Italian Sausage Stuffed Peppers
These stuffed peppers are packed with a mix of hot and sweet Italian sausage, rice, tomatoes, and cheese! They come together quickly, use leftover rice (or you can make a fresh batch!), and are great as leftovers.
Servings: 6 peppers
Ingredients
- 6 bell peppers, any color I like to use a mix of colors because it's pretty! But you can pick the peppers you like best. Just try to find ones that are wide and round so they are easy to stuff
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil separated
- 1.5 lb Italian sausage, casings removed (mix of hot and sweet) I do half and half, but if you like things a little less spicy, use more sweet than hot
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 15 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups cooked rice I always use leftover rice, but you can also make basmati or brown rice according to package directions.
- 1/2 cup shredded monterey jack or mozzarella cheese plus more for sprinkling on top
- Salt and pepper to taste This will change based on the sausage, rice and even canned tomatoes you use, so make sure to taste as you go!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Slice the tops off of the bell peppers, discarding the stem but keeping the rest of the pepper that you cut off.
- Dice the tops of the bell peppers to use in your stuffing. Set aside with your diced onions and minced garlic.
- Using a spoon, remove the white inner part of the bell peppers and all of the seeds. Place the prepared peppers in a 9x13 baking dish and drizzle the outsides with 1/2 tbsp. of the olive oil. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan or pot, heat the remaining 1 tbsp. of olive oil over medium heat. Add the bell peppers, onion, and garlic.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3-5 minutes, until they become fragrant but have no color.
- Add your Italian sausage cook until you no longer see any pink, breaking up the sausage with the back of your spoon as you cook. This will take about 3-5 minutes.
- Add your rice, crushed tomatoes, and 1/2 cup of cheese. Stir to combine. You will want to taste the filling here to see how much salt and pepper you will need to add.
- Scoop your filling into your prepared peppers and cover with tin foil. Cook for 30-35 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the sides are wrinkly.
- Remove the tin foil and top the peppers with additional shredded cheese.
- Continue to bake for 10-15 more minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly. If after 15 minutes, you still want your cheese meltier, you can broil on high for about a minute.
- Remove from oven and serve immediately.
Notes
You can store leftover, cooled stuffed peppers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. To reheat, you can use a microwave or cook them in the oven again at 400F for about 30 minutes. You can also wrap the cooled stuffed peppers tightly in plastic wrap and place them in an airtight plastic bag to freeze. You can cook them from frozen in the oven or allow them to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat the next day.