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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.
Best Stuffed Peppers
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).
I have made this receipe at least 20 times and SERIOUSLY … THESE ARE THE BEST STUFFED PEPPERS IVE EVER HAD!!i would definitely recommend them!! Thank you so much
Hey Rud!
Thank YOU so much! It means a lot that you took the time to stop by with feedback! I’m glad I’ve kept it on the site despite shifting my focus to the pescetarian diet. I seriously need to remake a vegetarian version of this so that I can dig in once again — thanks again for the feedback :)
WOULD THIS WOULD WITH MILD SAUSAGE?
Hi Shannah,
Yes, this would work with mild sausage! It will change the flavors up a bit mind you, but not in a bad way :)
Made these last night and they were AMAZING! I have had many a stuffed pepper in my lifetime, and none can compare to these! Hubby, who swore up and down, “I do not like stuffed peppers,” devoured 4 of them. Great recipe and one that I plan to make again for years to come! Thanks!
Hey Jen, thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know! I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed them :)
Made this tonight. Thank you so much! My picky eaters even loved it as well!! I substituted quinoa for the rice and used less cheese. Delicious!!
Hey Cat – I’m so glad you and your picky eaters loved it! Nothing feels more victorious than pleasing picky eaters, haha. Thanks for stopping by to let me know!
We love stuffed peppers and yours look fantastic!
Thanks, Nicoletta!