Nothing brings back childhood memories for me like stuffed peppers! These Italian stuffed peppers braised in tomato sauce are just soft enough and filled with a flavor-packed ground beef and rice mixture.
If you're looking for more classic Italian staples check out our chicken francese, chicken saltimbocca, chicken pizzaiola, authentic bolognese, chicken scarpariello, Italian Short Ribs with Gnocchi, or sausage and peppers.
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Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Red Wine. The number 1 rule is don't cook with it if you won't drink it. I always pick a halfway-decent cabernet sauvignon when I'm cooking. Cabernet is dry but rich in flavor. You could also go with merlot or malbec.
Whole Plum Tomatoes. I prefer to use canned whole plum tomatoes. It's a texture thing for me, but you can substitute crushed tomatoes if that's what you have.
White Rice. I use jasmine rice because it's done in 15 minutes. Arborio rice is my preferred rice it just takes a lot longer to cook. Either one will work.
Ground Beef. I like to use ground beef or a 50/50 combination of ground beef and ground pork. I'm not particularly fond of substituting ground turkey or chicken, because it will be a lot drier, but it does work.
Step-by-Step Directions
In a saucepan, cook ½ cup of white rice as directed on the bag. Fluff and keep the rice covered.
Step 1: Bring a large dutch oven to medium-high heat. Add olive oil and once shimmering, add onion, celery, and carrot. Saute for 5-8 minutes until vegetables begin to soften. Then stir in garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
Step 2: Stir in tomato paste and saute until the tomato paste begins to caramelize about 3 minutes. You'll start to see little brown spots on the bottom of the pot where the tomato paste was.
Step 3: Separate ground beef into pieces and add into the dutch oven. Break up the ground beef with a wooden spoon.
Step 4: Cook the ground beef for about 5 minutes or until it starts to brown (it doesn't have to brown all the way).
Step 5: Add the red wine and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 3 minutes or until the fragrance of alcohol is gone.
Step 6: Use a slotted spoon to transfer as much of the ground beef to a large bowl as you can. Set aside for now.
Preheat oven to 375℉.
Step 7: Bring the red wine back to a simmer and add the whole tomatoes crushing with your hand or a wooden spoon. Bring the tomato sauce to a simmer.
Step 8: While the tomato sauce is simmering, combine the ground beef, rice, parsley, and parmesan cheese. Add half a cup of the tomato sauce to the bowl and mix everything well.
Set aside the ground beef and rice mixture and cut the tops off of the peppers.
Step 9: Stuff the peppers to the brim with the ground beef mixture. Top each pepper with a spoonful of tomato sauce and a handful of mozzarella cheese.
Step 10: Place your Italian stuffed peppers in the tomato sauce. Configure them in a way that they will stay upright. Place dutch oven uncovered into the oven for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and serve with spoonfuls of extra sauce on top! It's delicious to add more sauce to the mixture and melted cheese.
Pro-Tips
- I can never eat all of the tomato sauce just with the stuffed peppers, but sometimes the next day I'll use it to make some pasta.
- You can shape the bottom of the bell pepper with a knife to help them stand easily.
- Don't worry about removing ALL of the ground beef and veggies from the sauce, you can leave some in there for flavor.
- You don't have to cook the ground beef all the way through because you're going to cook it again in the oven!
- I like a little bite to my pepper. If you want them softer, leave them in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.
- If you double this recipe, you don't need to double the sauce recipe. You just need the stuffed peppers to be covered at least ¼ of the way up in the pot!
How to Save and Reheat
When I save stuffed peppers, I like to cut them in half first, because when I'm reheating them, I always cut them in half anyway. They're a pain to fit in containers when they're whole. Save them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Reheat stuffed peppers by cutting them in half or quarters and placing them on a plate in the microwave.
Another way I like to reheat them is to preheat the oven to 375℉ and place the stuffed peppers on a baking tray. Top them with more tomato sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. Heat until the cheese is melted and they are warmed through.
What to serve with stuffed peppers
I usually eat stuffed peppers on their own. They are basically a meal in themselves! But if we're making them during the holidays, we usually serve them in halves with a tray of lasagna and a tray of eggplant parmesan!
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📖 Recipe
Italian Stuffed Peppers in Tomato Sauce
Equipment
- 1 dutch oven or oven safe pot
Ingredients
- 4 bell peppers
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 stalks of celery, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ cup red wine
- 1 28 oz can whole plum tomatoes
- 5 basil leaves
- 1-2 teaspoon salt to taste
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup white rice
- ⅔ cup parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley with some extra for garnish
Instructions
- In a saucepan, cook ½ cup of white rice as directed on the bag.
- Bring a large dutch oven to medium-high heat. Add olive oil and once shimmering, add onion, celery, and carrot. Saute for 5-8 minutes until vegetables begin to soften. Then stir in garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Stir in tomato paste and saute until the tomato paste begins to caramelize about 3 minutes. You'll start to see little brown spots on the bottom of the pot where the tomato paste was.
- Separate ground beef into pieces and add into the dutch oven. Break up the ground beef with a wooden spoon. Cook the ground beef for about 5 minutes or until it starts to brown (it doesn't have to brown all the way). Add the red wine and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 3 minutes or until the fragrance of alcohol is gone.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer ground beef to a large bowl. Set aside for now. Preheat oven to 375℉
- Bring the red wine back to a simmer and add the whole tomatoes crushing with your hand or a wooden spoon. Bring the tomato sauce to a simmer. While the tomato sauce is simmering, combine the ground beef, rice, parsley, and parmesan cheese. Add half a cup of the tomato sauce to the bowl and mix everything well. Cut the tops off of the peppers off and stuff them to the brim with the ground beef mixture. Top each pepper with a spoonful of tomato sauce and a handful of mozzarella cheese.
- Place stuffed peppers upright into the tomato sauce. Configure them in a way that they won't fall. Place dutch oven uncovered into the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve with spoonfuls of extra sauce.
Notes
- You can shape the bottom of the bell pepper with a knife to help them stand easily.
- Don't worry about removing ALL of the ground beef and veggies from the sauce.
- You don't have to cook the ground beef all the way through because you're going to cook it again in the oven!
Vinny
Stuffed peppers have always been a family favorite and I know you'll enjoy this delicious recipe!