Loaded with flavor and just a hint of heat, these Italian stuffed bell peppers are filled with ground beef and rice, seasoned with plenty of Italian spices, and topped with cheese.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr15 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4-6 servings
Calories: 588kcal
Ingredients
½cupuncooked long grain white rice
1poundground beef
1medium sweet onionfinely diced
1cupwater
6red bell peppersorange and yellow peppers are good too
8ozcanned black olivesdrained and roughly chopped
8ouncesfresh mushroomssliced or chopped
16ouncesof spaghetti sauceuse your favorite homemade or canned variety (divide and set aside 1/2 cup of sauce)
2tablespoonsWorcestershire sauce
¼teaspoongranulated garlicgarlic powder is fine
¼teaspoononion powder
½teaspoonkosher salt
½teaspoonfresh black pepper
1teaspoonItalian seasoning
2teaspoonscrushed red pepper flakes
½cupMonterrey jack, pepper jack, or mozzarella cheeseshredded or thinly sliced
¼cupfresh Italian parsleychopped small
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine the rice and the water in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Cover and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. While the rice is simmering, cook the ground beef with the onions in a large skillet.
Add the olives, mushrooms, spaghetti sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes to the skillet with the meat. Bring to a simmer and cook about 5 minutes.
While the filling is simmering, split the peppers in half and remove the seeds. Place the peppers on a large sheet pan and set aside. Add the cooked rice to the skillet with meat and stir to combine.
Spoon an equal amount of this mixture into each bell pepper. Pour the remaining spaghetti sauce over the top of each pepper.
Cover loosely with foil and bake 50 minutes in the oven. Remove foil and top with cheese. Place back in the oven just until the cheese is melted, approximately 10 minutes.