Italian Stuffed Peppers

5 from 20 votes

Italian stuffed peppers with rice, ground beef, and Pecorino Romano in a marinara sauce topped with mozzarella and baked until golden.

Prep Time20

Cook Time55

Total Time1 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Author: James Delmage and Tara

Ingredients

6 large bell peppers cut in half and seeds removed
1/4 cup olive oil divided
1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
2 cups cooked white rice
8 cloves garlic minced
1 cup low sodium beef stock
1 cup Pecorino Romano grated
1/4 cup parsley minced
1/4 cup basil chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano
4 cups marinara sauce divided, see notes below
3/4 cup water
1 cup mozzarella grated
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt divided, plus more to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375f and set rack to the middle level. Bring a pot of water to boil.
Slice peppers in half and remove the seeds. Boil peppers for 7-8 minutes or until fork tender. Remove and drain the peppers. Spread the peppers out on a baking tray to cool.
Heat a large pan to a touch higher than medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once hot, spread out the ground chuck and let it brown.
Break up the meat with a wooden spoon or meat masher and continue to cook until well browned. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes or until very fragrant. Turn off the heat and remove the pan from the burner.
Add the Pecorino Romano, cooked rice, beef broth, parsley, basil, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, and 1 cup of marinara sauce. Mix thoroughly and taste the stuffing. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. You want this stuffing to taste great!
Season the interior of each pepper with a generous sprinkle of salt. Stuff the peppers and place them into the baking dish. Pour the remaining 3 cups of marinara sauce and the 3/4 cup of water into the dish. The sauce should come up about 1-2 inches on the sides of the peppers.
Sprinkle the mozzarella on top of each pepper and drizzle each with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cover peppers with parchment paper then tightly with foil (this prevents sticking) and bake for 25 minutes.
Remove the covering and bake for 15 more minutes or until golden. For a more golden top broil for 1-2 minutes but watch carefully! Spoon the pan sauce on the peppers and serve with more grated cheese. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Use this 15-minute marinara sauce or your own.
Parboiling the peppers will significantly speed up the cooking time.
Salting the interior of the peppers is a very important step to having well-flavored stuffed peppers.
Leftovers can be saved for up to 3 days and reheated in the microwave.

Nutrition