Easy Italian stuffed peppers using bell peppers, rice, ground beef, and marinara. These are topped with mozzarella cheese and baked until bubbly. This is a great dish to make for weeknights and a leftover pepper or two makes a great lunch the next day!
INGREDIENTS
- 6 large bell peppers - cut in half and seeds removed
- 1/4 cup (56g) olive oil - divided
- 1 1/2 pounds (680g) ground chuck or ground turkey/chicken
- 2 cups (410g) cooked white rice
- 8 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 cup (240g) low-sodium beef stock
- 1 cup (90g) 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 (960g) marinara sauce - divided
- 3/4 cup (180g) water
- 1 cup (100g) mozzarella - shredded
- 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt divided, plus more to taste
DIRECTIONS
- 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!
