We are going vintage today with Judy’s Stuffed Peppers. Judy is my momma up in heaven, and her stuffed peppers were amazing and a staple of my life.
Mom always used green bell peppers for this dish, but you certainly can make it with red, yellow or orange. She also used ground beef and rice, cheese, breadcrumbs and marinara.
Now, I know sometimes she “cheated” using a jar of Prego or Ragu. You gotta do what you gotta do. But, I always use my homemade marinara. I included the recipe for that below as well. I freeze my marinara in freezer-safe containers for when I need it. This recipe is quite a few steps, especially if you need to make the marinara, so allocate a couple of hours for start to finish.
This is such a comfort dish. And it’s so beautiful!
Judy’s Stuffed Peppers
Course: MainCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy6
servings30
minutes1
hour20
minutesIngredients
6 green bell peppers, tops cut off, seeded and cleaned
2 cups, marinara sauce, warmed, plus more for serving if desired (For my marinara recipe, see below)
3/4 cup long-grain rice, uncooked
1 1/2 lbs. ground meat
1 small yellow onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp. fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. salt, plus 1/4 tsp. for rice
1/2 tsp. fresh black pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil, plus a drizzle for rice
- For Susan’s Marinara Sauce
2 Tbsp. olive oil
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 can Cento pureed tomatoes (28 oz.)
1 can Cento crushed tomatoes (28 oz.)
About a half cup of water
20 fresh basil leaves, torn
Salt and fresh black pepper to taste
Equipment: Large roasting pan with a lid. If you do not have a lid, you will need to use aluminum foil.
Directions
- To prepare the rice
- In a small sauce pan add 1 3/4 cups water, 3/4 cup rice, a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Stir. Bring to a boil. Cover with lid and reduce pot to a low simmer. Cook for about 18 minutes. You may also cook your rice as recommended on the package instructions. 3/4 cup rice will yield 1 1/2 cups cooked rice. Set aside.
- For Susan’s Marinara Sauce
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic, onion and red pepper flakes. Cook for about five minutes, until fragrant.
- Add the pureed and crushed tomatoes. Use a little bit of water to rinse off the tomato on the sides of the cans and pour into pot. The water should measure to a half cup.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. I did 20 grinds of my pepper mill and a scant 1/4 tsp. salt.
- Snip basil leaves into pot with cooking shears.
- Turn your heat down to low. Simmer partially covered for 45 minutes. Make sure you stir every 5 to 10 minutes.
- To prepare the filling
- In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add ground beef and break up with a spoon. Cook until browned. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon to a plate. Set aside.
- In the same pan used to brown the beef, return to medium heat. Add onion. Saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic, saute for another minute or two.
- Return meat to pan with onions and garlic. Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Stir. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
- To the meat and onion mixture, add rice, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese and chopped fresh parsley. Stir until well combined. Taste for seasoning. If you would like to add more salt or pepper, do so now.
- To prepare the Stuffed Peppers
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat the bottom of a roasting pan large enough to fit all of your peppers with a layer of marinara sauce.
- Evenly fill each hollowed-out bell pepper with the filling until all the filling is used. Line up each stuffed pepper topside up in the roasting pan. Top each filled pepper with a spoonful or two of marinara sauce.
- Cover the pan with the lid or aluminum and roast the peppers for 45 minutes until cooked through and soft. Serve hot or at room temperature with more sauce and cheese if desired.
