Italian Stuffed Peppers
These Italian style stuffed peppers are perfectly tender, with creamy and flavorful rice with Italian sausage or beef and lots of cheese. Roasting them in rich tomato sauce is optional but recommended as you can serve them drizzled with the sauce after. I love roasted veggies and stuffed peppers have to be my favourite, a staple growing up and a meal I always look forward too. There are so many variations to enjoy out there and this is my Italian style version of this tasty classic. It’s comfort food the whole family will love!
Stuffed Peppers Italian Style
My Greek stuffed peppers are always delicious but I love all sorts of variations when it comes to stuffed peppers. These are full of Italian sausage and seasoning, fresh garlic, and hearty tomato sauce. Save the fresh dill and mint for another time and replace them with Basil and or parsley for this Italian version. These have a very creamy risotto like filling with Parmesan cheese and then they are baked with shredded mozzarella.
Italian stuffed pepper ingredients:
- Bell peppers – You can use whatever color you like or have.
- Onions & Garlic cloves -they add wonderful flavour - Use as much or little as you like.
- Meat – Italian sausage is what I used - I love spicy Italian sausage but you can also use ground beef or chicken or Turkey
- Broth – Low sodium chicken broth to control the sodium content of our dish. You can use beef broth or vegetable broth as well, or even just water
- Red wine - optional. I use it to deglaze pan and add loads of flavour
- Rice – I always use arborio rice or risotto rice. Uncooked is key! It will absorb all that delicious sauce that we’re going to be combining in our little peppers and be super flavorful.
- Tomato – I like to use tomato Passata or crushed tomatoes for all that earthy, acidic flavor. You can substitute that for your favourite marinara sauce or tomato sauce homemade
- Spices – Just Italian seasoning – thats all I used but feel free to use your own blend of Italian seasoning. Salt and black pepper are a must and to taste. Feel free to add some red pepper flakes for more heat
- Spinach - I always love to sneak in some greens - optional but recommended
- Fresh Basil - adds flavour and makes a great garnish too
- Cheese - I used grated Parmesan cheese in the filling and topped each pepper generously with shredded mozzarella - use as little or as much as you like
- Variations - Give these a try: Leaner meat such as ground turkey or chicken, ground pork, add mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, or hot peppers.
Which bell peppers To use for this stuffed pepper recipe?
You can use any color of bell peppers that you like. Keep in mind that red peppers are the sweetest, yellow and orange peppers are mild, and green peppers are a bit bitter.
Should I boil peppers before stuffing?
There are hundreds of different ways to make stuffed peppers. Creating different fillings, slicing the pepper in half or leaving it whole, and the most debated, to pre-cook or to not pre-cook. To blanch or not to blanch. Since stuffed peppers can take as long as 45 min to 2 hours sometimes to bake, shortening that down with a quick boil or precook really helps out. I’ve got a not so secret tip to make stuffed peppers a quick weeknight dinner. Pre-bake or precook the peppers! There’s no need to wait until you’ve cooked the meat mixture. Pre-bake the peppers while you’re making the filling and save yourself about 15-20 minutes.
Should I cover stuffed peppers before baking?
This all depends on the method you are using to cook your stuffed peppers. If you are not precooking or pre boiling your peppers then yes it’s best to start them off i the oven covered so that the steam will help cook the peppers. Uncover for the last part of cooking to add now colour to your peppers. If you are precooking your peppers, they are mostly cooked through before you even fill them so there is no need to cover them. Just roast after they are filled and topped with cheese uncovered.
How to make the best stuffed peppers
Preheat your oven 350°Fahrenheit. Then follow these steps:
- Prep bell peppers - Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and membrane. Then rub the insides and outsides with a bit of olive oil and spices and arrange in a baking dish. Pop them in the oven for about 20-25 min minutes to soften them up.
- Prepare filling - While the bell peppers are baking, sauté meat with onion garlic and aromatics. Then add the rice and sauce and cook until al dente. Stir in Parmesan cheese and Basil
- Start filling - Remove the peppers from the oven then fill them and sprinkle over shredded mozzarella cheese. Pour remaining 1 cup of sauce around peppers in pan (optional)
- Bake - Place them in the oven and bake for about 20 -25 minutes, or until the peppers soften. Garnish and serve! Top them off with chopped parsley or basil and serve immediately.
How do I know if my peppers are done cooking?
Test the peppers for doneness by poking them with the sharp edge of a knife to see if they are tender. Peppers are done when the peppers are tender and the center of the stuffing reads 160°F on your instant read thermometer. I prefer mine very well cooked but I know others prefer there’s tender crisp. I tend to roast mine for 20-25 min before I fill mine and then another 25-30 min after they are filled for extra tender peppers. Of course the larger and thicker the pepper is the longer it will need to roast. Keep those factors in mind when determining roasting times.
Tips for making the best stuffed peppers
- Choose your peppers wisely. Look for unblemished peppers when purchasing. Choose peppers that are nice and round with a thickish skin.
- Size matters. If you like to purchase large peppers, like I do, you’ll need to cut the peppers in half to fill with the sausage stuffing. If you would rather use small peppers, you simply cut the tops off, scoop out the seeds and membranes, and fill whole. (Slice a small section of pepper off the bottom to help them stand upright.)
- Precooking the peppers saves you loads of cooking time making this a fabulous mid week meal
- Season peppers with salt and pepper before you stuff them for better flavor.
- Allow peppers to rest, after removing from the oven, for 10 to 15 minutes. Spoon sauce back onto tops from bottom of pan just before serving.
Storage and freezing:
- Fridge: Store in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
- Freezer: Make sure that they’re completely cooled. Then place in a freezer-safe container, seal, label, and date. Use within 4 months of freezing.
- Reheat: You can reheat in the microwave. Or you can reheat in the oven at 360°F/180°C, in an oven-safe dish covered with foil until completely heated. If reheating frozen cooked stuffed bell peppers, reheat at 360°F/180°C in an oven-safe dish covered with foil until completely heated.
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Recipe
Ingredients
- 4-5 red, yellow, orange or green peppers
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 onion peeled and chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic peeled and minced
- 1 lb Italian sausage (casings removed) or lean ground beef
- 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning plus a pinch extra
- 2 cups tomato passata or crushed tomatoes divided (one for in the peppers and one for pan)
- 2 cups broth or water
- salt and pepper to taste
- ⅔ cup arborio rice
- ¼ cup red wine (optional)
- 1 cup spinach
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil plus more for serving
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F
- Prep peppers: Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds and membrane.
- In a 9x13 inch baking dish, toss the peppers with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and a pinch each of salt and pepper and Italian seasoning. Arrange them in baking pan and pre-bake for about 15-20 minutes, while you make the stuffing to soften them. When done remove the bell peppers from the oven. Set side
- Make filling: In a large skillet heat remaining olive oil over medium heat and add onion, garlic and suasage or ground beef and Italian seasoning. Cook until the meat is cooked through and browned, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, 7-9 min Stir in aborio rice and stir to coat and toast for just a few seconds. Deglaze pan with wine if using scraping any brown bits from bottom of pan and bring to boil for a few seconds.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, spinach and broth, bring to a boil, lower the heat to low-medium and cover. Cook covered 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Rice should be cooked al dente and most of the liquid absorbed.
- Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese and basil, season with salt or pepper as needed.
- Assemble: Fill the peppers with the meat mixture and top with shredded mozzarella. Pour remaining 1 cup of sauce around peppers in pan (optional). Place them back in the oven and bake for approx 20 minutes, or until the peppers are soft and cheese is melted and bubbling Top with fresh parsley or basil and serve
Recipe Notes
Storage and freezing
- Fridge: Store in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
- Freezer: Make sure that they’re completely cooled. Then place in a freezer-safe container, seal, label, and date. Use within 4 months of freezing.
- Reheat: You can reheat in the microwave. Or you can reheat in the oven at 360°F/180°C, in an oven-safe dish covered with foil until completely heated. If reheating frozen cooked stuffed bell peppers, reheat at 360°F/180°C in an oven-safe dish covered with foil until completely heated.
