stuffed peppers Archives · Jess in the Kitchen

If the Mr is cooking at our house, there are likely three distinct quantities of food: protein (usually venison chops), roasted potatoes, and some form of steamed vegetable. Is it delicious? Absolutely. It just isn’t the way I cook. I love a good skillet or bake. Bring on the mixtures of flavors and more importantly, the leftovers so I don’t have to worry about making a lunch the next day. Because bakes and skillets are my jam, this simple stuffed pepper skillet was born.

I don’t love raw peppers. I have grown to enjoy them cooked, and I know they are good for me so I try to infuse them into my dinners when I can. If you’ve been around for some time, you may have noticed that I don’t like super tedious recipes. I don’t want to make stuffed peppers in their truest form. That’s work (Ha!). Let me make something good, filling, and full of nutrient dense ingredients that fits in a pan and I am the happiest of women.

This stuffed pepper skillet seems to fit all the bills

It has protein from the Italian sausage (I use my Italian sausage inspired venison), starches in the rice, and it’s full of vegetables in the tomatoes, peppers, and onions. Even better? It has minimal hands-on time and once it’s time to cook the rice, you cover it and let it be. No stirring. No checking it constantly. Just get the veg cooked up and you’re almost done.

And your family will love it (at least I hope they do!). The first time I made it, I was just using up sad ingredients from the fridge: halves of peppers and sad onions. I was trying to clear out some of the freezer before the Mr starts hunting again and we had a ton of Italian venison. As soon as my kids dug in, they said, “Of course you didn’t measure…it’s so good!” We quickly ate it three weeks in a row! On that third week, I measured so that I could share with all of you!

Ready to start creating this great, family friendly meal for the people you love too? Let’s go!

Your ingredients

1 ½ cups chopped sweet pepper, any color
1 ½ cups diced onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 pound ground Italian sausage
1 can of diced tomatoes, unsalted
8 ounces tomato sauce
2 ⅔ cup low sodium chicken stock
1 ½ cups brown rice
1 cup shredded cheese, your favorite kind
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Your Steps to Stuffed Pepper Skillet

If available, cook this in an oven safe Dutch oven with a cover so that the cheese can go under the broiler. If that’s not available, any large brazier or saute pan with a cover will do.

Over medium-high heat, add the olive oil to the pan. Once hot, add green peppers and onion. Saute for 5-10 minutes, until just softening. Then add the Italian sausage and minced garlic, cooking until the sausage is browned. From here, drain if necessary (I use a half venison/pork mixture, so I don’t need to drain any extra fat).

Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken stock, and salt and pepper (including the pepper flakes). Bring to a boil. Add the rice, stirring to combine. Return to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Allow your wonderful meal to cook for 40 minutes, covered. After 40 minutes, check the texture of the rice, cooking for an additional 5-10 minutes if necessary.

Once the rice is fully cooked, top with shredded cheese. If you are able to put your pan in the oven, cook under the broiler at 475 for 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is perfect and bubbly.

If you are not able to put your pan in the oven, add the cheese and immediately put the cover back on. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes (and up to 20 minutes, if you are busy), to let the cheese melt.

That’s it. It really is such a simple meal that has you doing just a few things at the beginning and then setting and forgetting it. If you are busy at night, you could totally precook the sausage, onion, and peppers and just add everything together when you get home.

Peppers and onions first to soften them up.

Stuffed Pepper Skillet

This Stuffed Pepper Skillet is packed with flavor and simple to prepare, even on a weeknight, thanks to its minimal hands-on time.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Course dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American

Equipment

Ingredients

1 ½ cups chopped sweet pepper any color
1 ½ cups diced onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 pound ground Italian sausage
1 can of diced tomatoes unsalted
8 ounces tomato sauce
2 ⅔ cup low sodium chicken stock
1 ½ cups brown rice
1 cup shredded cheese your favorite kind
Pinch of red pepper flakes optional
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

If available, cook this in an oven safe Dutch oven with a cover so that the cheese can go under the broiler. If that’s not available, any large brazier or saute pan with a cover will do.
Over medium-high heat, add the olive oil to the pan. Once hot, add green peppers and onion. Saute for 5-10 minutes, until just softening. Then add the Italian sausage and minced garlic, cooking until the sausage is browned. From here, drain if necessary.
Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken stock, and salt and pepper (including the pepper flakes). Bring to a boil. Add the rice, stirring to combine. Return to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Allow your wonderful meal to cook for 40 minutes, covered. After 40 minutes, check the texture of the rice, cooking for an additional 5-10 minutes if necessary.
Once the rice is fully cooked, top with shredded cheese. If you are able to put your pan in the oven, cook under the broiler at 475 for 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is perfect and bubbly.
If you are not able to put your pan in the oven, add the cheese and immediately put the cover back on. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes (and up to 20 minutes, if you are busy), to let the cheese melt.

Keyword cherry tomatoes, green peppers, Italian sausage, Italian venison, one pot meals, peppers, stuffed peppers

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I’ll be honest, I don’t love green peppers. I think I can count on one hand how many vegetables I don’t like, but green peppers would be on that list. However, I keep trying them and cooking with them because I am certain that with enough tries, I will grow to love them. (As an aside, my sister feels the same way about tomatoes. But she would say, “You’re a grown adult. It’s okay. You don’t HAVE to like them.”)

That being said, one recipe I do enjoy them in is stuffed peppers. I know, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, I just don’t ask questions. Let’s be honest, stuffed peppers seem like a lot of work and you have these predetermined servings, which isn’t awesome for the kiddos I am trying to feed at my home as well. This “I want to like green peppers” and “I need to feed my children” line of thought inspired this recipe: Stuffed Pepper Bake.

Reasons I love It

It’s a 30-40 minute prep kind of recipe! Clearly, I love cooking and providing homemade meals for my family. But head cooks in the households will agree, it’s getting a little old during our “safer at home order.” We have our staple recipes that are seeing a lot of use. Yes, I want to try new things, but we only shop once a week. I decided to through this recipe together for dinner around 1 pm on a weeknight; there was no “pre-prep.” Heck, the meat wasn’t even thawed yet! So it came together quick, I had everything on hand, and my family loved it.

It’s got intense, wonderful flavor! If you follow me, you know I am all about some standard spices: salt, pepper, oregano, rosemary and ALL the garlic. This stuffed pepper bake takes it up a notch. Our families’ tastebuds danced for joy as we ate it for the first time.

Finally, I just love a good dish baked in a casserole pan. Maybe it’s the midwestern in me, but a casserole (let’s be real, I fancy it up with the word bake) has comfort written all over it. Not to mention, casseroles are classic “prep on Sunday, eat on a weeknight.” Gotta love that life!

Okay, enough talk, let’s get to cooking that Stuffed Pepper Bake!

Your Ingredients

1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
¼ teaspoon of the following: salt, pepper, garlic powder
1 pound ground Italian sausage (if you know me, I’ll be using ground Italian seasoned venison)
2 cups diced green pepper (about 1 large)
1 cup diced onion (I used red)
½ tablespoon minced garlic
1 ½ cup diced tomatoes
½ teaspoon of the following: pepper, salt, cumin chili powder
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Your Steps

Begin by cooking the brown rice according to the directions on the package. For me, that looked like combining the water, brown rice, and salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower to a simmer, and cook for 30-40 minutes, until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan to medium high heat and brown sausage (If you are using a lean protein, feel free to add a little oil before heating up the pan. Cook until just browned. Remove from pan and set aside for the time being. Keeping the pan on the medium-high heat, add green pepper, onions, and minced garlic. Cook for 5-8 minutes, until just softened. Stir in remaining spices and diced tomatoes. Keeping at medium high heat, cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.

After the vegetables are done cooking, stir in cooked rice and browned sausage until well mixed. If your pan is big enough, do it there. If not, grab yourself a bowl and get mixing. Spread the rice, sausage, and vegetable mixture into a greased 9×13 casserole dish. Finally, top with shredded cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees. You may want to allow it to cool 5 minutes before serving, and here’s to hoping you get leftovers. My husband went back for seconds; and then thirds! Stuffed Pepper Bake: A quick, flavorful, good for you meal made from scratch. My kind of cooking!

Other hints and tips

I used fresh tomatoes that I diced because I had them on hand. Make this even easier by using canned diced tomatoes. If possible, I would use salt free, but everyone has their own tastes. Also, I would drain them about half way prior to adding them.

I am 100% guilty of using pre shredded cheese often. Let me tell you as a True Wisconsin girl, block cheese that is shredded right before cooking is SO MUCH BETTER. If you have it on hand, I would go that route for sure.

I love my Italian venison sausage. I don’t have it on Jess in the Kitchen here yet, but I can give you some info about how we do it: We grind our own venison. Additionally, we purchase a fattier cut of pork, which we hand grind as well. Those two get mixed 50/50 with an Italian Sausage seasoning mix that I mix up. I have used this recipe for a guide. Then we freeze it in 1 pound packages. Perfect for pasta and all our favorite Italian dishes!

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Stuffed Pepper Bake

All the flavor of stuffed peppers without all the work. A quick to put together and healthy take on the classic in a casserole dish!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 15

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 pound ground Italian sausage
2 cups diced green pepper about 1 large
1 cup diced onion I used red
½ tablespoon minced garlic
1 ½ cup diced tomatoes
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Combine rice, water, and salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bring to boil and then lower to a simmer. Simmer for 35-45 minutes, until al dente. Set aside.
Heat large frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown sausage (using some olive oil if using a lean protein). Cook until just browned. Remove from pan.
Keeping the pan on medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add green pepper, onions, and minced garlic. Cook 5-8 minutes.
Stir in remaining spices and diced tomatoes. Cook an additional 3-5 minutes, until all vegetables are soft.
Combine rice, browned meat and vegetables. Spread into a greased 9×13 casserole dish. Top with shredded cheese.
Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400° F, until cheese is melted.