These Stuffed Bell Peppers are a classic comfort food that’s hearty, filling, has incredible flavors, and can easily feed a large family.
Prep time: PT15M
Cook time: PT50M
Total time: PT65M
Rating
4.58 stars (114 reviews)
Keywords
Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
3 bell peppers ($2.96)
2 Tbsp cooking oil (divided, $0.08)
1¼ tsp salt (divided, $0.06**)
¼ tsp black pepper (freshly cracked, $0.02)
1 lb. Italian sausage ($3.87*)
1 yellow onion (diced, $0.70)
3 garlic cloves (minced, $0.24)
1 tsp Italian seasoning ($0.10)
½ tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
1 cup marinara sauce ($0.71)
½ cup long grain white rice (uncooked, $0.21)
¾ cup chicken broth ($0.11)
1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded, $1.25)
Categories
Dinner
Cuisine
American
Steps
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Wash and dry each bell pepper, then cut the bell peppers in half horizontally. Make sure to cut them as evenly as possible. Using a sharp paring knife carefully cut and remove the stem from the top half of each bell pepper (see picture below). It's okay if there is a small hole left where the stem was removed.
Place each bell pepper half in a 9x13-inch casserole dish. Brush the bell peppers with 1 Tbsp oil and season with ¼ tsp of salt and ¼ tsp cracked black pepper. Bake the bell peppers in a preheated oven for 20 minutes to soften. After 20 minutes remove the bell peppers from the oven and set aside. ***
While the bell peppers are baking, make the filling. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp of oil. Brown the Italian sausage.
Once the sausage has browned, add the diced onion and minced garlic to the skillet. Continue to sauté over medium heat until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
Next add the uncooked rice, marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, 1 tsp of salt, and chicken broth to the skillet. Stir to combine.
Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the mixture to come to a full boil. Once boiling, immediately reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer, without lifting the lid or stirring, for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest, without lifting the lid, for an additional 5 minutes.
Next remove the lid, fluff the rice, and stir the mixture again to redistribute the ingredients. Begin to fill each bell pepper with the meat filling. Stuff as much filling as you can into each, filling them all the way to the top.
Top each bell pepper evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese. Loosely place some tented aluminum foil over the top of the casserole dish and bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes the bell peppers should be tender but not mushy.
Now remove the foil and turn the heat on to broil. Broil the stuffed bell peppers for 2-3 minutes or just until the cheese gets a little brown on top. Be sure to watch the bell peppers closely at this step to prevent the cheese from over browning. Garnish with parsley, if desired, and enjoy!
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 6 servings
Calories: 454 kcal
Carbohydrates: 22 g
Protein: 18 g
Fat: 33 g
Sodium: 1461 mg
Reviews
Lawrence on 2026-07-26 (5 stars): I am grateful
Trish on 2026-05-19 (5 stars): This was delicious! I was a little worried because I thought the rice didn’t cook. I used jasmine rice and there were a few burnt bits on the bottom of the pan after the 20 min, but I just stirred them in and everything was fine. I even added a few handfuls of chopped spinach because why not, and I used pepper jack cheese. Absolutely yummy! Thank you so much for this one!
Dominique on 2026-02-25 (5 stars): This is one of the most popular meals in our dinner rotation. All the other rotation recipes that don't come from my incredible chef mother-in-law come from this site! I do brown rice and leave the bell peppers whole. I've found that this recipe makes enough stuffing for me to double the number of peppers, with some to spare. I also sprinkle a handful or two of cheese in the stuffing and stir it in to melt before stuffing the peppers because, cheese! There are never leftovers, but I have no doubt they are just as incredible the next day!
Mel on 2026-02-05 (2 stars): I can see the potential of this recipe but too salty :(
Kenji Lebbon on 2026-01-21 (5 stars): I loved this recipe! The filling was so flavorful and worked great with the bell pepper. I'm not usually a bell pepper guy but this made me like them. I did make the mistake of getting lopsided bell peppers, which made them fall over while in the oven, but it didn't really matter in the end.
Amelia on 2025-10-22 (5 stars): Great recipe, wonderful photos/instructions, as usual! We are vegetarian so we used a package of Impossible spicy bratwursts (squeezed out of the casings) and used Better Than Bouillon vegetable stock and it all worked great. I was worried we'd have way too much filling since the peppers I used weren't huge, but I pressed the filling in a bit as I filled them and it just domed a bit at the top. We each had 2 of the halves and it was very filling (I probably could have just eaten one, let's be real). We'll definitely make these again - thanks for another great recipe!
Kanili on 2025-10-17 (5 stars): Very good! The whole family loved it and we will be making it again. I tasted the filling before baking and it reminded me of my favorite lasagna meat sauce recipe--not quite as good, but still good. I loaded the peppers with all the filling I had--they were mounded--and topped with as much mozzarella as I wanted because I knew I was going to broil it. So yummy!
Cass on 2025-10-12 (5 stars): This was absolutely delicious. I did have holes in my bell peppers after removing the stems but I never had an issue with the filling falling out. This was one of the easiest recipes I’ve made and very tasty too
Ashley Copeland on 2025-09-17 (5 stars): If you're someone who actually cooks and doesn't always take the recipe teaspoon for teaspoon, this recipe turns out amazingly. I was in the middle of having to pause cooking after finishing the filling, so it sat covered for longer than the 5 minutes after cooking. It probably sat for 30-40 minutes and was super fluffy, not crunchy. This was my first time trying stuffed peppers. Definitely a winner. Even better the next day warmed up. I made double with 6 peppers total. I have zero complaints about this recipe. Measure with your heart with the seasonings and you'll come out great.
Nelly on 2025-08-18 (2 stars): I made this exactly as written. I agree with a previous comment, just cut the tops off. Don’t cut them in half—you will end up with large holes in half of them.
When it comes to the filling—my rice was still VERY crunchy after the 20 minutes of simmering. I ended up having to add more broth and simmer for another 15 minutes or so before the rice was cooked. Otherwise extremely yummy and will make again with some modifications!
Missa on 2025-07-15 (3 stars): Made this! Same stuff you would make with ground beef and rice dish. Not my favorite not because of the recipe, but because bell peppers are not my fav
Kerri on 2025-07-14 (5 stars): I love this simple recipe and I like how much easier it is filling the bell peppers cut this way over the traditional way. This is a great budget friendly recipe for families. Buy the green bell peppers because they’re cheaper and taste just as good!
Rene Kimray on 2025-07-11 (5 stars): I love this recipe for the flexibility of seasonings and fillings. Since Italian sausage is often on sale, I keep it in the freezer at all times. I also keep an eye out for discounted bags of peppers at the store so I can double the recipe and freeze marvelous lunches for later. I've also tried a "taco version" with ground beef, taco seasonings and different cheeses! This recipe stays on repeat at our house!
janmaus on 2025-05-14 (5 stars): I always cut my peppers in half--lengthwise--and mound the filling. I also precook the peppers slightly in a covered dish in the microwave, unbrushed and unsalted, as we love peppers and prefer them soft enough to cut with a fork. The amount of filling in the recipe is about right if the peppers are cut this way, but if there's any extra, just put it in the pan and surround the peppers. We like onion, so the amount is ok for my family--about 1 c of diced onion. I also use fresh garlic--3 cloves is about 1 T if they are large, but if not I use another clove or two. Italian sausage tends to be pretty salty, although it can vary widely, so I didn't add any more. There is at least one complaint about this recipe being "too salty," which makes me wonder why the cook--who already knows how much salt satisfies their individual taste--didn't start without it and taste the filling it see if more was needed before stuffing the peppers. And a bit more cheese as my cutting difference created more surface area. The leftovers freeze just fine as anyone who has purchased a well known brand of stuffed peppers from the freezer section of their supermarket can attest.
With minor changes which in no way affect the recipe as written--only some procedural differences--the recipe is absolutely delicious!! I did use ripe peppers--a package of 3 from Aldi is always a bargain--we love the sweet taste of ripe ones over the more bitter taste of green peppers.
Jeanette from Denver on 2025-04-28 (5 stars): This is a great recipe! I just made it tonight and my husband and I really enjoyed them =)
