Italian Stuffed Peppers in Tomato Sauce

stuffed peppers topped with mozzarella and tomato sauce

5 from 1 vote

Italian Stuffed Peppers in Tomato Sauce

A classic Italian staple that is so filling AND healthy. This dish is one that will bring back childhood memories with every single bite.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Total Time1 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: servings

Calories: 646kcal

Author: Vincent DelGiudice

Cost: $20

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!

Nutrition