Italian Stuffed Peppers with Meat and Rice

The best Italian Stuffed Peppers with Meat and Rice are without a doubt my mom’s. These style stuffed peppers are filled with ground steat, rice, breadcrumbs and cheese to make the most flavorful, moist and cheesy stuffed peppers you’ve ever tasted!

These are the best stuffed peppers you’ll ever make! How do I know? ‘Cause they’re my mother’s stuffed peppers! Obviously I’m a little biased since I’ve been eating these all my life.

Then again, I started out eating only the filling and tossing the pepper aside when I was a child.  But I’ve finally graduated to eating the whole thing. 

What makes these the best stuffed peppers?

Most Italians like their vegetables well cooked, almost to the point of mushiness.  At least that’s how my dad preferred his! My mother boils the pepper halves for about 5 minutes to soften them.

Unlike some stuffed peppers you’ve tried, the filling does not consist mostly of ground meat. And incidentally, my mom always uses the ground meat trio (beef, veal and pork).

Instead this recipe contains 250 grams (about 1/2 lb) of ground meat. The rest of the filling ingredients include cooked white rice, lots of grated Pecorino and Parmigiano cheeses and fresh bread crumbs made from day old bread.

The fresh bread crumbs make all the difference in making this filling soft and tender.  You’ll also notice this in my mom’s meatball recipe!

How do you make fresh breadcrumbs?

Cut off the crust from a loaf of day old Italian bread. It can even be from older bread that’s about to go stale.

Take the crumb and tear it into small pieces with your hands. Or, if you prefer even sized crumbs simply place in your food processor and pulse a few times until it breaks down into crumbs. 

Some of the tomato sauce that’s spooned on top is also added to the filling therefore adding more flavor and moisture.

And lastly, you’ll notice these peppers are not topped with a thick layer of mozzarella cheese. The filling is flavorful and cheesy enough and so you simply don’t need extra cheese on top. Trust me!

Step by Step Instructions:

Cut peppers in half and remove the stem and seeds. You can use any colored peppers that you like but I prefer red, yellow or orange ones for their sweeter flavor. Boil for 5 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside while you prepare the filling.

Prepare a basic tomato sauce:

In a medium sized skillet or saucepan, heat olive oil. Add a finely diced onion and garlic and sauté until translucent. Add a can of diced tomatoes and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Add salt and pepper, to taste. If it’s summertime and you have access to fresh basil from your garden, add a few leaves to your sauce. 

Cook rice:

If you have leftover rice in your fridge, go ahead and use it. Otherwise cook 1/3 cup white rice to yield 1 cup cooked. 

Prepare the filling:

In a small skillet brown the meat until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a large bowl.

Tear the crumb from day old bread, crust removed, into small pieces (or alternately process in food processor) and add to the meat along with the rice, Pecorino and Parmigiano cheeses, garlic, fresh chopped parsley, an egg and salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in 3/4 cup of the prepared tomato sauce. Combine all ingredients well.

To assemble and bake:

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease the bottom of a baking dish large enough to hold 8 pepper halves.  Use a spoon or your fingers to fill each pepper half. 

Top each pepper with a tablespoonful of tomato sauce. Lightly sprinkle with extra grated cheese, if desired.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until tender. Serve hot.

What to serve with stuffed peppers

My mother usually serves these stuffed peppers as a side dish along side a meat course such as breaded veal cutlets or chicken. Try them with Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Onions and Raisins.

Or serve as a main dish with a side of vegetables such as a green salad, sautéed rapini; steamed broccoli or asparagus. Basically, whatever is in season!

Tips and suggestions:

• While most recipes for stuffed peppers use raw peppers, my mother always boils the peppers first in order to soften them. This is really a matter of personal taste and you can opt not to precook them. 
• The great thing about this stuffing recipe is that it can also be used to stuff other veggies such as eggplants or zucchini, as my mother often does.
• You can also use leftover cold rice for the filling. 
• Brown rice may also be substituted for white.
• You’ll probably have extra tomato sauce after using what’s required in this recipe. So why not make some pasta with tomato sauce to serve alongside the peppers? Alternately, you can freeze it for future use.
• These stuffed peppers can be prepared in advance and simply reheated before serving.
• For a vegetarian version, omit the meat and add extra breadcrumbs or rice.
• I usually use a combination of Pecorino and Parmigiano grated cheese in my recipes, but you can use only one type if you prefer.

Let me know if you’ve tried out this recipe please let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below.  You can also Pin this recipe for later. 

Buon appetito!