A few days ago, my good friend Ashley gave me some of her gorgeous hot banana peppers and they were just so beautiful that I knew I needed to use them in a very special way. There are many things that you can do with peppers, but these peppers were not only delicious, but look absolutely perfect, so I wanted to use them in a way that would compliment their natural shape. I decided to cut them length wise and stuff them… and they turned out incredible!
If you are not a fan of hot peppers, you can absolutely use sweet peppers instead or use both like I did. Stuffing them with some Italian sausage, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, ricotta and parmigiano reggiano really compliments the heat and sweet of these peppers and I am very confident that you are going to love them!
Let’s get them started…
Start by gathering 5 long sweet peppers and/or hot banana peppers, 6 ounces of whole milk ricotta, 16 ounces of Italian sausage, 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, 4 sun dried tomatoes, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1/8 cup of finely chopped fresh parsley, 2/3 cup of finely shredded parmigiano reggiano, 1 teaspoon of garlic salt and 1/8 cup of seasoned Italian breadcrumbs.
If you don’t have parmigiano reggiano, you can use parmesan, but I would highly suggest grabbing some parmigiano reggiano for this and many other dishes. Parmesan is actually imitation parmigiano reggiano and although parmesan is delish, the real stuff is absolutely worth the extra cost in certain cases and these Italian stuffed peppers would be one of them.
Begin by browning 16 ounces of Italian sausage in a large skillet. As the sausage is cooking, break it up into very small pieces and once it is nicely browned, transfer it into a large bowl.
While the sausage is cooking, cut your peppers in half long wise and remove their seeds. I like to keep the stems on top, just because they look cute, but you can cut them off too, if you prefer.
Next, add 6 ounces of whole milk ricotta, 4 finely chopped sun dried tomatoes, 2 minced cloves of garlic, 1/8 cup of finely chopped fresh parsley, 2/3 cup of finely shredded parmigiano reggiano and 1 teaspoon of garlic salt into the bowl with the Italian sausage and mix everything until all of the ingredients are fully combined.
Now stuff those peppers! Divide the filling between the 10 halves and transfer them onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle just a bit of seasoned breadcrumbs over the stuffed peppers and sprinkle a little more parmigiano reggiano over the whole group.
Bake the stuffed peppers in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes and once the cheese is all melty, the breadcrumbs are golden and the peppers are soft, plate them up. Its time to experience some of the best Italian stuffed peppers you have ever made…
The peppers have softened up just the right amount and that filling is so scrumptious. The browned sausage and thin layer of breadcrumbs are crunchy, the ricotta is creamy, the sun dried tomatoes bring a slight sweetness and the parmigiano reggiano is salty and the perfect compliment to all of the other flavors.
These Italian stuffed peppers are perfect for lunch or dinner, cold weather or warm, a solo meal or a dinner party. Serve them with some rice or a green salad and you are going to have one truly delicious meal.
Enjoy!!
Italian Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 5 large sweet or banana peppers
- 6 ounces whole milk ricotta
- 16 ounces Italian sausage
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 4 sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/8 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 2/3 cup parmigiano reggiano, finely shredded
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/8 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- parmesan, finely shredded (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
- Place 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 16 ounces of Italian sausage into a large skillet
- Place the skillet over medium heat and cook until the sausage in brown and broken into small pieces
- Transfer the browned Italian sausage into a large bowl
- Add 6 ounces of ricotta, 2/3 cup of finely shredded parmigiano reggiano, 4 chopped sun dried tomatoes, 2 cloves of minced garlic and 1 teaspoon of garlic salt in with the sausage
- Mix until all of the ingredients are fully combines
- Slice each the pepper in half long wise and remove the seeds
- Divide the filling between the 10 pepper halves and transfer them onto a parchment lined baking sheet with the filling side up
- Sprinkle the tops of each pepper lightly with bread crumbs
- Bake the stuffed peppers in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes
- Garnish with shredded parmesan and serve immediately
