Description
Delicious pizza-inspired stuffed peppers filled with Italian sausage, cheese, and pepperoni.
Ingredients
Scale
- 19 oz Italian sausage or turkey Italian sausage links, uncooked
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 T minced garlic
- 13 oz jar Rao’s pizza sauce
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 3 large bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise and stem and seeds removed
- 3 oz pepperoni
- 2 1/2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Spray a 9″ x 13″ casserole dish or large baking sheet with non-stick spray or olive oil.
- Heat olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and squeeze sausage out of the casings and add to the pan, breaking apart with your fingers as you add it. Cook until sausage is nicely browned, breaking apart with a turner or potato masher as it cooks.
- While the sausage cooks, cut 12 pepperoni slices in halves and the rest into fourths. Grate cheese if needed, or measure out desired amount of pre-grated cheese. Cut peppers in half and remove the seeds and cut out the stem end.
- When sausage is nicely browned, push it to the side and add the onions and garlic. Turn heat to medium and cook onions and garlic for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the sauce and the dried oregano, turn heat to low, and simmer until the sauce is reduced and thickened.
- Turn off heat, let the mixture cool for a few minutes, then add the chopped pepperoni and 2 cups grated Mozzarella, stirring gently so it’s well-mixed with the sausage mixture.
- Fill each pepper with the pizza-stuffing mixture, packing it in so all the stuffing is used.
- Bake peppers for 20 minutes. Then remove from the oven and add a generous pinch of grated cheese and four pepperoni halves to the top of each pepper.
- Put back in the oven and bake for 25 minutes more, or until the cheese is nicely browned, peppers are cooked, and the stuffing mixture is bubbling hot.
- Serve Pizza Stuffed Peppers hot and enjoy!
Notes
- For a healthier option, use turkey Italian sausage instead of regular Italian sausage.
- Feel free to use any type of shredded cheese you prefer.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 stuffed pepper
- Calories: 420
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 800mg
- Fat: 30g
- Saturated Fat: 12g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 10g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 25g
- Cholesterol: 80mg