This stuffed pepper recipe is easy to make. Perfect for meal prep, this recipe freezes and reheats well too!
Stuffed bell peppers are filled with a savory mix of beef, sausage, rice, and marinara. They’re baked with cheese until tender for a classic, cozy meal.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Savory ground beef, tender veggies, and fluffy rice come together in a rich tomato sauce, all topped with golden, melty cheese.
- Budget Tip: Replace half of the meat with black or kidney beans. You can stretch the filling further by adding extra rice or veggies and filling some extra peppers.
- Prep Note: Depending on the size of your peppers, you might end up with extra filling. It’s great in zucchini boats or as a filling for portobello mushrooms.
- Prep Ahead/Freezer: These can be prepared 2 days ahead or prepared and frozen before baking (freezing instructions below).
Easy Ingredients and Add-Ins
- Bell Peppers: Choose any color of bell peppers. Green peppers are more earthy in flavor, while red, yellow, or orange peppers are a bit sweeter. Just cut the tops off and remove the seeds.
- Meat: Ground beef and Italian sausage add a lot of flavor. You can use just one, or any combination of ground meat, including ground turkey or chicken, ground pork, or turkey sausage.
- Rice: Use uncooked long-grain rice. If using cooked rice, simmer in the sauce for just 5 minutes.
- Sauce: Use a jar of pasta sauce, or control the flavors and try homemade marinara sauce.
- Cheese: Optional, but I love a cheesy topping! Try mozzarella or an Italian blend.
How to Make Stuffed Peppers
- Pre-cook the peppers and brown the meat mixture (recipe below).
- Add the remaining filling ingredients and cook until the rice is tender.
- Fill upright peppers with the meat and rice mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and bake until bubbly.
Save It for Later
- Store leftover stuffed peppers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat peppers in the microwave, air fryer, or stovetop in a pan with a little water at the bottom on medium-low heat.
- To freeze, line the baking dish with parchment paper and assemble the peppers as directed without baking. Ensure the filling is cooled and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake as directed, adding 15 minutes to the baking time.
Savory Stuffed Pepper Recipes
Did you make these Stuffed Peppers? Leave a rating and comment 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
- 1¼ cups water
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup long grain white rice uncooked
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2½ 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.
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.
I didn’t see a recipe on this!
The amounts for the ingredients and instructions are listed on the recipe card. You can scroll down to it, or click Jump to Recipe at the top of the post! Enjoy Janice!
Delicious family loved them.
I hadn’t made Stuffed peppers for some years. This was delicious! My picky BF went back for seconds!
Your recipes look so good. I am going to try the Reuben Sandwich I will let you know how I did.
I love these recipes thank you so much
We recently purchased a 7 qt. Air Fryer…
I like to try different foods with the air fryer for comparison purposes
Check out the airfryer recipes here!
So good!! We don’t eat beef so I substituted beef for ground chicken and it was still delicious! We’ll definitely make again!
OMG these are so good.
The grocery store never had green peppers. I went to another store, they were wilted, cracked opened, just ugly looking. Anyway, I got 3 yellow and 3 orange. Wow. $$$
The only things I tweaked was I layered the filling with fresh parmesan and green onion. 3 layers. I topped them with sour cream, ground pepper and another sprinkle of green onion. Thank you Holly
You’re welcome Joe – sure sounds delicious that way!
Delicious
Recipes look good.
Had never made stuffed peppers before and saw your recipe which seemed easy. Have made it several times since and have shared the recipes with my friends and family to try. It turns out great every time. Very yummy!
I want to use breadcrumbs instead of rice. How much should I use?
I haven’t tried this recipe with breadcrumbs so I can’t say for sure. Let us know how it goes!
Not all visitors are experienced cooks, so I think you need to mention that the beef/sausage should be salted to taste. I used about a teaspoon full. I might have used a little too much ground beef; but it was pretty close to what the recipe called for. I didn’t think it had much taste towards the end of the stove top cooking time, so I added more Italian seasoning and a teaspoon of Better Than Bullion chicken stock paste. It made all the difference in the world. I would definitely make it again only next time, use less beef and maybe a little more sausage.
Delicious, I made an elk meat version as well as a vegetarian version with Yves meat substitute and both came out just right. No leftovers today. The boys ate it all up. Tasty and very low salt content. Perfect with a balsamic vinaigrette salad.
I made these 3 times and it is amazing!!! So flavorful and yummy! You’d be doing yourself a disservice if you don’t try these. So light and fulfilling! A regular addition to my meals.
I didn’t have marinara so I used pizza sauce (that’s the same right?) and a bit of tomato paste. Mmmm this is actually an amazing dish I’ll make again and again!
I love your recipes, I choose yours over anybody else’s
Thank you so much Donna! You made my weekend.
Oh my goodness! These are delicious. I made them last night and everyone loved them. Thanks for the great recipe Holly!
Great recipe! I’ve made it twice so far. First time as written and today I subbed ground turkey for the beef and cauliflower rice for rice. Super delish both ways!
Did you cook the cauliflower rice before adding it to the meat mixture?
My neighbor gave us a whole bunch of bell peppers from his garden. I made stuffed peppers using this recipe and we took a container over to him. Let me just say that WE ALL loved it so much! I am a horrible cook typically but my husband keeps raving about these bell peppers telling me I need to make them again. The only thing I did different was I use Parmesan cheese instead of cheddar. This is a keeper recipe for sure!
I’m so glad you all loved it Jen!