Growing up, I was not a fan of stuffed peppers at all. Most of the stuffed peppers I’d had were poorly seasoned, the meat to rice ratio was off, and they relied on a bath of tomato sauce for flavour. However, the idea of a pepper stuffed with meat, rice, sauce, and cheese seemed so right. So, I took it upon myself to create my own version and I spruced things up a bit. Instead of using ground beef only, I decided to throw some sweet longanisa sausage into the mix. I also like to add chopped up mushrooms, diced tomatoes, and then of course some tomato sauce and rice. Because of the sweet longanisa sausage, I’m pretty light on the seasoning – I add a bit of onion powder,  garlic powder, sea salt and ground black pepper. Nothing fancy – stuff you probably have kickin’ around in your drawer!

Another thing I like to do is char my peppers on the grill before serving. It brings out awesome flavour and it tenderizes the peppers nicely. That step is totally optional, but I like to include it as an “official” part of this recipe since it’s a step I would never skip.

the-best-stuffed-peppers

Best Stuffed Peppers

The best stuffed peppers you'll ever have! (Maybe, but probably).
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 large bell peppers gutted and halved
  • 1 tablespoon of canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon of onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon of sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
  • 1 lb ground beef or ground chicken, or ground turkey
  • 1 lb sweet longanisa sausage can use honey garlic sausage, or any sweet sausage, as a substitute
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 cup of diced tomatoes drained
  • 1 cup of mushrooms diced
  • 1 cup of tomato sauce
  • 1 cup of Minute Rice
  • 2 cups of mozzarella cheese shredded
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated
  • Fresh flat leaf parsley for garnish optional

Instructions

  • Heat grill on high heat.
  • Place halved peppers on grill and grill until slightly charred with grill marks - approx. 5 minutes a side.
  • Remove from grill and place on a plate. Set aside.
  • In a large skillet, heat cooking oil.
  • Add minced garlic and saute until fragrant; make sure not to brown the garlic.
  • Add the ground beef (or chicken/turkey) and the sausage. (If the sausage was in casing, make sure you squeeze it out of it's casing).
  • Add the onion powder, garlic powder, sea salt and ground black pepper.
  • Stir well until meat is cooked.
  • Add mushrooms, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and M?inute Rice.
  • Bring the heat to high until mixture reaches a simmer, and then bring the heat to low. Allow to simmer for approx. 5 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and add 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese.
  • Mix well and set aside.
  • Pre-heat oven to 375F.
  • With a tablespoon, carefully scoop the meat mixture into the peppers. Pack the peppers as much as you can and press down on the mixture to secure.
  • Sprinkle each pepper with the remaining shredded mozzarella.
  • Finish off by sprinkling each pepper with shredded parmesan.
  • Place the peppers in the oven for approx. 15 minutes or until the mozzarella cheese melts and bubbles.
  • Turn the broiler on to high heat and place the peppers under the broiler for approx. 2 minutes, or until cheese browns slightly.
  • Garnish with fresh flat leaf parsley (optional).