Stuffed bell peppers in the oven is an Italian main course that can be prepared in many ways, but here’s how to make this recipe. To make stuffed bell peppers in the oven, it is not necessary to have certain types of ingredients. For example, they can be made with or without ground meat. A tasty variation of this recipe to try is bell peppers stuffed with vegetables, bread, and capers, some fill them with tomato rice. So, let’s say that stuffed bell peppers in the oven can be made however you like, but here’s what you should always pay attention to make them come out delicious every single time.
How to prepare stuffed bell peppers in the oven?
Almost everyone loves stuffed bell peppers made in the oven. Some believe they are too heavy of a meal, while others only include them on the Christmas menu or use them for an appetizer or as a main course on Sundays.
Whatever the role of this dish is, it’s the filling of the bell peppers that will make the recipe a good dish or not. For this reason, we’re not proposing a specific recipe like “Bell peppers stuffed with meat and sausage” or “Bell peppers stuffed with bread” or even “Bell peppers stuffed with vegetables“. Instead, today we’ll explain step-by-step how to prepare bell peppers and suggest some types of filling.
How to prepare stuffed bell peppers? Here are 5 simple rules to remember when preparing the recipe:
- Do not use ingredients that are too watery if you use Carmagnola bell peppers.
- If you want a moist result, use long bell peppers and spread them in a pan with sauce, instead of using short Carmagnola ones and risking a too dry filling.
- Prepare a soft filling like a meatball.
- If you want lighter bell peppers, scald them in boiling water for 2 minutes and remove the skin with a knife.
- Don’t forget to add salt!!
Let’s see how to prepare the basic recipe for stuffed bell peppers in the oven.
Stuffed bell peppers in the oven recipe
Here’s how to prepare stuffed bell peppers in the oven with or without meat, with or without vegetables, with or without bread, with or without eggs, in short, however you like them!
Stuffed Peppers in the oven, perfect italian recipe
Other details
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
How to prepare italian Stuffed Peppers in the oven
- 4 large Peppers (Carmagnola type for compact recipes or Pontecorvo type for watery recipes)
- 100 g stale Bread (crumbs to be soaked and squeezed) 3.52 ounces
- 2 Eggs at room temperature (vegans can replace eggs with pre-cooked and seasoned seitan)
- to taste Spices or Fresh Herbs (e.g. black pepper, oregano, parsley, basil, curry – depending on the type of pepper filling)
- 4 tbsp Extra-virgin Olive Oil
- to taste Salt
- 1 Garlic clove (or 2, if you like)
- Mozzarella, shredded cheese or other cheese (optional for delicious and compact recipes)
- as needed Breadcrumbs
Instructions
How to prepare stuffed peppers in the oven?
- To prepare our "stuffed" peppers, start by washing the peppers well and making a circular cut on the top of the pepper (from the stem side) to remove the seeds and clean the inside under running water. Throw away the seeds and set aside the piece of pepper with the stem, with which we will then close our stuffed pepper.
- (This step is only for those who want to prepare light-skinned stuffed peppers – easier to digest) In a pot of boiling water, we boil our peppers for about 2 minutes, they should not cook or we risk sabotaging the entire recipe. Take them out and immediately immerse them in a bowl of water and ice. Remove the skin and let it cool in the water.
- Prepare the filling of our dreams with the ingredients we like most (such as mozzarella, sausage, ground meat, diced zucchini and eggplant, capers, olives) combined with rehydrated and squeezed bread crumbs, eggs, salt and spices or fresh herbs, chopped.
- If the filling is too dry, add a little milk or water (for vegans) if, on the contrary, it is too soft, add breadcrumbs. The ideal consistency for a soft and properly compact and moist filling is a homogeneous and uniform mixture that is easy to shape. It should not crumble in your hand, be sticky or crumbled. At this point, we put our customized filling in the peppers. If the mixture contains eggs or cheese, it is advisable to fill the peppers only 3/4, otherwise part of the filling will come out. If there is no ingredient ready to rise, fill the pepper completely without concern.
- If we used Carmagnola peppers for a more compact result: take a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and arrange our peppers vertically. Brush each pepper with a tablespoon of oil and sprinkle breadcrumbs before putting the "cap" on our pepper (i.e. adding the part of the pepper with the stem). If we used Pontecorvo peppers for a more watery result: in this case, we can put our peppers in the oven in a tomato sauce (which can also be a meat sauce). In this case, take an ovenproof dish, add a little sauce to the bottom, place the stuffed peppers with the "cap" along the length and brush a little oil. Otherwise, spread the stuffed peppers in a baking sheet with parchment paper, brush a little oil on each pepper, and add breadcrumbs to form a tasty crust on top of the pepper filling.
- Put your personalized dish of stuffed peppers in the fan oven at 180° for 40 minutes. This time is approximate, cooked vegetable fillings take much less time. Meat mixed with cheese and eggs needs more time to finish cooking. When the stuffed peppers are ready, they have a well-browned filling. However, the advice is: make an extra pepper the first time to know when to take out the peppers according to your recipe! Remove from oven and let it cool a bit before serving.
Conservation
You can conserve stuffed peppers for 1 day and reheat them in a pan or microwave for 5 minutes.SHARE the stuffed bell pepper recipe to make in the oven.
