Summary:
Bell peppers are generously stuffed with sweet Italian sausage, white rice, sautéed onions, and garlic. They're baked in the oven alongside a slightly spicy tomato sauce with balsamic vinegar.
INGREDIENTS
Sauce:
- 1 small onion, diced
- 8-ounce can
tomato sauce - 1 tablespoon
balsamic vinegar - 1/4 teaspoon
ground cayenne - 1 tablespoon olive oil
Rice:
- 1/2 cup uncooked white rice
- 1 cup water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cook Rice: Combine rice and water in small saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce to medium-low. Cover with lid and simmer until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Set aside.
- Make Sauce: Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. Add diced onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer half of onions to small bowl; set aside. Add tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar, and cayenne to pan. Stir until combined, about 1 minute. Pour sauce into baking dish (Note 2).
- Stuff Peppers: Mix raw sausage, garlic, salt, black pepper, and cayenne in large bowl until combined. Stir in reserved onions and cooked rice. Generously stuff four bell pepper halves with mixture.
- Bake: Place stuffed pepper halves in baking dish over sauce. Cover baking dish with foil. Bake at 375 F for 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until meat and peppers are cooked, about 10 minutes. Garnish with chives and asiago cheese, and serve (Note 3).
NUTRITION
| Makes 4 Servings |
| Amount Per Serving (1 stuffed pepper half with sauce): |
| Calories 460 (46% from fat) | |
| Total Fat 24g | 37% |
| Saturated Fat 8g | 40% |
| Cholesterol 70mg | 23% |
| Sodium 1750mg | 73% |
| Net Carb 39.5g | |
| Total Carb 42g | 14% |
| Dietary Fiber 2.5g | 10% |
| Sugars 7g | |
| Protein 20g |
PHOTOS
I doubled this recipe, but rather than 2 lbs sausage I mixed in 1 lb ground chicken with 1 lb sausage and also mixed in a 14 oz can tomato sauce and a half cup of parmesan cheese in stuffing. It was enough to stuff 6 large peppers. Excellent!
This is by far my favorite stuffed pepper recipe! Something about the balsamic vinegar in the sauce just adds so much flavor! I make this in my crock pot…makes it super easy! Cook on low for 4-6 hours and dinner is served! Thank you for this amazing recipe…I am making it AGAIN tonight 🙂
Could this be made and stored in the freezer to be eaten later?
I froze stuffed Italian peppers, then all I need to do is make this simple savory sauce. It has worked out beautifully!
Tried these tonight and definitely have a new favorite stuffed pepper recipe!! They are amazing and the sauce really is so so good.
Super yummy. I used spicy sausage, and had to double the sauce because I only had a 15 oz can of tomatoes. After stuffing 3.5 peppers, I ended up with a lot of sausage mixture left over, so I just sauteed it up with my extra sauce as BONUS food!
Thank you for this recipe, it was great.
I really like this BUT next time I’m going to precook the peppers. We found them to be too raw and crunchy. A quick boil or roast would do the trick. Great flavor!
The sauce is absolutely amazing!
Do you brown the sausage first?
No, the sausage is not browned first.
YES YES YES!!!
When you brown the sausage or any meat for an Italian dish and use the browned, caramelized drippings in the sauce, it will give the dish an old world, New York Italian flavor. I know,,, I grew up in a big, first generation Italian family where my mother had 9 brothers and sisters and her mother and father were born in Italy.
Anytime someone in the family made Sunday gravy, the browned drippings from the pan from the sausage, veal or pork went straight into the gravy. In contrast, we never brown the garlic. It gives everything a bitter flavor. Rather than brown the garlic, place some olive oil in the pan with the garlic and add a little water to the mix and stir fry it, The oil flavor will blend well with the garlic and the water will steam the garlic and prevent it from browning.
Delicious!!! I doubled the recipe and added fresh basil and herbs de provence (a spice blend) to the stuffing mix. I also used a can of stewed tomatoes in the sauce. I will definitely make this again. Thank you for sharing 🙂
These were incredible. One recipe where the entire family ate seconds! Made some for my neighbour and they wanted recipe too. Yum Yum Yum Thank you for sharing it
Yes. Loved it!
Absolutely delicious!
I served this to my family, and they loved it including the 2 and 4 year olds. We have been looking for a great stuffed pepper recipe, and my husband says this is it!
How about doing this in skillet on bbq grill?
Hi Joe! I haven’t tried that before so I can’t comment on how it would turn out. If you give it a try, let me know!
Hi! Is cooking time the same if you brown the meat prior to stuffing? They are in the oven now! Smells heavenly!
Hi Jasmin, I would keep the cooking time the same. 🙂