Stuffed Peppers is one of my favorite meals to make when I want to make a big meal that will last for a few days or feed a larger number of people. They are versatile, since you can stuff them with a variety of meat (or even meatless) mixtures and you don’t have to spend hours over a stove to create a tasty and healthy meal. If you choose to make this into a meatless version, you definitely can by using the meatless crumbles found in the freezer section of your grocery store. Enjoy!
Italian Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed Peppers is one of my favorite meals to make when I want to make a big meal that will last for a few days. Its freezer friendly and doesn't take a long time to put together. The best part about this recipe is that you can use any meat you choose (or even use meatless crumbles if you want to keep it on the vegetarian side.
Equipment
- 1 Stock pot
- 1 large lasagna pan
- 1 Large Sheet pan
Ingredients
- 5-6 Peppers Any variety of color is fine
- 1.5 Lbs Italian Sausage Spicy or sweet. Outer casing removed
- 1 C Uncooked Quinoa
- 1 14 oz Can of diced tomatoes Drained
- 2 C Spinach
- 1 C Chopped Broccoli
- 1 Medium Yellow Squash Zucchini Optional
- 1/2 C Diced Onions
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 1 pinch Crushed Red Pepper Optional
- 1.5 C Shredded Mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil
- Wash peppers and cut them lengthwise. Remove stem and seeds. Lay the peppers, cut side up, on baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and roast for 5 min and then flip the peppers over. Set the oven to broil and let the skin start to blister and char a bit. Careful not to let them burn (They should look like the picture)
- Remove the peppers from the oven and set aside to cool. (Lower oven temp to 400°F) Once cool, remove the blistered skin with fingers, careful not to tear the peppers. Set the peppers in a lasagna pan, cut side up.
- While the peppers are roasting, make the quinoa according to the package directions. Once done, set it aside.
- Heat a large stock pot over medium high heat, add the italian sausage and cook through until no longer pink. Add in the onion and saute until translucent and soft
- Season meat with salt, pepper, garlic, italian seasoning and crushed pepper (depending on how spicy you want it or not, crushed pepper is optional)
- Next add in the broccoli and zucchini and saute for another 2 minutes. Add in the spinach until wilted.
- Stir in the drained can of tomatoes. Set heat to low and let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked quinoa and remove from heat.
- Fill each pepper with the meat, vegetable and quinoa mixture. Once all are filled, cover with aluminum foil and place in oven for 15-20 min.
- Uncover the peppers and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over them. Place uncovered in oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese starts to bubble and melt. Serve Hot
Notes
If you don't want to use Italian Sausage or can't find any, you can also use ground turkey or beef.
If you don't want to use your oven to blister your peppers, you can also complete the process on the stovetop: Place a piece of aluminum foil into a large frying pan, set heat to medium high. Place your peppers, cut side up, into pan and let skin blister. Turn over and cook for another few minutes until cut side is soft.
You can also leave out the tomatoes if you choose and if you don't have all the veggies, the recipe still works. Feel free to substitute with any vegetables that you may have on hand.