Sausage and Mushroom Stuffed Peppers

Sausage and Mushroom Stuffed Peppers

These delicious Sausage and Mushroom Stuffed Peppers are an easy to make gluten free dinner option.  But beyond being easy, the recipe also has less fat than a lot of the other stuffed pepper recipes.  Most similar recipes involve stuffing the peppers with uncooked beef or sausage.  That method basically means that all the grease and fat remain inside the stuffed pepper.  

In this version of stuffed peppers, I brown the meat first so that the excess fat is drained off before it gets mixed into the filling.  Adding mushrooms, onions and rice to the filling helps to make this a balanced meal.  

Using sausage instead of ground beef reminds me of a time before I discovered my gluten sensitivity, when I could grab a sausage and pepper sandwich at the Italian festival.  Oh to be able to sink my teeth into that crusty Italian bread again.  But now I’ve digressed.  And besides, these peppers recreate the flavors quite well in a more nutritious way.         

Sausage and Mushroom Stuffed Peppers

Prep time:  15 min

Cook time:   45 min

Ingredients

• 2 large or 3 medium bell peppers
• 1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
• 1 onion, diced
• 8 button mushrooms, diced 
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 cup cooked rice
• ¼ cup grated pecorino romano cheese, and more to sprinkle on top
• 1 ½ cups marinara sauce, divided 

Video Tutorial: 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F or 175 °C and spray a baking dish with nonstick spray.
2. Wash the peppers and slice them in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and internal ribs from the peppers then microwave them on high for 3 minutes to begin their cooking process and set them aside in the baking dish. 
3. In a large nonstick skillet over a medium high heat crumble and brown the sausage with the mushrooms and onions until the onions are translucent and the meat is pretty well broken up. 
4. Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat mixture from the pan and place it into a large bowl.
5. Add the rice, grated cheese and ½ cup of the marinara sauce to the meat mixture then stir to combine before stuffing it into the peppers.
6. Top the peppers with a little sauce and pour the remaining sauce into the bottom of the baking dish then add a few tablespoons of water if the baking dish looks too dry. 
7. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes then remove the foil and bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.  When they come out of the oven, spoon over some of the pan sauce and sprinkle with more grated cheese and they’re ready to serve. 

Notes:  Stuffed peppers are a very versatile dish.  You can easily substitute ground beef, turkey or chicken in this recipe or add any number of diced veggies to customize the recipe to suite your tastes.