filling as you can so it is flush with the top of the pepper.
Cooked stuffed peppers.
  • Cover with the bell pepper tops and place in an baking dish that fits them all. It is OK if it doesn’t fill the dish. Add 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the pan. Bake for 1 hour.

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Roasted peppers stuffed with rice.
Author: Candice Walker

Dolmeh Felfel – Persian Stuffed Peppers

4.91 from 11 votes
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This recipe for dolmeh felfel is meant to be served warm as a meal, but the leftovers make for a great, cold lunch the next day.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Main, Main Course
Cuisine: Persian
Diet: Gluten Free, Kosher
Servings: 4
Calories: 608kcal

Ingredients

  • 8 bell peppers multi-colored (only 6 if large)
  • 1 lb. ground lamb beef, turkey, chicken, or meat substitute
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup yellow onion diced
  • ¾ cup basmati rice washed until water runs clear
  • ¾ cup water
  • 1 tomato diced
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ¼ tsp ground turmeric
  • ½ cup fresh herbs parsley and cilantro
  • 1/2  tsp salt do not add salt if using the soy chorizo
  • ½ tsp pepper​

Instructions

  • Preheat to 350F.
  • Heat the oil over medium heat. Cook the onion until translucent. Season with cumin and turmeric.
  • Add the washed rice and 3/4 cup water. Cover and cook 8-10 minutes until the water is absorbed.
  • Remove from heat and add the ground meat, herbs, tomato, salt, and pepper. Mix well, kneading the ingredients together.
  • Cut the tops off the bell peppers. Remove the seeds and any large white parts.
  • Stuff each bell pepper with as much filling as you can so it is flush with the top of the pepper.
  • Cover with the bell pepper tops and place in an baking dish that fits them all. It is OK if it doesn't fill the dish.
  • Add 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the pan. Bake for 1 hour.

Video

Notes

You can stuff almost any of your favorite peppers for this recipe. I have made it with poblanos, hatch chiles, and more. However, depending on the pepper, you may need to cook it or char it prior to stuffing because not all peppers taste good when left crisp. This recipe yields a pepper that still has a slight crunch to it.
My favorite in this recipe is ground lamb, but it is also delicious with ground meat (the more traditional option), chicken, turkey, and even a plant-based ground meat substitute.
This recipe uses basmati rice. However, I have made it with other grains like farro and it is also delicious. You will need to adjust the amount of water you add to the recipe if changing the grain.

Nutrition

Calories: 608kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 379mg | Potassium: 967mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 8340IU | Vitamin C: 321mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 4mg
Did you try this recipe?I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a Review to let us know how it came out, if you have a successful substitution or variation, or anything else.

3 Comments

  1. 4 stars
    I made this as soon as I saw the link to this recipe. In terms of execution everything came out pretty much as written. I used pharaoh instead of basmati rice and just assumed it would be the same water ratio. I wasn’t sure if it was a 1/2 a cup each of parsley and a 1/2 a cup of cilantro or A mixture of the 2 so I was generous with the amount. Overall I thought this was nice but I felt it needed more flavor. I am not one to add a lot of salt but this seemed underseasoned. If I were to make this again I would double the salt and tumeric.

    Reply
4.91 from 11 votes (9 ratings without comment)

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