EBD Recipe: Stuffed Peppers

When you are looking for a quick supper, one of the easiest things you can do is take a vegetable....and stuff it!

These stuffed peppers are made with cauliflower rice instead of traditional rice which makes them more nutrient dense (veggies vs rice...veggies win)!

Now, the cooking time on this recipe is not short but the prep work is pretty simple. So it is an excellent make-ahead meal. If you are meal prepping, you can just prepare the filling if you like. Then, on D-day (as in dinner day) you can put the stuffing into the peppers, make the sauce and bake them. Or you can make the whole recipe at once, bake it and then stick it in the freezer for when you are ready!

You can also double or triple this recipe. And if you have leftovers of the filling, I recommend adding it to a super yummy omelette or pairing it with a salad.

The italian sausage totally takes these peppers to the next level.

Stuffed Peppers

For the sauce

• 1 onion diced
• olive oil
• 1 jar tomato sauce (your favourite flavour like basil, bolognese or three cheese)
• 1 cup broth, chicken or beef
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red peppers

For the filling

• 1 400g bag frozen cauliflower florets or 1 head fresh cauliflower
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 pound italian sausage, squeezed from casings
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 teapsoon salt
• fresh pepper
• 4 multi-color peppers cut in half lengthwise and seeds removed
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese, optional

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF
2. Add olive oil to a medium sized pan over medium low heat.
3. Add onion and cook until the onion is soft, just a few minutes. Transfer half of the onion to a large bowl.
4. Add the marinara, broth, vinegar and crushed red peppers to the pan. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
5. Pour the sauce into a 9 x 13 baking dish.
6. Combine all of the filling ingredients except the peppers and parmesan.
7. Using your hands, fill each pepper with filling and place the peppers, pepper side down into the sauce in the baking dish.
8. Once the peppers are all stuffed and in the dish, sprinkle with parmesan cheese if using.
9. Cover the baking dish with foil and cook for 40 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake until the cheese is browning on top and the meat reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF (just a few more minutes).

   Serves 4-6

   Thanks Chef John for creating an awesome recipe that inspired me to make just a few tweaks to make it just the way I want it.

For more simple By Design recipes why not pick up your copy of the Eat By Design Cookbook. I’ve created it in the form of a 28-day meal plan (plus grocery lists!) so you don’t need to think about what’s for breakfast, lunch or dinner for the next month. Or you can grab the first 7 days FREE by clicking here.