Whether you’re exploring how to make stuffed peppers or looking for a new twist, this easy and tasty stuffed peppers recipe is the one to save in your cook book! With just 20 minutes of prep work, you can sit back and relax as these Italian stuffed peppers bake to perfection. They are great for a weeknight meal.

Most recipes want you to parboil or prebake the peppers so they are soft for eating. My recipe skips this step so that the peppers are Al dente and can be cut in half and eaten as finger food. The are less delicate and also less messy this way.

*The key is to use 2 cups cooked rice, you can use long grain, jasmine, or wild rice.  Conversely I love swapping the rice for 1 package of cauliflower rice, for a great low carb version. *Mixing up your protein by using ground elk, bison, venison or turkey.

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

2/3 cup long grain white rice
6 bell peppers, any color (medium-large size)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 lbs lean ground beef
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
3 garlic cloves, minced (1 Tbsp)
1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
3 Tbsp minced fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Kosher Salt & Pepper

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook rice according to package instructions.

2. Meanwhile, trim about 1/4-inch from tops of bell peppers and then remove stems, ribs and seeds. Fill a baking dish large enough to fit peppers with about 1/2-inch of water. A rimmed cookie sheet works in a pinch.

3. Heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over-medium high heat. Add onion, garlic and ground beef, season with salt and pepper then let sear until browned on bottom, about 3 minutes.

4. Break up beef and cook until it’s browned through. Remove from heat and drain excess fat.

5. Stir in tomatoes, the tomato sauce, cooked rice, parsley, Italian seasoning and season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Turn peppers upright, sprinkle inside peppers lightly with salt and fill with beef filling. Place them in the water lined pan. You can cover with foil, but I did not and they turned out great, bake 20 minutes.

7. Remove from oven, sprinkle with cheese, return to oven and bake until peppers have reached desired tenderness, about 10 minutes longer. Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm.

Notes

If using leftover rice consider adding an extra 1/4 cup of tomato sauce or a little broth as it will be drier.