Stuffed Peppers are an easy, all-in-one dinner made with colorful bell peppers, a savory beef and sausage filling, and plenty of marinara sauce. They’re make-ahead friendly, freezer-friendly, and perfect for busy weeknights.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Stuffed Peppers
- Flavor: Rich, savory, and comforting, every bite is packed with seasoned meat, tender rice, sweet bell peppers, and tangy marinara.
- Why Make It: Cooking the rice right in the tomato mixture helps it soak up the sauce and keeps the filling flavorful.
- Serving Suggestions: These peppers are a complete meal on their own, but they’re delicious served with a crisp green salad and warm garlic bread for soaking up the extra marinara sauce.
Total Time: 1 Hour 20 Minutes Servings: 6 Cooking Method: Oven Baked
Ingredient Notes
- Bell peppers: Any color works. Green peppers have a slightly sharper flavor, while red, yellow, and orange peppers are sweeter.
- Meat: Lean ground beef makes the filling hearty without becoming greasy, while Italian sausage adds richness and plenty of flavor. Use mild, sweet, or hot Italian sausage depending on your preference, and be sure to drain any excess fat after browning the meat.
- Long Grain White Rice: Uncooked long grain white rice simmers in the tomato mixture, absorbing all of the delicious flavors as it cooks. If using cooked rice instead, omit the water and simmer the filling just until everything is heated through and well combined. If using brown rice, make sure it is precooked.
- Marinara Sauce: Choose a marinara sauce you enjoy, as it adds flavor to both the filling and the peppers while they bake. Since some sauces are saltier than others, taste the filling before adding any extra salt.
How to Make Stuffed Peppers
- Cut and clean out the peppers, and then boil.
- Cook the filling in a skillet.
- Fill the peppers.
- Bake (full recipe below).
Stuffed Pepper Pointers
- For Softer Peppers: Boil or air fry them before filling. For tender-crisp peppers, skip that step.
- Drain the Peppers: Draining them well after boiling prevents a watery dish.
- Taste the Filling: Taste before stuffing because marinara sauce and sausage can vary in saltiness.
- Do Not Pack Tightly: Use a spoon to gently press the filling into the peppers, but do not pack it too tightly.
- Spooning the Sauce: Spoon from the bottom of the dish over the peppers before adding cheese for extra moisture and flavor.
Save Every Stuffed Pepper
- Leftovers: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheating: Reheat in the microwave, covered loosely, until heated through. For the oven, place peppers in a baking dish with a little marinara or water, cover with foil, and heat at 350°F until warm.
- To Freeze: Assemble the peppers without baking and cool the filling completely first. Cover tightly and freeze. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bake as directed, adding about 15 minutes if needed.
More Stuffed Pepper Favorites
Did you enjoy the following Stuffed Peppers Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Ingredients
- 6 medium bell peppers any color
- 8 ounces lean ground beef
- 8 ounces Italian sausage
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can canned petite diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup long grain white rice uncooked
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 ½ cups marinara sauce divided
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese or cheddar cheese, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch casserole dish.
- Cut off the tops of the bell peppers. Discard the stems, finely chop the tops, and set aside for the sauce. Core the peppers, discarding the membranes and seeds.
- To cook the peppers, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the peppers for 5 minutes and then drain them well. Alternatively, air fry the peppers at 400°F for 5 minutes.
- For the filling, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, Italian sausage, diced onion, and minced garlic. Cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until no pink remains. Drain the fat.
- Add diced tomatoes with their juices, water, Worcestershire sauce, rice, the diced pepper tops, Italian seasoning, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and black pepper.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer, and cover. Cook until the rice is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes, adding more water if needed. Remove from the heat and stir in ½ cup of the marinara. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if desired.
- Place 1 ½ cups of marinara sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Add the peppers, cut-side-up, and divide the rice mixture evenly into the peppers. Spoon the remaining marinara sauce over the top.
- Cover tightly with foil, bake for 35 minutes.
- Carefully remove the foil and spoon the sauce from the bottom of the dish over the peppers. Top with cheese (if using) and bake uncovered for an additional 10 to 12 minutes or until the peppers are tender and the cheese is fully melted.
- Rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
Rice: If using cooked rice, skip the water and simmer the rice in the sauce for about 5 minutes. Brown rice should be pre-cooked.
Peppers: For firm to tender-crisp peppers, skip the boiling step and bake as directed. I prefer the texture when the peppers are softer.
Seasoning: Marinara sauce can vary in salt levels and seasonings. Taste a bit of the filling and add salt to taste.
Additional vegetables, such as diced zucchini or chopped mushrooms, can be added to the filling.
Leftovers: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 397 | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 980mg | Potassium: 1023mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 4384IU | Vitamin C: 168mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Casserole, Dinner, Entree, Main Course, Pork
Cuisine American, Italian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
great recipe for a stuffed meat pepper. my mom who is Italian had a stuffed breaded pepper recipe that taste like meat, but this was a very good one. I used meatloaf mix as it’s slightly less expensive and I use same for my meatball recipe. I also precooked rice. I used Goya yellow rice which added a little more flavor to the recipe. Will definitely make again.
Like quick and easy meals for weekdays and weekends
Tasty. I used 100% beef, added Italian spice, 1 raw egg & real garlic & used 8 oz tomato sauce since I was out of marinara sauce. I precooked my brown basmati rice with beef broth. But I’d rather mix all raw ingredients (except cooked rice) in a bowl then fill the raw peppers. It may take 1hr in the oven but the flavors meld & pepper flavor permeates the meat during cooking & overall time spent was about the same. And fewer steps & pots needed. I sprinkled shredded mozzarella on top once 160 temp was confirmed & baked another 5 min or put under broiler. Will make again.
Delicious!!
This recipe is the best! I have adequate it 3x and the sauce is always watery. I want to confirm that the recipe is supposed to be 1/2 cup rice to 1 1/2 cups water?
I made this last night and it was simple, delicious, and beautiful! I did make a couple of substitutions due to what I had on hand, but I do that often as I’m not a big planner. I used ground turkey for my meat, but to amp up the flavor I used a can of petite diced tomatoes with green chilies into my rice (wild rice mixture) and yum was it flavorful!
I’ll be making this again for sure; thank you.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious!!!
Outstanding! Finally a stuffed pepper recipe that works and tastes divine. I substituted 1 1/2 cooked brown rice for white rice. I also added a layer of shredded cheese inside the pepper.
Thank You for this recipe!!!
It’s a great recipe! I follow it mostly exactly as it is but I use beef or chicken broth instead of water! And I usually only use ground beef because it’s hard to find 1/2 lb of each! I enjoy all your recipes!
Fantastic recipe! A great way to add vegetables to a meal. I used brown rice, so I increased the water to 1.5 cups and cooking time to 30 minutes.
Outstanding. Made it exactly as stated, and it’s delicious, even a bigger win because my toddler ate it.
Thank you for this recipe!
I have tried so many stuffed pepper recipes, and this one is the best!
It’s just my husband and me, so I made three peppers and froze the rest of the filling for later.
This will definitely be added to my “rotation”!
This was delicious and easy. I didn’t have marinara sauce but it wasn’t necessary.
Didn’t change a thing. Delicious!
Took about and hour to prepare and 45 minutes to bake.
The meat portion was watery and had to cook without the lid for about 15 minutes to reduce.
made these just like as the recipe said , so good, so really good. I have looked for a recipe for awhile and this is the one.
Excellent, thank you for sharing.
these were the best stuffed peppers I ever made! (even without the sausage, hubby’s a weiner in his old age! :D ) will be making them again, and again….
One of my family’s favorite!
I added some taco seasoning and it was perfect
This is a keeper. Made your marinara sauce, as well. Had a lot of banana peppers. Great air fryer tip to soften peppers. Laid banana peppers flat on sauce and followed the rest of your steps. So delicious. I also had microwavable rice which I cooked, and only added 1/2 c of water. Thank you!