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Italian Sausage Stuffed Peppers with Rice & Parmesan

Classic baked stuffed bell peppers packed with Italian sausage, ground beef, rice and marinara, finished with melted mozzarella and a golden Parmesan top. No parboiling, make-ahead and freezer friendly, with an easy jack-o'-lantern version for Halloween.

Recipe by Flavor Folio

Serves
6
Prep
25 min
Cook
60 min
Total
85 min
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Two baked green bell peppers stuffed with a meaty tomato and rice filling, topped with melted Parmesan, on a white plate with a tomato and cucumber salad and a crusty roll
Photo: "Stuffed peppers" by jeffreyw (https://www.flickr.com/people/7927684@N03), licensed CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stuffed_peppers_(15441051855).jpg. Resized.

Ingredients

Serves 6

  • 6 large bell peppersgreen, red or a mix; use orange peppers for the jack-o'-lantern version
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onionfinely diced
  • 3 cloves garlicminced
  • 8 oz lean ground beef85 to 90% lean
  • 8 oz mild Italian sausagecasings removed (use hot sausage for more kick)
  • 1 can diced tomatoes14.5 oz, with their juices
  • 1 1/2 cups marinara saucedivided: 1 cup for the filling, 1/2 cup for the baking dish
  • 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp kosher saltplus more to taste
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakesoptional
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked long-grain white ricefrom about 1/2 cup uncooked; leftover or microwave rice works
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheesedivided
  • 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheesedivided
  • 1/2 cup water or low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley or basilchopped, for garnish

The method

  1. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly oil a 9x13-inch baking dish.

    5 min

  2. Slice the tops off the peppers and pull out the seeds and white ribs. If a pepper won't stand up, trim a thin sliver off the bottom without cutting a hole. For jack-o'-lantern peppers, carve small triangle eyes and a grinning mouth into one side of each orange pepper with a sharp paring knife; keep the cuts small so the filling stays put.

    10 min

  3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 4 minutes, until softened, then add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more, until fragrant.

    5 min

  4. Add the ground beef and sausage. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes, breaking the meat into small crumbles, until no pink remains. Spoon off excess fat.

    7 min

  5. Stir in the diced tomatoes with their juices, 1 cup of the marinara, the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the cooked rice, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan. Taste and adjust the salt.

    7 min

  6. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup marinara and the water or broth over the bottom of the baking dish. Stand the peppers upright in the dish and pack the filling into them, mounding it slightly on top.

    5 min

  7. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes, so the peppers steam until tender.

    30 min

  8. Uncover, sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan over the peppers, and bake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the cheese is melted and golden, the peppers are tender when pierced with a knife and the filling reaches 165°F (74°C).

    18 min

  9. Let the peppers rest for 5 minutes, then sprinkle with parsley or basil and serve with the sauce from the dish spooned over the top.

    5 min

Timings are a guide. Use the instruction and your own judgment as you cook.

Why these stuffed peppers work

Browning a half-and-half mix of ground beef and Italian sausage gives the filling far more flavor than beef alone, because the sausage brings its own fennel, garlic and seasoning. Baking the peppers covered first steams them tender without any parboiling, and finishing them uncovered gives you a bubbly, golden Parmesan top.

Jack-o’-lantern stuffed peppers for Halloween

Use orange bell peppers and carve simple faces into one side before stuffing (step 2). Kids love helping pick the faces, and it turns a regular weeknight dinner into an easy Halloween party main or a hearty meal before trick-or-treating. Bake them with the faces pointing up toward the sides of the dish so the cheese doesn’t drip into the eyes.

Make ahead, storage and freezing

  • Make ahead: Stuff the peppers, cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Add 10 minutes to the covered baking time.
  • Leftovers: Refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat in a 350°F oven for 20 minutes or in the microwave.
  • Freeze: Cool baked peppers completely, wrap individually and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Swaps

  • Turkey: Use ground turkey and turkey Italian sausage for a lighter version.
  • Rice: Brown rice, cauliflower rice or cooked quinoa all work in place of white rice.
  • Cheese: Provolone or a shredded Italian blend can replace the mozzarella.

Dietary notes

These stuffed peppers are naturally gluten-free as written, but sausage, marinara and broth can contain wheat-based fillers or be processed alongside wheat, so check the labels on every packaged ingredient if you need them to be strictly gluten-free.

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