Stuffed peppers have many recipes. I loved Jaime Oliver's Pepper Stuffed Peppers, that was basically a vegetarian dish, if you just took off the bacon. I decided to play around with my own version, and came up with the recipe below. I love how many vegetables I get in 1 serving. I've never frozen them, as I tend to eat them up too quickly!

Upgrade Tools Needed

  • Muffin Tin or Baking Sheet
  • Mixing Bowl

Ingredients

  • 2 large bell peppers
  • ​1 pkg sausage, I prefer sage for this recipe
  • Capers, to taste
  • 1-2 other peppers, Pasilla, jalapeño, etc.,
  • Rice
  • Panko Bread crumbs
Pictures to come...

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. If your sausage has a casing, remove, and add to a fry pan on medium heat to cook. Break apart as it browns.​ Once cooked through, set pan aside to cool. I try to tilt the pan slightly to drain off as much fat as possible.
  3. While the sausage cooks, cut the tops from the bell peppers. You can either save to bake and use for presentation as a lid on each pepper, or like me, chop up all but the stem to add into the mix. Remove the seeds and membranes from inside, and then sit on your baking sheet, or my preference, inside a muffin tin as it helps keep them upright for cooking.
  4. Add 1 TSP of rice into the bottom of each bell pepper.
  5. Thinly slice all remaining peppers and add them to the mixing bowl. To this, add capers to your liking, I use 1 TBSP per pepper.
  6. Add 1/4 of the cooled sausage to the mixture, and toss to combine. Add more to your liking. Use a small amount of the drained fat and enough Panko bread crumbs to just get the mixture to start to stick together. Refrigerate or freeze the rest of the cooked sausage to use in another recipe.
  7. Stuff the mixture into the bell peppers, trying to evenly distribute the sausage, peppers and capers.
  8. Cover the baking pan with aluminum foil to prevent browning.
  9. Bake covered for 30 minutes, or until the outer pepper just starts to soften.
  10. Remove tin foil and sprinkle a bit of Panko bread crumbs on top of mixture. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until peppers are soft and Panko has browned.
  11. Remove and let stand for a few minutes before serving.
Customize to your tastes:
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Add a slice of fresh bread or toast to sop up the juices.
  • Switch out the peppers you use based on your desired heat level.
  • Try different sausages, cajun, Italian, breakfast, etc.
  • Choose a different protein source, or eliminate it altogether.

Packaging the Leftovers, and Reheating

  • I put each bell pepper in a small container on its own. It can go to work as my lunch on its own, or be reheated as a side dish for a dinner later in the week.
  • ​At work, I pop the top of the container to allow the steam to escape, but leave the lid in place for splatter, and microwave for about 2 minutes. Check the center of the meal by pushing the backside of your utensil into the mix. If it comes out cold still, you need more time.
​last updated 11/9/2020
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