Raise your hand if you love stuffed peppers! Us too! There are tons of recipes out there — stuffed peppers without rice, stuffed peppers cooked in an Instant Pot, and numerous vegetarian versions — but just love these sausage stuffed peppers made with a sweet fennel apple sausage.
- Golden raisins add additional sweetness (would be delicious to pair this with a spicy red sauce!)
- Cooked rice makes the filling super hearty.
- Allowing the Italian sausage to cook while baking (instead of cooking ahead of time) ensures that the stuffed peppers don’t dry out – hooray!
We are all about easy weeknight dinners, and this one definitely fits the bill!
Looking for more stuffed pepper recipes? Be sure to try our Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers or our Asian Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients For Sausage Stuffed Peppers
For the filling:
- Sweet onion
- Garlic – forever and always adding garlic to our savory dishes!
- Fennel sausage (or spicy sausage!) – we love the fennel flavor that comes through in this sausage, but you could use any sausage you like (pork, chicken, etc.)
- Golden raisins – these playoff the fennel beautifully
- Cooked white rice (or other grain)
- Grated Parmesan – adds a lovely nuttiness that cannot be replaced!
- Sherry vinegar
- Sweet paprika
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Use any color sweet bell peppers you like! Orange is our favorite, but we often use a mix of red, orange, and yellow.
Don’t forget a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley just before serving!
How To Make Stuffed Peppers
- Make the filling. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, then sauté until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add minced garlic, then continue cooking 1 minute more. Transfer to a bowl, then add Italian sausage, golden raisins, cooked white rice, grated Parmesan cheese (or Pecorino!), sherry vinegar, paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper. Stir to thoroughly mix.
- Clean the peppers. Cut off the top of each pepper and discard stem. Next, use a paring knife to trim the ribs from the inside of the bell peppers. Discard.
- Fill the peppers. Use a spoon to generously fill each hollowed out pepper with filling.
- Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
- Add liquid. Coat the bottom of the baking dish with marinara, crushed tomatoes, or even a generous splash of chicken stock. The point is to make sure the peppers stay moist and don’t burn on the bottom.
- Bake. Cook sausage stuffed peppers in an oven preheated to 375F for 45-60 minute, or until internal temperature reaches 160F.
- Serve! Garnish stuffed peppers with chopped parsley then enjoy immediately!
We recommend the Thermapen MK4 to check for doneness on all meats!
How Long To Cook Stuffed Peppers
Because the Italian sausage is going into the filling raw, it needs to cook to a temperature of 160F to be safe to eat.
Stuffed peppers take about 45-60 minutes at 375F.
Freezing Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed peppers are totally freezer friendly!
To freeze: Cook as instructed, then cool completely. Transfer to a freezer safe container, then seal. Wrap the container in aluminum foil, then plastic wrap. Store in freezer until needed.
Stuffed peppers will keep in a freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw completely overnight in a refrigerator before reheating to serve.
Seriously, these are the best stuffed peppers! Easy to prep, hands off cooking, super flavorful from the fennel sausage, and totally satisfying. More dinner recipes like this, please!
Love cooking with sausage? Check out these other easy recipes!
- Easy chorizo cassoulet
- Cajun shrimp and grits
- Sausage-stuffed acorn squash
- Spicy Italian sausage and pepper pasta
- Beer Brats In Oven
If you make this Sausage Stuffed Pepper recipe, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below.
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For more easy weeknight dinner ideas, check out the following:
- Burrata pizza
- Salmon piccata
- Shredded brussel sprouts salad
- Warm lentil salad
- Miso cod with broccoli
Sausage Stuffed Peppers with Rice
Ingredients
For the filling
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ medium onion diced, about 1 cup
- 2 Tbsp garlic diced, about 3-4 cloves
- 1 lb fennel sausage or other Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 cup cooked white rice
- ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp Parmesan or Pecorino, grated
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- 1 Tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Remaining ingredients
- 5 medium bell peppers orange, red, or yellow
- 1 cup Marinara sauce
- Fresh parsley chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Make the filling. Preheat oven to 375F. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion then cook, stirring often, until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, then cook 1 minute more. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Add sausage, breaking apart with your hands into smaller pieces. Add rice, ¼ cup Parmesan, raisins, vinegar, paprika, salt, and pepper. Mix with a spoon or spatula to thoroughly combine.
- Clean the peppers. Use a knife to cut off the top of each bell pepper, discarding the stem. Use a paring knife to gently cutout and discard the ribs inside.
- Fill the peppers. Spoon filling into cleaned bell peppers going all the way up to the top. Add remaining grated Parmesan on top. Transfer bell peppers to a small baking dish. Add marinara or chicken stock to the pan, coming up about ½ – 1 inch, just to protect the bottom of the peppers from burning.
- Bake. Cook stuffed peppers for 45-60 minutes, or until an internal temperature of 160F is reached. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
- To freeze: Cook as instructed, then cool completely. Transfer to a freezer safe container, then seal. Wrap the container in aluminum foil, then plastic wrap. Store in freezer until needed.
- Stuffed peppers will keep in a freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw completely overnight in a refrigerator before reheating to serve.
Made this for dinner tonight and it’s 💯! My husband said after his first couple bites “put this in the rotation”!!!
Yes!! I love the sweetness from the golden raisins! xo, Ari
Made these tonight and loved how quick and easy they were! Great way to use up leftover rice! Will def be adding this to my rotation for weeknight meals!
One of my husband’s favorite weeknight dinners!! Agree, perfect for smaller quantities of leftover rice. Yum! xo, Ari