These stuffed peppers are worth stuffing…into your face, your mouth, your belly. You will stuff yourself silly. I’ve been wanting to share this recipe with you for weeks and the stars have finally aligned.
My friend Julia served these to us a month or two ago…I think that night I might have eaten 3 peppers, but who’s counting? I’m telling you, they are DEEE-LISH.
Without further ado (I think I might say that too much on here…whatever)…the recipe!
Stuffed Peppers
From Julia Axtell…don’t know where she got it! I’ve made a few alterations and notes, many of them based on Julia’s advice
- 6-7 bell peppers of various colors, 1 3/4 to 2 pounds (I went ALL RED. They’re the best in my book.)
- 2-4 Tablespoons olive oil (I was out of olive oil – quel horreur! but canola oil worked like a charm)
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 1 pound sweet or hot italian sausage, casings removed
- 3 cups cooked rice (Julia used basic white rice and it was fabulous. I used a rice blend of Texmati, brown and wild rice and it was soooo yummy.)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup waterPreheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut tops from peppers and remove seeds and ribs. If your peppers don’t want to stand up nicely, cut off part of the bottom as well to level the base of the pepper. Try not to cut through to the inside, but if you do it’s not the end of the world. Brush outside of peppers with olive oil.
In a medium frying pan, heat remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook 2-4 minutes, or until softened. Crumble sausage meat into pan and cook, stirring to break up lumps, until it begins to lose its pinkness, 5-7 minutes. Drain the fat (use a slotted spoon or pat with papertowels).
Slightly beat egg in a large-ish mixing bowl. Add rice, parsley, cheese, salt, pepper and sausage/onion mixture. Mix well.
Stuff the bell peppers with rice filling, mounding top slightly. Place peppers in a 9″ x 13″ baking dish. Mix tomato sauce with water and pour into dish around peppers. Bake 45 minutes.
Hello! My name is Jane Maynard and you've landed yourself on my blog, This Week for Dinner™. Every Sunday I share a weekly menu...and then count on you to share your own! You'll also find other deliciousness that I hope you'll enjoy!
I have been waiting for this moment since you first mentioned stuffed peppers. Thanks so much!
Comment by CheekyChic — April 30, 2010 @ 5:30 am
I just made stuffed peppers with orzo, I will have to post soon. I love them! Will try this recipe next:)
Comment by maria — April 30, 2010 @ 7:49 am
Wow–you noticed I had stuffed peppers on my menu this weekend, didn’t you? So nice of you…;)
Comment by kidkopf — April 30, 2010 @ 9:53 am
I cannot wait to try these!
Comment by Vicki — April 30, 2010 @ 11:20 am
Tip on stuffed peppers, a bundt pan works well for getting the peppers to stand up! Stuffed peppers are yummy!
Comment by Robyn — April 30, 2010 @ 12:09 pm
This is such a wonderful and cute recipe. I love seeing family digging into this dish.
Comment by Oneida — April 30, 2010 @ 12:17 pm
robyn – the bundt pan is a fabulous idea – thank you!!!
Comment by Jane Maynard — April 30, 2010 @ 12:41 pm
This sounds great, I have never had stuffed pepers with sasauge, what’s not to like?
My son just loves peppers and I try to serve them whenever I can.
Comment by christine — April 30, 2010 @ 1:16 pm
Hey there,
I found out via Sarah, that you’re doing The Relay this wknd. I am too! With Athleta…I’m meeting up w/them on Sat, and will be there til’ the end.
I’ll look for you guys…eat/blog/run..;-)
Comment by annemarie — April 30, 2010 @ 3:10 pm
Love the stuffed red peppers with sausage meat (my personal favorite color is red, too). Made some a couple weeks ago, vegetarian Greek style. I love the bundt pan suggestion, Robyn, because they are never going to stand up in an open casserole, I know from experience. Good tip!
Comment by Julie — May 1, 2010 @ 12:23 pm
how many does this serve? Will want to reduce it to serve 2, me + husband.
Comment by Connie Z. — May 2, 2010 @ 11:35 am
I made these last night for some friends for dinner. I was a little nervous, since the recipe didn’t really have too many ingredients – but they were amazing! Everyone raved about them and I kept hearing “just one more.” Thanks for a great recipe.
Kelly
Comment by kelly — May 2, 2010 @ 12:38 pm
Ok I guess I’m going to have to try this. I know you didn’t learn how to like stuffed peppers from your childhood as I have NEVER cooked them. I can remember coming in the house after school and smelling stuffed green peppers baking and KNOWING I was going to be going to bed hungry since I KNEW I wasn’t going to be eating that night….
Good job Jane!
Comment by Mawa — May 2, 2010 @ 7:02 pm
connie z – this amount of filling easily fills 6-7 peppers…and I would say 1 pepper is quite filling. you could probably half the recipe and it would feed you and your husband nicely!
kelly – that’s the kind of feedback I like to hear!!!
mawa – I thought of you when I wrote this post.
Comment by Jane Maynard — May 2, 2010 @ 8:33 pm
I make a similar stuffing for zucs, oversized garden squash, and even mushrooms. I haven’t tried the peppers yet though. You can also cut up the remaining top parts of the peppers (sans stem) and cook with the onions to add some color to the mix. Delish!
Comment by Frietopia — May 2, 2010 @ 10:30 pm
So… I have never made stuffed peppers before, and I was curious: Why fill the dish with water/tomato sauce, what purpose does it serve?
Comment by Jen — May 3, 2010 @ 8:48 am
jen – it serves the DELICIOUS purpose of being the perfect sauce to drizzle on the peppers when you’re ready to eat the peppers!
it’s surprising how tasty it actually it is…and so very simple!
Comment by Jane Maynard — May 3, 2010 @ 12:37 pm
I made these for dinner last night and they were DELICIOUS. I agree with Jane the tomato sauce in the bottom MAKES the dish because it adds a lot of flavor.
I will definitely be making these again. I used plain white rice and chicken sausage and followed the rest of the recipe. YUM!
Comment by Ashlie — May 4, 2010 @ 8:29 am
Ahh I see, makes more sense now hehe. I’ll definitely have to grab some bell peppers next time I go to the grocery store. They look amazing!
Comment by Jen — May 4, 2010 @ 7:58 pm
[...] This Week for Dinner – Weekly Meal Plans, Dinner Ideas, Recipes … – I know you didn’t learn how to like stuffed peppers from your childhood as I have NEVER cooked them. I can remember coming in the house after school and smelling stuffed green peppers baking and KNOWING I was going to be going to bed … [...]
Pingback by Spectacular Cookbook Club Stuffed Peppers! | CookBook Club — May 6, 2010 @ 7:08 am
These look ah.maze.ing!!! I can’t wait to try these! I’m copying the recipe and adding it my ‘want to cook, book’!
Comment by Kristin Leigh — May 16, 2010 @ 5:26 pm
I made these and they were delicious HOWEVER I think the peppers themselves were a bit undercooked. I think they would have been even better if I had steamed the peppers before stuffing and baking them. Also I added one grated zucchini to the stuffing mixture for a bit of extra veggies.
Comment by Emily — May 22, 2010 @ 5:45 pm
very interesting, emily! and that sounds like a great solution. I never thought that when I ate them, but I suppose it’s probably just a matter of taste – I think steaming before sounds like a great idea.
also – good idea shredding some veggies into the stuffing! thanks for commenting!
Comment by Jane Maynard — May 22, 2010 @ 5:55 pm
my daughter have been craving peppers for awhile, I searched for some different peppers to stuff and I came across this site, sounded interesting, so I bought the stuff and made them for her, she loved them. will do them more often.
Comment by carmen guffey — July 18, 2010 @ 5:41 am
I made these the other night. We LOVED them!! Used spicy Italian turkey sausage. Traded in basil for parsley and mozzarella for parm. Love the Italian twist. My husband brought home 6 more peppers so I think he liked it!
Comment by Connie Z. — August 14, 2010 @ 1:07 pm