These Baked Italian Stuffed Peppers are savory, rich and will have you reaching for seconds, and thirds. This especially makes an all in one hearty meal if you don't know what to make for dinner.
Pair this dish with my Black Olive and Rosemary Focaccia Bread Recipe for an amazing combo!
Like stuffed vegetables? Try my Italian stuffed eggplant recipe, stuffed artichokes recipe or stuffed Sicilian vota vota recipe for the win!
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These bell peppers will be a winner for dinner every time. Make them once and these stuffed peppers will be on your dinner rotation on a regular basis. This recipe can be doubled and tripled if you are cooking for a family gathering and are virtually fuss free.
Here's Why You'll Love this Dish
- Easy to prepare
- Literally cooks itself while you do other chores
- Flavor is loved by adults and children
- Economical dish means you don't have to spend a lot of money
- Versatile in that you can sub in other ingredients
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Ingredients Needed
For these Italian stuffed peppers reserve some bell peppers, rice, egg, ground meat, parmesan cheese, marinara sauce (optional), tomatoes, olive oil, salt and seasonings.
See recipe card for full details.
Cutting the Peppers
There is no right or wrong way to cut your bell peppers for these baked stuffed peppers. I usually cut my peppers lengthwise. The reason you ask? Because you can get more stuffing in two halves than you can by stuffing a whole pepper and there is less waste.
This means that you will have more food for each serving. But, that's my preference. If you like the look of stuffing a whole pepper, then you can just remove the stem and seeds and stuff with the ground beef mixture.
To remove the stem only, just push the stem gently down into the pepper. The stem will drop right into the pepper. You can discard the stem and clean out the seeds.
Vegetable Bouillon Gel
My second secret for making this recipe amazingly good is using vegetable bouillon in gel format. I find that using the Knorr brand vegetable homestyle stock bouillon gel particularly is quite honestly fool proof. It dissolves so easy and adds so much flavor even though it's in a small packet.
Once I have stuffed the peppers, I actually use it to add flavor on top of the ground beef mixture. I scoop a little bit of the broth once diluted with water right on top of the peppers.
Then I pour the extra broth in the bottom of the pan to cook with layer of tomatoes and stuffed peppers on top.
Fresh Basil vs. Dried Basil
If you don't have fresh basil on hand, don't worry! You can use dried basil or skip it all together. The basil is totally optional and isn't going to change the taste of the baked stuffed peppers drastically.
Note, though, that fresh basil tastes different than dried basil. And cooked basil tastes different than fresh or dried.
It's really what you prefer. If you do decide to use dried basil, use it sparingly.
How to Make Italian Stuffed Peppers
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium saucepan boil the water and add the rice. Cook until al dente. (cook until still slightly uncooked) . Drain and let cool or refrigerate for later use.
In a medium bowl, mix ground beef, rice, egg, salt, pepper, tomato paste, onion powder, garlic powder and parmesan cheese. Mix well.
Cut peppers lengthwise and remove seeds. You can leave the stems if you want, or discard them.
Salt the inside of the peppers.
Stuff peppers ensuring that you evenly distribute the ground mixture as much as possible. If you have any leftover, just make little balls and place in dish beside the peppers.
Slice tomatoes and lay them flat in a Pyrex dish covering the entire base of the dish. Salt to taste and drizzle olive oil over tomatoes.
Transfer the stuffed peppers to the baking dish. Place a basil leaf on each pepper. If you don't have fresh basil then sprinkle dried basil sparingly on top of each pepper.
Place dish in oven and bake for 45 minutes, covered with aluminum foil.
Once peppers have been cooking for 45 minutes, uncover and sprinkle grated cheese on top. Return to oven to bake uncovered until cheese is golden.
Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes until serving.
Storage of Leftovers
You can also refrigerate leftovers in a microwave safe container for not more than 4 days. In fact, they make a great next day work lunch.
You can also freeze the peppers in a freezer safe container for not more than a month. When you are ready to eat them, just thaw them out in the refrigerator overnight.
Top Tips
Make the rice in advance to cut down on time. Leftover rice is also perfect for this recipe. Save it in an airtight container in fridge or freezer then thaw it out when needed.
Once peppers have been cooking for 45 minutes, uncover and sprinkle grated cheese on top. Return to oven to bake uncovered until cheese is golden.
Putting the cheese on the peppers at the end of the stuffed bell pepper cooking cycle will prevent the cheese from burning and getting hard.
Substitutions and Variations
You may not like the combination of rice and ground beef so you may want to consider the following substitutions and variations:
- Chicken to make chicken stuffed peppers
- Veal to make veal stuffed peppers
- Turkey to make turkey stuffed peppers
- Pork to make pork stuffed peppers
- Tofu or Eggplant- to make vegan stuffed peppers
- Cauliflower or mashed potato to replace the rice for a carb free version
The perfect recipe isn't that far away. I'd love to know how you substituted ingredients to fit your dietary needs. Drop a comment below and let me know!
Other Main Dishes You'll Love
Recipe Details
Stuffed Bell Peppers
https://easyhomemaderecipes.caEquipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Arborio rice
- 1 ½ cups water
- 4 bell peppers
- 24 oz ground beef
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- ½ cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- 8 basil leaves or 1 tbsp of dried basil
- ½ cups parmesan cheese
- 1 vegetable bouillon gel or bouillon powder
- 1 cup marinara sauce optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a medium saucepan boil the water and add the rice. Cook until al dente. (cook until still slightly uncooked) . Drain and let cool or refrigerate for later use.
- Slice tomatoes and lay them flat in a Pyrex dish covering the entire base of the dish. Salt to taste and drizzle olive oil over tomatoes.
- Cut peppers lengthwise and remove seeds. You can leave the stems if you want, or discard them.
- Salt the inside of the peppers.
- In a medium bowl, mix ground beef, rice, egg, salt, pepper, tomato paste, onion powder, garlic powder and parmesan cheese. Mix well.
- Stuff peppers ensuring that you evenly distribute the ground mixture as much as possible. If you have any leftover, just make little balls and place in dish beside the peppers. Transfer each pepper to the baking dish.
- Mix ½ cup of water with the knor vegetable bouillon gel and spoon a little over each pepper.
- Pour remaining bouillon mixture in bottom of dish. Ensure that there is at least ½ inch of liquid in bottom of dish. Add liquid if you need to.
- Place a basil leaf on each pepper. If you don't have fresh basil then sprinkle dried basil sparingly on top of each pepper. OPTIONAL: Place a couple of tablespoons of Marinara sauce over the peppers.
- Place dish in oven and bake for 45 minutes, covered with aluminum foil.
- Once peppers have been cooking for 45 minutes, uncover and sprinkle grated cheese on top. Return to oven to bake uncovered until cheese is golden.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes until serving.
Notes
Top Tips
Make the rice in advance to cut down on time. Leftover rice is also perfect for this recipe. Save it in an airtight container in fridge or freezer then thaw it out when needed. Once peppers have been cooking for 45 minutes, uncover and sprinkle grated cheese on top. Return to oven to bake uncovered until cheese is golden. Putting the cheese on the peppers at the end of the stuffed bell pepper cooking cycle will prevent the cheese from burning and getting hard.Nutrition
Make this recipe for Baked Stuffed Bell Peppers now or PIN it for later here:
Food Safety
Note that the storage guidelines provided on this page and site are estimates from personal experiences. We are all adults and as an adult you are responsible to ensure that the food you eat is safe to eat. Since, I'm not a food safety expert, you are responsible to review your local guidelines on food storage prior to storing any food left-overs.
Remember to:
- Not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
For Canadian Guidelines check the Government of Canada Food Safety Guidelines or see more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Terri says
I LOVE stuffed peppers! Yours look incredible, especially with the addition of fresh basil. Yum!
AmyG says
Thanks Terri!
NANCY says
always love the idea of stuffed peppers but i've never made one still!. Pinned for later!
Ayngelina Brogan says
I have never heard of a bouillon gel before but now I want to see if I can find one here!
Julia says
I have never ever made stuffed peppers! It's funny because the other day I was just saying how I would love to give them a try. These look delicious. Pinning for later.
Vanessa Gilic says
Great stuffed pepper recipe! My Mom also always put rice in the ground beef mixture growing up:)