Italian Stuffed Peppers

4.73 from 139 votes

Italian Stuffed Peppers

These Italian Stuffed Peppers are incredibly simple to make, with only 15 minute prep time, you'll end up with a sinfully delicious and sophisticated dinner. Classic Italian comfort food that's not only tasty but really healthy and good for you!

Prep Time15

Cook Time2 15

Total Time2 30

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: italian stuffed peppers

Servings:

Calories: 169kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion chopped or shredded, I used shallots
1 large carrot shredded
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 cup rice uncooked
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon pepper or to taste
12 peppers
2 cups chicken broth or beef broth, low sodium
1 cup tomato sauce

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare the oven: Arrange a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 375°F.
Prepare the peppers: Prepare the peppers by cutting off the tops of the peppers. Remove and discard any seeds and membranes from the insides of the peppers. To keep the peppers from falling over while cooking, cut a small flat piece off the bottom of the pepper so that it has a more even bottom.
Mix the meat and stuff the peppers: In a large bowl combine the ground beef, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, rice, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Mix well. Stuff each pepper really well and arrange them in a big pot standing up. I used a large 5 quart oval Dutch Oven with a lid. Mix the chicken broth with the tomato sauce and pour over the peppers. Add more water if needed, there should be enough water to come about half way up the peppers.
Bake: Cover the pot with a lid or aluminum foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours covered. Remove the lid and continue baking for another 45 minutes to an hour uncovered. The peppers are ready when you insert a fork in a pepper and it goes easy through the skin of the pepper and meat, and the rice is cooked.
Garnish and serve: Garnish with parsley, if preferred, and serve.

Video

Notes

To speed up the cooking process you can cut the peppers in half lengthwise and fill them up as instructed. They will cook in about half the time this way.
To check for doneness, use an instant thermometer and inserted to the center of a stuffed pepper. When it shows 160°F, the peppers are done.
Make sure you allow for the whole time to cook the peppers and have enough liquid in the pot because you want to make sure the rice gets cooked properly.
These peppers will keep for 3 – 5 days if stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Be sure the meat is cooked all the way through and that the peppers are entirely cool before placing in the freezer. Put the peppers in a freezer safe container or wrap them individually with plastic wrap before placing in a freezer bag. This will keep for 6 – 8 months. Allow the dish to thaw completely in the fridge before allowing to warm back up to temperature in the oven.

Nutrition