Get ready for the best recipe to learn how to make this quick oven baked Stuffed Pepper Casserole that's also gluten free. This lazy version of undone stuffed peppers, is easy to assemble and delicious to eat. Made with bell peppers, cooked rice, and Italian sausage, this cheesy casserole will be a family hit.
Better than rice-a-roni, this unstuffed version of your favorite dish is the perfect weeknight meal during busy back to school season. It's also perfect for a winter meal, and it's gluten free!
Stuffed pepper casserole is a perfect dish if you want to indulge in a scrumptious and healthy meal. It is a classic recipe that offers a great blend of flavors, textures, and colors. The dish is packed with nutritious ingredients such as bell peppers, rice, lean ground sausage, onions, and seasoning.
It is an excellent source of protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, which are essential for maintaining good health. Moreover, it is a versatile dish that can be modified to suit different dietary needs. For instance, you can use vegan or vegetarian protein sources, such as tofu, lentils, or black beans, instead of meat to make it more plant-based.
One of the best things about this dish is that it is an easy-to-make yet filling and satisfying meal. It requires minimal effort and time to prepare, and you can make it ahead of time and store it in the fridge or freezer for future meals.
We love this it's a budget-friendly dish that allows you to use up leftover ingredients, such as cooked rice, canned tomatoes, and shredded cheese. With this dish, you can feed a crowd without breaking the bank.
Make a kid-friendly dish that is visually appealing and tasty, making it an excellent way to get your little ones to eat their veggies. This casserole is a mouth-watering and wholesome dish that is perfect for any occasion and a great way to incorporate more healthy ingredients into your diet.
Check out these other stuffed pepper dishes like our taco stuffed peppers and our Philly Cheesesteak stuffed peppers. Look at more Weekday Casseroles Here, or this Ultimate Chicken Casserole.
I stumbled upon the creation of this recipe when I was supposed to make stuffed peppers but a lot of my peppers had gone bad and I was trying to save as much as I could of each bell pepper. I found myself with a pile of chopped up peppers and thought to just mix all the ingredients together instead. It was a huge hit and we've never gone back!
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Why We Love This Recipe
- Gluten Free: I originally made this recipe when I was trying to figure out meals for a friend who had to take out gluten in her diet. It's a quick and easy , naturally gluten free, meal.
- Great weekday meal: This has quickly become a family staple, especially during the fall months. It makes a great weekday meal you can make in advance.
- The whole family loves it: There's a little something for everyone with this tasty rice, cheese, and pepper meal. Even our little kids love eating it without realizing the delicious veggies they are eating.
- Stuffed peppers made easy: Stuffed peppers are so tasty but can sometimes be time consuming. This gives you all the tasty flavors in half the time.
- Affordable: This is a really affordable meal that is filling and full of vegetables and tasty flavor.
Ingredients
- Cooked white rice- This is a great recipe to use leftover rice with.
- Ground Italian sausage- I love the flavor that this meat adds but you can easily add a leaner meat like ground turkey, or make it vegetarian by adding black beans.
- Chopped yellow onion- This adds a subtle yet great taste, you can also try using purple onions.
- Fennel-Especially if you aren't using Italian Sausage, you are going to want to add this tasty seasoning to the dish.
- Italian Seasoning- Pairs great with all the ingredients.
- Bell peppers, chopped- Use your favorite color of bell peppers. I personally prefer the red, yellow, and orange peppers. I use a mixture of all of them, or whatever I have on hand.
- Grated parmesan- A tasty cheese that pairs well with the Italian seasonings.
- Mozzarella cheese, shredded- No casserole is complete without a cheesy topping. This casserole is no exception.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine cooked Italian sausage and cooked white rice.
2. Add sautéed diced yellow onion and mix together.
3. Mix in the chopped bell peppers to the rice mixture.
4. In the large mixing bowl add parmesan cheese, fennel, and Italian seasoning. Mix until ingredients are evenly distributed with the rice and bell peppers.
5. Pour casserole mixture into a 9x13 baking dish and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Add more cheese as desired. Bake for 20 minutes at 350* F or until the cheese is starting to brown on the top.
6. Serve hot and enjoy this super simple Stuffed Pepper Casserole.
Hint: This recipe doesn't ask you to cook the bell peppers before assembling. This keeps them fresher and crispier when you cook the whole casserole together. We aren't fans of soggy peppers over here!
Substitutions
This dish is naturally gluten free but you can add some tasty additions to make it fit your diet needs even better.
- Ground turkey- Use ground turkey instead of Italian sausage for a healthy alternative.
- Ground Beef- Use ground beef instead of Italian sausage.
- Tomatoes- Add diced tomatoes or canned diced tomatoes to the mixture.
- Minute rice- In a pinch, because you cook the rice beforehand, minute rice works wonderfully with this recipe.
- Cauliflower rice- At a 1:1 ratio, substitute cauliflower rice for the white rice for a vegetable heavy dish.
- Quinoa- Looking for more protein? Use quinoa at a 1:1 ratio instead of rice.
- Brown rice- We love brown rice! This recipe uses white rice, but brown rice can easily be used instead.
- Cheddar- Have a thing for cheddar cheese? Use shredded cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella.
- Spicy - add a couple of chopped jalapeño peppers to spice this dish up!
Helpful Hints
- Make ahead of time to help with a busy weeknight schedule.
- Use leftover ingredients to make it budget friendly like cooked white rice and bell peppers that are going bad.
- This recipe goes quickly at our house so I always have to double it to keep everyone happy.
- This meal makes great leftovers for either lunch or dinner the next day.
Equipment
For best results you will want to use a Mixing bowl and a 9x13 baking dish. A 9x9 baking dish can be used as well.
Storage
Store leftover cooked casserole in an air tight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
This dish does not freeze well!
Top tip
We love making this dish when we have leftover rice in the fridge. It's an easy way to use up vegetables, and rice you are trying to eat up! It also makes a great meal prep meal!
FAQ
For this recipe you only need a few simple ingredients, bell peppers, cooked rice, onions, Italian sausage, and cheese.
Yes! We love using whatever bell peppers we have on hand. You can easily use a variety of colors in one dish or use all of one color.
Yes! This can be made vegetarian by leaving out the meat or even substituting the meat with black beans, or a tofu substitute. To make it vegan you will also have to use a cheese substitute, or no cheese at all.
Yes! This recipe requires the rice to be already cooked. This makes it a great meal to use leftover rice.
This is a great meal prep meal. You can make in advance and store in the refrigerator in an air tight container. When you're ready to serve, reheat and enjoy!
The best way to store this recipe is to put any leftovers in an air tight container in the refrigerator. This particular recipe does not freeze well so we don't recommend storing it that way.
Recipe
Stuffed Pepper Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage cooked
- ¾ cup yellow onion diced
- 2 teaspoons fennel
- 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ¼ teaspoon black ground pepper
- 2-3 bell peppers chopped
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- ¾ cup mozzarella cheese shredded (or more as desired)
Instructions
- Start by making the rice, browning sausage, and sautéing diced onion. Chop up the bell peppers into bite size pieces.
- Preheat the oven to 350* F.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the rice, sausage, onion, fennel, Italian seasoning, and chopped bell peppers. Add the grated Parmesan cheese and mix until evenly distributed.
- Pour the stuffed pepper mixture into a 9x13 baking pan. Top the mixture with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake the stuffed pepper bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.
Notes
- Use whatever color of bell pepper you prefer!
- Make this casserole ahead of time for a good meal prep meal.
Jwh
I absolutely love this meal! Super easy and the flavor is amazing.
Sharon
This dish has all the things I love about stuffed peppers, made into an easy dish that's perfect for when you are short on time.
Tavo
so yummy! I have always made this casserole with whole peppers but I really enjoyed this chopped pepper variation, it was so yummy and easier to make.
Nancy
I never liked peppers until this stuffed pepper recipe. It was quick and easy and flavourful
Janessa
I love stuffed peppers but they always take so long to make! This undone stuffed pepper was such an easy recipe and my family loved it for a quick weeknight meal.
Liza
What a fabulous recipe! I love how you deconstructed stuffed peppers to make an even more delicious casserole. This will be on permanent dinner rotation at our house!