Honestly, I am not a big eat-an-entire-pepper-in-one-sitting person. But by cutting the green bell peppers in half, it makes it better on the tummy. I finished my half a pepper just fine in this Sausage Stuffed Peppers recipe! This recipe serves 6.
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If you need other ideas on what to make with bell peppers, click here.
Ingredients:
- Peppers - I used green but you can use whatever color of bell pepper you want!
- Rice - long grain enriched rice
- Picante sauce - provides spice, you can also use salsa or taco sauce
- Sausage - I used deer sausage from our fall hunt, any non-sweetened sausage works though like pork sausage or turkey sausage
- Cheese - shredding your own helps it melt better
- Corn - canned corn
How to make sausage stuffed bell peppers:
- Cook rice - the rice is cooked normally, but with less water because you can add picante sauce in about Ā¾ of the way in for flavor. This also provides more moisture which is why the original amount of water is less than what the rice bag says
- Cook sausage, garlic and onions-this will help blend these flavors together. Remove them from heat.
- Melt cheese and corn together on the stove
- Cut pepper tops off and in half vertical and scoop out membranes. Broil peppers for 6 minutes. I broil mine on the 2nd or 3rd rack notch. I also check mine every 2 minutes while broiling to ensure they are not getting over cooked. If you oven heats unevenly like mine does, I recommending rotating the pan halfway through as well.
- Stuff peppers, and bake again! I stuffed mine like how the directions say, but you can stuff them in any order you choose. Serve your sausage stuffed peppers hot!
How do I know when my sausage is done?
When my sausage is browned and no longer has a hint of pink, I know my sausage is done! Always cook the sausage before adding to mixture.
Tips for stuffing peppers:
In the directions, I described how to stuff the peppers according to how I stuffed them, but you can stuff them in any order you choose. I experimented and found the way I described them to be the easiest, but it tastes the same no matter the order.
Variations of Stuffed Bell Peppers:
- Take out meat - you can make this recipe vegetarian if you omit the sausage
- Other proteins - if pork is not your favorite protein, adding chicken or ground beef is also an option
- Brats instead of sausage - sausage is expensive right now! You can substitute ground sausage with brats if you cut open the casing, squeeze out the meat, and fry it like sausage. If doing this, do not choose a very extravagant flavor of brat. Use an original flavor like mild Italian.
- Omit corn - corn can be a turn off for some, taking the corn out of this recipe does not change the flavor that much. You can skip step #3 and just sprinkle in cheese throughout instead of melting it in the skillet with the corn.
- More pepper - if you really like peppers, you can just cut the top off them and scoop out the inside membranes and stuff them versus cutting them in half and stuffing horizontally
- Cook less or more - by cooking less, your pepper will have more of a crunch. By cooking longer, your pepper will become more soft.
FAQs
Yes, you can prepare these a few days in advance. Store in the fridge until ready to heat and eat!
Yes. You might want to half the filling for this recipe though or you might end up with too much filling.
Always put your cooked sausage on a paper towel to soak up the grease before adding to the peppers!
No, the peppers will cook perfectly without being precooked like a pizza.
How to store stuffed peppers with rice:
- Fridge - store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. Reheat stuffed peppers in microwave or air fryer until inside temps at 165 degrees. You can add additional cheese when reheating for extra flavor.
- Freezer - I have never tried freezing this before. If you want to do that, let me know how it goes.
Check out my other sausage recipes:
Recipe
Sausage Stuffed Peppers
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Ingredients
- 3 bell peppers washed
- 1 Ā½ cup water
- 1 cup rice
- 1 8 oz jar picante sauce
- Ā½ lbs ground sausage
- Ā½ onion chopped
- 2 tablespoon garlic
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- 7 oz creamed corn
- Ā¼ cup cilantro
- 2 dashes lime juice
- cheese for topping
Instructions
- Dump water into a medium sized pot and bring to a boil. Add rice once boiling. After about 8-10 minutes when there is little water left, add in entire salsa jar.
- While rice is cooking, fry sausage in a medium sized skillet. Add garlic and onions. Once well cooked, remove from pan and place on a plate with a paper towel to absorb oil.
- In same pan sausage was in, place creamed corn and mozzarella cheese over medium heat until melted.
- Cut pepper tops off, and in half vertical and scoop out seeds and membranes. Broil peppers on a sprayed baking sheet for about 6 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. I put my broil at 490 degrees and the rack was at the 2nd to highest notch. Make sure to watch the peppers closely while broiling because every oven broils differently.
- Remove peppers from oven. Scoop the cheese/corn mixture into the peppers first, then rice, and then the sausage mixture. Bake for 30 mins at 375 degrees. Add cheese, and throw back in the oven until melted (about 2 minutes). Serve your Sausage Stuffed Peppers with salsa and sour cream!
All information presented on this site is intended for informational purposes only. Nutritional facts listed are a rough estimate and should only be followed as a general idea.
Oh wow, these peppers look awesome. I use to make these all the time but they never looked like this. I will put sausage in anything.
This sounds fabulous! I love stuffed peppers but never made them with sausage. Definitely a must try!
My grandma always made stuffed peppers. I need to make your recipe!
These look delicious and super easy to make!