Italian Sausage Stuffed Peppers with Pasta Sauce

Delicious tender green pepper halves stuffed with Italian turkey sausage then smothered in pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese is a family favorite! My family thinks these are the best stuffed peppers! How do I know?  Because there's never any leftovers when I make Italian Sausage Stuffed Peppers with Pasta Sauce!

Sausage Stuffed Peppers

There's always those few things that each of us do very well in the kitchen.

For me, stuffed peppers is one of those things. Stuffed peppers have long been a family favorite in my house. I make them at least once every couple of months.  They are an easy, economical, tasty way to get dinner on the table, especially when peppers are in season, locally sourced, and priced so well at the store!

Here in the midwest, it's easy to grow tasty peppers in the summer and you'll find all sorts of peppers on sale at the stores and farmers markets that are perfect for stuffing!

I've stuffed all kinds of peppers over the years. I've stuffed green bell peppers (the standard), red, yellow, and orange bell peppers (sweeter than green most of the time), spicy banana and cubanelle peppers (great for appetizers), and even spicy, hot jalapeno peppers!

Italian Sausage Stuffed Peppers

I love a good, simple comfort food recipe like classic stuffed peppers, but I also like to change things up now and again with new flavors on old favorites. 

When I started thinking about how I could jazz up this comfort food favorite of ours, my mind went in the direction of Italian flavors. Swapping traditional ground beef with Italian turkey sausage, the tomato sauce with a jar of pasta sauce, and topping the peppers with mozzarella cheese and some fresh basil sounded like a plan.

Some of my favorite reinventions of this comfort food flavor are my recipes for Easy Jambalaya Stuffed Peppers and my Southwest Chipotle Stuffed Peppers. I've also dabbled with a vegetarian stuffed pepper recipe cooked in the slow cooker too!

Best Stuffed Peppers

This meal was outstanding.  There is so much flavor from the Italian turkey sausage and the pasta sauce that no other seasoning is needed for the stuffing. This easy recipe for Italian Stuffed Peppers with Pasta Sauce is a real keeper.

I swapped my usual tomato sauce topping for Classico® pasta sauce to dress the stuffed peppers prior to baking, but I also added some to the stuffing itself and then served the remaining sauce on top of the finished peppers. Turned out to be a great swap! Feel free to use whatever jarred sauce you like or even your own homemade marinara sauce!


I used brown rice in the filling, but you could omit it if your looking for a low carb or keto stuffed pepper recipe option.

Lastly, I topped the stuffed peppers with melty mozzarella cheese and fresh basil. YUM!

I used green bell peppers in this recipe, but I think this recipe would be awesome with cubanelle or banana peppers as well!

Tips for making the best stuffed peppers

1. Choose your peppers wisely. Look for unblemished peppers when purchasing. Choose peppers that are nice and round with a thickish skin. 
2. Size matters. If you like to purchase large peppers, like I do, you'll need to cut the peppers in half to fill with the sausage stuffing. If you would rather use small peppers, you simply cut the tops off, scoop out the seeds and membranes, and fill whole. (Slice a small section of pepper off the bottom to help them stand upright.) 
3. Season peppers with salt and pepper before you stuff them for better flavor.
4. Seal pan tightly to help stuffed peppers cook evenly.
5. Usually, when you start to smell the peppers cooking, they are done. Test the peppers for doneness by poking them with the sharp edge of a knife to see if they are tender. Use an instant read thermometer to test the stuffing. Peppers are done when the peppers are tender and the center of the stuffing reads 160 degrees F on your instant read thermometer. 
6. Allow peppers to rest, after removing from the oven, for 10 to 15 minutes. Spoon sauce back onto tops from bottom of pan just before serving. 

Italian Sausage Stuffed Peppers, Best Stuffed Peppers, Stuffed Peppers with Italian Sausage

main dish

Italian American

Yield: 8 servings

Author: Renee Paj

Italian Sausage Stuffed Peppers with Pasta Sauce

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 H & 15 MTotal time: 1 H & 30 M

Italian Sausage Stuffed Peppers with Pasta Sauce are delicious tender green pepper halves stuffed with Italian turkey sausage then smothered in a Traditional Pasta Sauce and covered mozzarella cheese!

Ingredients

• 4 large green bell peppers, halved long side, with seeds, stem and membranes removed
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 pounds ground, Italian turkey sausage
• 1 cup fully cooked brown rice
• 1-24oz. jar Classico® Family Favorites Traditional Pasta Sauce, divided
• 1 large egg, slightly beaten
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded, part-skim mozzarella cheese
• Chopped fresh basil, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Place pepper halves, skin side down, in a baking dish big enough for all eight halves. (I used a 9" x 13" glass baking dish for mine) Sprinkle peppers with salt and pepper.
3. In large bowl, mix the ground Italian turkey sausage, cooked brown rice, 1/2 cup pasta sauce, egg, and Parmesan cheese to make filling.
4. Divide filling equally between the pepper halves. Top the stuffed peppers with 1 cup of pasta sauce. Cover dish tightly with foil.
5. Bake in preheated oven for about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes, or until sausage is cooked through and the peppers are fork tender. Remove from oven and remove foil.
6. Set oven to broil, and divide the mozzarella cheese equally between the peppers. Put in oven under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 2-3 minutes.
7. In small saucepan, heat the remaining pasta sauce. Set aside.
8. To serve, top peppers with additional sauce and garnish with chopped fresh basil, if desired.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

255.31

Fat (grams)

10.76 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

2.67 g

Carbs (grams)

10.99 g

Fiber (grams)

1.54 g

Net carbs

9.45 g

Sugar (grams)

2.27 g

Protein (grams)

27.79 g

Sodium (milligrams)

792.33 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

106.81 mg

Nutritional Information is an estimate.

https://www.reneeskitchenadventures.com/2014/08/italian-sausage-stuffed-peppers-with.html

Copyright © 2014 Renee's Kitchen Adventures

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NOTE: This recipe first appeared on Renee's Kitchen Adventures on Aug. 2014. The recipe has not changed, but the recipe card has been updated with an easier to read format. 

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