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.
These came out so good and the crusty cheese on top was like the cherry on top.
I didn’t have some ingredients for this recipe, I substituted the marinara sauce with pizza sauce, and the canned tomatoes to just regular produce tomatoes, diced. The peppers turned out very good even with substitutions! Highly recommend this recipe!
Huge hit! Will make these again
Absolutely the best stuffed peppers. Thank you for sharing this recipe as it is officially going to be my go to. Scrumptious!!
I’ve made this before and I’m going to make it again. best recipe out of the many I’ve tried
For a single old senior this was the perfect recipe. I only made two. I wondered what the secret was for having the soft skin on the peppers. I don’t like hard peppers. Boiling them for 5 minutes worked. I sprinkled some bread crumbs on top with the cheese for flavor.
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe Nib!
I tend to season with my heart and added extra veggies to the mix. DELICIOUS!!! I have extra filling- any suggestions on what to do with it? I might just eat it as is I also added mozzarella cheese to the mixture. I’ll definitely be making this again. Thank you!
You can add it to a pasta sauce or even to broth to make a bowl of soup. Depending on how much you have left, you could stuff more peppers, some zucchini or even large tomatoes for lunches. It would also be great served over zucchini noodles. I hope that helps.
I always have extra too if I make the full recipe so I freeze the leftover filling and use it for another meal. It works great. If there isn’t enough to make a whole meal next time I can usually get a couple of lunches out of it by heating and wrapping in a low carb tortilla with a little cheese.
Wow is all I can say. Never made these before but it was easy and very tasty.
This is absolutely delicious!!
First time making stuffed peppers but won’t be my last…this was DELISH!!!
I use yellow and red peppers since they are sweeter and less acrid when they break down but everything else was perfect. Awesome healthy and filling comfort food.
I was really in the mood for stuffed peppers today wanting them for Dinner at home. The wife was out shopping today and I searched on line and found your recipe. Having the items needed for making it I decided to give it a try and surprise her when she got home.
I took my time and followed your instructions to a T and have to say they came out delicious. I saved the recipe and will make it again. She loved them and said I can cook dinner from now on Ha ha.
I’m so glad she loved them R.J.! Enjoy dinner duty ;) LOL.
hey I made these tonight they were delicious
very good…here’s my recipe:6 peppers sliced in 1/2 par boiled to soften…6-8 bacon strips cooked crispy and chopped, 1 onion Diced and softened in 1/2 of the bacon grease, add 1 lb burger, brown nicely, salt, pepper to taste, dash or 2 of cumin, when all browned I add 1 and 1/3 C. of uncooked white rice, 2 cans of original Rotel, bacon pieces, and about 1/2-3/4 C. of water stir and simmer until rice is done about 15 min. let cool about 10 min….add fresh parmesean and stuff those peppers add more parm and add just a enough water in 9×13 pans in bottom to keep from burning, cover and heat through 30 min@ 350…….
I made these for my boyfriend, and he loved them…it’s easy to make, albeit a little time consuming, but in the end, he absolutely loves them!
Oh my goodness these are so easy to make and very delicious will be making again soon family just liv d them and thank you for sharing
Absolutely delicious! I did add celery as I had a LOT on hand and also chopped fresh cherry tomatoes with basil in my vitamix instead of canned. Cleaning excesses out of kitchen and they turned out wonderful!
The most absolutely delicious stuffed peppers I have ever made! I loved cooking the rice with the tomatoes and seasonings. What a great idea to mend all those flavors together. This was such a hit at dinnertime! Really deserves a Top Ten rating!
I am so happy to hear that you loved this recipe Phyllis!
One for the guys…..lol …..the stuffed peppers are
Also great with venison…
Absolutely Loved the stuffed peppers they was delish thanx for recipe