Quick and Easy Italian-style Stuffed Peppers
My favorite stuffed peppers ever were some I made with leftover samosa filling, the day after a party. I should probably blog those here, as they were absolutely stellar. Not your ordinary stuffed pepper. And truthfully, neither are these stuffed peppers I’m going to tell you about today, which I adapted from my Cookbook of the Month, Time for Dinner. The addition of Italian sausage to the meat mixture is the key, here – that and a good [canned] marinara sauce.
This is a great dinner for a busy evening – it takes all of 10 minutes to prep these, and then they’re into the oven, freeing you up to go about your business. I made them on a night when E had class, and the quick prep meant I had time to play with L while the peppers roasted in the oven.
The recipe called for an all-sausage stuffing, but I didn’t want to use all pork. It can be fatty and rich, and because you don’t cook it before baking, I knew there would be no opportunity to drain it. I use some sausage in meatloaf occasionally, and it performs better texture-wise if mixed with a lean meat, like ground turkey or sirloin. So I mixed sweet Italian sausage with ground turkey here, and I think that resulted in a good meat texture and flavor. I also added some chopped onion, cheese, and additional seasoning to the filling.
L gobbled up a half, pronouncing it “good.” I made a salad as well, and with a glass of white wine alongside, I felt like I ate a really nice dinner on what often becomes a peanut butter and jelly night.
To make them gluten-free, just use gluten-free bread crumbs. To make them dairy-free, use some soy cheese crumbles in lieu of the parmesan, or leave out the cheese altogether.
Italian-style Stuffed Peppers
Adapted from Time for Dinner by Pilar Guzmán, Jenny Rosenstrach, and Alanna Stang
6 large bell peppers, any color you like
1/2 pound sweet or spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 pound ground turkey
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 cup bread crumbs
1 can (14-15 ounces) good quality marinara sauce, or about 2 cups homemade, if you have some in the freezer
1 large egg
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon kosher or fine grain sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Preheat the oven to 375°.
Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds and membranes from the insides. Place cut side up in a Dutch oven or casserole dish.
In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together the sausage, turkey, onion, bread crumbs, egg, one cup of the marinara sauce, 1/2 cup of the parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper until fully combined.
Fill each pepper with the meat stuffing.
Top with the remaining marinara sauce and parmesan cheese.
Bake 35-45 minutes, until the inner temperature reads 180° on a meat thermometer (since these contain pork, you need to ensure the filling is fully cooked).
Serve with a green or caesar salad. You could also serve these on a bed of cooked pasta – spaghetti or linguine, for example.
Here’s the printable recipe. Enjoy!
