Flavorful and subtly spicy stuffed Italian peppers stuffed with ground beef and rice, seasoned with plenty of Italian spices and topped with cheese.
Enjoy with a salad or warm rosemary garlic bread.
Brown the meat, stuff the peppers, and let it roast while you read on the couch.
spicy italian pepper
These spicy Italian peppers are one of my husband’s favorite meals. I’ve been making them for at least 8-10 years and double this recipe every time I make them.
They contain flavor and just a touch of heat, but if spicy dishes aren’t your thing, skip the crushed red pepper.
The meat mixture freezes perfectly on its own, and stuffed peppers freeze well too. I freeze well-cooked peppers individually for a quick and easy lunch.
stuffed italian peppers
To make the recipe even easier, you can also use leftover rice from a previous meal.
My kids and I usually eat one chilli each and my husband eats a couple of them.
The pepper stuffing can be easily customized to suit your family’s tastes. Play with different ready-made spaghetti sauces, adjust spices, and experiment with different types of cheese on top of cooked peppers.
Feel free to use this recipe as a starting point for making your dream stuffed peppers. I love the original version of ground beef, but sausage and ground turkey work well too.
These Italian-style stuffed peppers have the advantage of being convenient, easy, customizable, and kid-friendly.
I am a huge fan of frozen foods and foods that are easy to make. They’ve got all the conveniences of frozen and fast food while saving money and providing the great taste of homemade meals.
For more freezer-friendly lunches and dinners, check out Sean’s favorite hearty Italian vegetable soup and my favorite chicken and bacon stir fry. Perfect for reheating to
these are southwest chicken tacos The fact that they’re a big hit and are freezer friendly makes them even better. Chicken Tuscan Pasta Bake Also suitable for frozen food.Check out these freezer-friendly ones for an easy morning breakfast burrito.
Kitchen Tips: I Use This Skillet this sheet pan to make this recipe.
stuffed italian peppers
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put rice and water in a small pot and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. While the rice is boiling, fry the ground beef and onions in a large frying pan.
- Add olives, mushrooms, spaghetti sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes to skillet with meat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
- While the ingredients are cooking, halve the peppers and remove the seeds. Place peppers on a large sheet pan and set aside. Add the cooked rice to the frying pan with the meat and mix.
- Spoon an equal amount of this mixture into each pepper. Pour the remaining spaghetti sauce over each pepper.
- Cover loosely with foil and bake in the oven for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle with your favorite cheese. Mozzarella, Monterrey Jack, or Pepper Jack are most often used. Return to oven for about 10 minutes until cheese melts.
how to freeze stuffed peppers
- Prepare the filling, cool and transfer to a zip freezer bag or airtight container. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating, or stuff the filling into the peppers and bake. This no-stuffed pepper skillet recipe is also great for freezer meals with this stuffing.
- Cooked stuffed peppers can also be frozen once they have cooled. Place in an airtight container. Thaw the peppers in the refrigerator before reheating them in the microwave.
{First published 7/8/11 – recipe notes and photos updated 1/3/23}
