Chef John's Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Made it on a whim — turned out perfect.

We made a double recipe of this, using 8 bell peppers (16 halves). The servings are very generous. I followed the recipe pretty well though I did use less of the cheese as I didn't feel like opening another bag. It got rave reviews from everyone. I loved it, my husband loved it, and the kids loved it. The green peppers and bright red sauce make for pretty contrast, and the savory flavor is wonderful. We had quite a lot left over and the leftovers taste just as good. I would highly recommend making a huge batch, and freezing some. It's cheaper and tastes better than the boxed frozen stuffed peppers.

I don't think I ever knew real stuffed pepper love until I met these. Wow. Other than using red bell peppers I didn't change a thing. Confusion over when to add the cheese, in the mixture or as a topping, or 1/2 and 1/2. I added it to the mixture and it was very noticeable and worked out well there. It would've been difficult to sprinkle on top as there was a LOT of stuffing, so much I piled it as high as I could on each pepper. Not cooking the meat first seemed stranged to me, but I think this method adds to the flavor and everything cooked to perfect doneness in the time frame given. Spoon the sauce from the pan on afterwards for flavor and to make it look even tastier. If you think is good the first night, it's double WOW reheated the next day.

I made half of the filling mixture for this recipe and it was plenty for three smallish green peppers (6 halves). I prepared these early in the day, covered and refrigerated them. I omitted the pork sausage and used fresh tomatoes. The recipe is confusing because it instructs you to stir the rice and parmesan into the meat mixture. Then later instructs you to sprinkle the remaining parmesan (what remaining parmesan?) over the top. So not knowing how much to put where, I just winged it and used 2 T. in the meat mixture and sprinkled more on top after baking. I baked these covered for 45 minutes and uncovered for 15 more minutes and my peppers were still crisp tender. I wouldn’t have wanted to bake them any longer. This was good and the hint of balsamic vinegar was a nice addition.

this was my favorite stuffed pepper recipe so far, even with substitutions. I used 1.3lbs ground turkey instead of ground beef and omitted the sausage (because I didn't have time to defrost the sausage I had). It was plenty of stuffing, though my peppers were pretty small. Didn't use beef broth, instead added 3/4 cup of the juice I drained from the diced tomatoes. Peppers were cooked perfectly not too hard or soft. Loved the tomato sauce mixture for dipping. Next time I will try adding the sausage, I think that would take it to another level! Also, 8 pepper halves do not fit in 1- 9x13, you'll need another small 8x8 to fit all your peppers in.

Wow, these were good! I didn't have the hot Italian sausage on hand. What I did have was an 8oz package of Bob Evans breakfast sausage. I mixed that up with my ground beef and other ingridients. I also used more than four peppers so I kept them whole instead of slicing them in half. After they baked I topped them with Sharp Vermont white cheddar. Sooo good. This is the first time I didn't brown my meat before stuffing the peppers. They turned out delicious! Will make them again!

These are delicious! The best stuffed peppers I've ever tasted and that's saying a lot. The sauce is really good and I don't normally like tomato sauces. You must try these. I didn't have the sausage on hand so I used all ground beef, but followed the recipe exactly. I'll be making these a lot from now on.

Excellent. My Italian husband said it was the best stuffed peppers he has ever had! I did make some changes: I parboiled the peppers, omitted the sausage, and used leftover homemade marinara for the sauce. The only thing I would change for next time would be to cut the salt in half. One teaspoon is enough as it was slightly too salty. But I will definitely be making this again.

I use this recipe to stuff TONS of peppers and save them in the freezer, during harvest season. They are absolutely wonderful and I can't wait til a cold winter day when I don't wanna cook. The only thing I changed was a little more sausage! Great flavor.

I served these to company and we all really liked this dish. I followed the recipe as closely as possible and it made just enough stuffing for 6 medium peppers. I had to substitute the cheese as I couldn't find Parmigiano-Reggiano so I used an Italian 5 cheese blend, and I used dried parsley. We had 2 peppers leftover and they were even better the next night. I will definitely make them again, but next time I will boil the peppers first, only because we like them a little softer, and I'll make sure I have the right cheese and parsley on hand. I will also make them a day ahead and will use more cheese, again our preference. I will start looking for recipes by Chef John - this was great!

I love the flavors of the ingredients, and the ease of not having to precook the meat. Even though it's delicious, 3 stars is the most I'll give this for 2 reasons. First, there's a disproportionate amount of rice, and therefore too much filling for 8 half-peppers. I cut the amount of rice in half, and it suits me perfectly. Secondly, the peppers end up too tough to cut through with a fork. They need to be par boiled for 2-3 minutes, in my opinion. With an abundance of peppers in the garden this time of year, I freeze this recipe in foil pans (before baking) for easy meals later.

The whole family liked it. I thought it was gonna be salty but it wasn't. My peppers weren't that big so I had meat leftover. It's a keeper!

This took my husband and I right back to our childhood dinner tables. We both remember these incredible flavors - it's a rib-sticking meal and so comforting. Thank you for putting it back in my recipé book!

LOTS of flavor

This recipe is fantastic! My family loved it too. I have made it several times and it is always delicious

Did I miss where the garlic got put in? I just added it to the sauteing onions but is the recipe missing that detail?

I follow recipes as written the first time before making changes. This one didn't need any changes. My husband loved it!

This recipe was easy to make and had great taste! The spicy sausage and a bit of cayenne pepper gave it just enough of a kick that added to the overall flavor of the dish. Thanks John!

l loved it

I have made Chef John’s stuffed peppers for years now and will continue to do so for years to come! They are great! The only change I make is to use a full pound of ground hot sausage and more cheese. Wonderful! Thank you, Chef John