Italian Sausage Stuffed Sweet Italian Frying Peppers

Stuffed frying peppers with Italian sausage.

Italian Sausage Stuffed Sweet Italian Frying Peppers

Italian Sweet Frying Peppers are stuffed with Italian sausage and spinach, breadcrumbs and Parmesan. An absolutely addicting stuffed pepper recipe.

Course Main Course Pork

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

resting time 30

Total Time 35

Servings

Calories 671kcal

Author Lea Ann Brown

Ingredients

5 ounces baby spinach
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 slices sandwich bread finely chopped
¼ cup milk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese grated
2 tablespoons red onion small chop
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 pound Italian sausage hot or sweet, ground
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large Italian frying peppers halved lengthwise and cored, stems left intact. or 8 small peppers.
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup canned tomato sauce
1 cup chicken broth
A few chunks of fresh mozzarella cheese to poke here and there into the stuffed peppers

Instructions

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the spinach and drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Cook the spinach over medium high heat just until wilted, about 1 minute. Remove the spinach and coarsely chop.
Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and clean out any large pieces of veins and shake out seeds.
In a large bowl combine the chopped bread with the milk, egg and cheese and stir until well combined. Add the onion, sausage, spinach and tomato paste. Using hands, gently knead the mixture until well combined. Let this stand in the refrigerator 30 minutes.
Using a fork, gently pack the sausage mixture into the pepper halves. Press chunks of fresh mozzarella here and there into the sausage mixture.
In the skillet, heat ¼ cup olive oil until shimmering. Add the stuffed peppers, filling side down, and cook over medium high heat until well-browned, about 4 minutes.
Using a wide spatula, turn the peppers over and cook until the skins are browned and blistered, about 4 minutes longer. If you loose any filling while turning, just use a fork to replace it.
Add the tomato sauce and chicken broth, cover and simmer until the sausage filling is cooked through and the peppers are tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to plates and serve over pasta or polenta.

Notes

Note: Italian sausage is fully cooked at 160 degrees. If you'd like, once the peppers are cooked, use an instant read digital meat thermometer to make sure sausage is cooked through.

Pro tip: Once the Italian Stuffed Peppers are plated, sprinkle on some red pepper flakes and more grated Parmesan cheese.

Can't find Italian peppers? You can most certainly substitute a regular bell peppers, a sweet variety such as Yellow Bell, Red Bell, or Orange Bell. Just slice them lengthwise and continue with the recipe. I would avoid a green bell pepper. The strong flavor will distract and the skin is too tough for frying.

Storage: Store any leftover stuffed peppers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Preheat any leftovers in the microwave in 15 second increments, until heated through.

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