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 Worth Stuffing...
Author: My friend Julia Axtell, with my notes and alterations
Ingredients
- 6-7 bell peppers of various colors, 1¾ 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)
- ½ 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
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Preheat 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.
Hi! 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 count on you to share yours! 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!
I just made stuffed peppers with orzo, I will have to post soon. I love them! Will try this recipe next:)
Wow–you noticed I had stuffed peppers on my menu this weekend, didn’t you? So nice of you…;)
I cannot wait to try these!
Tip on stuffed peppers, a bundt pan works well for getting the peppers to stand up! Stuffed peppers are yummy!
Such a great idea!
This is such a wonderful and cute recipe. I love seeing family digging into this dish.
robyn – the bundt pan is a fabulous idea – thank you!!!
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.
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..;-)
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!
how many does this serve? Will want to reduce it to serve 2, me + husband.
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
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!
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. 😉
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!
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?
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!
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!
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!
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’!
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.
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!
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.
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! 🙂
They look so delicious! It has some similar look like Dim-Sum. I’d ask my mom to try making this! =D
Hey tried it, turned out great. I am making them tonight with my homemade sauce. Thanks for the recipe
wonderful! glad to hear they turned out!
and…you have to come share your homemade sauce recipe on today’s post that I JUSt published! 🙂 http://tinyurl.com/269gjv6
These are a new all time favorite! Thank you.
These are delicious and it’s such an easy recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Love this recipe. Made them today for the second time. Thanks!
glad you love it! and, can I say, wish I was at your house RIGHT NOW. these would be perfect for tonight. too bad I don’t have any peppers! 😉
These look so good! I think I’ll try substituting quinoa instead of the rice, because I’m allergic to rice. Probably won’t taste as good as the rice but I’m sure they’ll still be delicious. Thanks for posting!
I think that is definitely worth trying – good luck!
Quinoa works great. The peppers are a little denser as rice tends to be more fluffy; the flavors are still pretty spectacular, and quinoa makes it extra healthy!!
Do you put the rice in the pepper uncooked?
nope – you need to cook your rice ahead of time
thanks!
jane
Jane,I’m SO excited I just stumbled upon your website! It’s JUST what I’ve been looking for! Anxious to try these stuffed peppers!!! 🙂
I prepared peppers in this way and enjoyed them. Thanks
I just made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing! My husband and I inhaled it. I added some chopped portabella mushrooms to the onion/sausage mixture. Great recipe, thanks for sharing!
chopped mushroom sounds like a delicious addition!!
I’m drooooooling. I will be making these THIS WEEK.
saw this recipe a few days ago and began drooling. But peppers are pricey! Happiness and joy today when my grocery had red, orange, yellow and greens for a buck each! Sooooo excited to try these for dinner tomorrow night. Thank you!
yay for peppers on sale!!! 🙂
Can you make these in advance and cook right before dinner?
Hi Sarah!
Since there is egg in the stuffing, I would say you could prepare it ahead of time but bake within 1-2 days to be safe. Make sure it is refrigerated well while waiting to cook and then make sure it cooks all the way through!
This is definitely a recipe that would be nice to prepare ahead of time!
Thanks Jane. I was hoping to make in the morning when my kids are in school and then pop in oven for dinner. I bought everything today to make this week – I have never had stuffed peppers, so am anxious to try. Any guess on how much longer I should cook for? Love your website!
hi sarah – I’m certain that would be totally find to do! and in terms of how much longer…I would (this will sound oh so fancy and gourmet but) stick your finger into one of the peppers at the time the recipe actually calls for to see if it got super hot (don’t burn yourself!)…I’m thinking since they’ll be cold going into the oven, probably an extra 10 minutes, but keep an eye on them.
good luck and I hope you enjoy them!
i’m going to try your ‘stuffed’ pepper recipe as a casserole this evening…have made stuffed pepper casserole before with similar ingredients-it’s not as pretty but a little quicker and easier…let you know how it goes…
yes, please do let me know how it goes – would love to hear!!
hey jane. made the stuffed pepper casserole and it was a hit with my husband and four kiddos…. just diced up the peppers, (red and green) mixed the tomato sauce in with everything and grated smoked cheddar on top (actually forgot the egg..??? didnt seem to matter) baked in a 9×13 at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes covered- then uncovered for 10 extra to brown the cheese up a little…guess this is the kid/family version- i’m planning on following yours next weekend for grown-up company. just stumbled upon your site yesterday will have to check out some more of your meal plans/recipes. thank you suze
I’m so glad you came back and commented with what you did – I agree this would be the family-friendly version since I end up cutting my girls’ up like the casserole anyway!
for grown-up company the full on peppers will be very pretty – let me know how they compare in taste!
and thanks for you nice comment – so glad you found the site! 🙂
I have used your recipe a few times now; having tried other recipes, yours has become my go to for stuffed peppers – why mess with a good thing. I wanted to offer a variation as an alternative ingredient: use Quinoa instead of rice, the bell peppers are a little bit denser but just as mouth watering.
I love that it’s your go-to stuffed pepper recipe – so great! and I love the quinoa idea – thank you!
Hello, I’m 14, and I wanted to make something for my family tonight as a surprise, I’m not a very experienced cook, so I just wanted to ask how you serve these? Also, what is the purpose of the tomato/water sauce? Thank you very much!
rosa, that’s so nice of you to make dinner for your family!
we just serve these on a plate with salad and bread as side dishes! a steak knife and fork are handy when eating!
also, the purpose of the sauce is deliciousness, that’s all! I think it may help them cook, as well, but that sauce is very yummy drizzled over the top just before serving.
enjoy! let us know how it goes!
Thank you very much for the advice Jane! My family were really impressed and loved them, as did I! Thank you for such a great recipe, they want me to make them again!
yay! so happy it was a success! 🙂
Wow, this stuffed pepper recipe looks absolutely fabulous! Can’t wait to feed this to my friends!
I pre-cook the bell peppers by steaming them for 15 minutes – seems just right to make them edible. Then stuff them and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees to cook the top of the mean an put a dollop of Ketchup to satisfy everybody.
I precook the green peppers my steaming them for 15 minutes. I didn’t stuff them and put them in the oven at 350° for about 15 minutes until we stuffing is Chrisp. I then add A dollop of ketchup before serving.
Hello Jane,could these be done in a crock pot?
I personally have not cooked them in a crockpot, but I have seen similar stuffed pepper recipes that do so I’m sure it would work fine! probably 6-7 hours on low. 🙂
Sounds great But the price of red peppers is extremely high at this time. So i sliced the pepper lengthwise so everyone has half a pepper but still has plenty of filling.
I used red, yellow and orange peppers. So pretty!! Yes, steam them first!!
I think it’s a great idea to cut them in half, I’m going to remember that! 🙂
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Why do you put the tomato juice in the pan when your baking them
the sauce is delicious spooned over the peppers after cooking and you want the sauce hot, so it works to cook it all together! if you don’t do the tomato sauce, I would maybe recommend spraying the dish with a bit of oil before baking, but the tomato sauce is really a part of the dish and it’s so delicious. hope that’s helpful!