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We’ve been enjoying an Indian Summer here in New England – with some warm and beautiful sunny days. And thanks to that – our garden is still going strong with green peppers and herbs, plus a few last straggler tomatoes! So tons of peppers from the garden usually means it’s time to make one of our favorite recipes – stuffed peppers!
But let’s face it – as much as we love stuffed peppers – they are a lot of work to make! Cook the rice, cool the rice, brown the meat, make the stuffing, blanch the peppers, stuff the peppers…you get the idea! The solution: our Deconstructed Stuffed Peppers!
This recipe for deconstructed stuffed peppers is an all-in-one-pan version that gives you the same delicious classic flavors of stuffed peppers with less of the fuss! Uncooked rice is first sautéed in a pan (similar to making a risotto) along with onions, garlic and peppers plus ground beef and Italian sausage. Then a combination of vegetable and beef stock, tomatoes and herbs are added – and everything cooks together in the pan. (This process actually gives the rice in the finished dish a deeper flavor than if it were cooked separately and combined at the end.)
Then an additional layer of sliced green peppers is added, and a final delicious sweet and savory topping of ketchup and Worcestershire sauce (plus some Sriracha for a touch of heat, if you’d like) is added before baking it all the oven. The result is a delicious caramelized ketchup coating on top of a super flavorful peppers, rice and meat mixture that is just so good!
Our deconstructed stuffed pepper recipe makes a generous amount, so it’s great for feeding the whole family at dinner one night and leaving enough to take leftovers for lunch the next day! (I think that the flavors get even better the following day!) Enjoy!
Recipe inspired by our favorite stuffed pepper recipe found here.
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Deconstructed Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 2 large green bell peppers, thickly sliced vertically (yield about 2–3 cups)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups long grain white rice
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1 cup chopped green peppers
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/4 cup red wine, such as merlot
- 1 pound 80/20 ground beef
- 1 pound Italian sausage in bulk (out of casing)
- 1 1/4 cup vegetable stock
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 1/2 cups fresh tomatoes chopped, or 1 14.5 ounce can of chopped tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or 1 tablespoon dry)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (or 1 1/2 teaspoons dry)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups ketchup
- 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and place thick sliced peppers into water. Cook five minutes, drain and run under cold water. Set aside.
- Over medium high heat, bring olive oil to hot and add raw rice. Sauté rice for five minutes stirring frequently. Rice will brown somewhat but be careful to not let it burn by stirring and controlling the heat. Add onions, peppers and garlic to rice and continue to sauté for three more minutes. Add wine and stir quickly. Mixture will bubble and wine will get absorbed by the rice.
- Move the rice mixture to the sides of the pan and place the beef and pork in the center. Stir and mix the meat to cook until no pink shows, about tem minutes leaving the rice pressed to the sides of the pan while cooking. Add both stocks, tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir to combine all contents and keep on heat just until mixture is hot. Remove the pan from the burner.
- Top mixture with parmesan cheese. Then top with sliced blanched green bell peppers spreading evenly across the top.
- In a small microwavable bowl, mix catsup, Worcestershire sauce and Sriracha sauce. Heat mixture in microwave until hot. Spread evenly over top of peppers.
- Place pan uncovered into oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until rice is tender.
- If you would like the top to be browned more, place under broiler for a few minutes.
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Notes
We recommend cooking this in an oven-proof skillet with tall sides like this one
. Our pan at home is three inches deep and eleven inches across. That, or something similar will be needed to hold all of the recipe contents.
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Love it!!!!! I cooked many deconstructed pepper recipes this is by far the Best!!! I will be serving mini bites at neighborhood events!!!!
Thank you so much Brenda!
Love love love. I just tweaked this recipe using my own spice mix. I like tyme and used good old tomato soup on top. My family said it was extremely delicious. ☆☆☆☆star’s
Thanks Lisa!
This looks soooooo stinkin’ good. Do have any thoughts about using barley or quinoa or couscous? We cannot have rice, but man I want to make this!
Hi Stephanie – I’m sure any of those (but especially the couscous or maybe orzo?) would work just as well! Let us know how it comes out!
OH ORZO! Yes , brilliant! Thank you!
You’re welcome!
DO YOU HAVE TO USE WINE??
No Christine – you can leave the wine out!
How cool! I love this idea! Looks delicious, Martha!
Thanks Kathy! I was actually thinking of your Stuffed Pepper Soup recipe as we made this dish! Your recipe is next on my must-try list! Thanks for stopping by.