This is an OG Natalie Cooks recipe that existed before the Cooking Club was even born! I made these all the time for personal chef clients and they were a favorite. The filling gets its flavor from caramelizing lots of onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and combining that with ground meat and plenty of parmesan cheese. Then it gets stuffed into sweet bell peppers and topped with marinara and cheese for a high protein filing meal!
P.S. The meat filling is what I use to stuff cannelloni (pasta tubes) for Dean’s birthday dinner tradition, so you can easily turn these stuffed peppers into a pasta dinner (stuff it into large shells or cannelloni or toss it with cooked pasta and marinara).
Ingredient highlight
Bell Peppers! are super nutrient-dense. They are high in vitamin C, beta-carotene, lycopene, vitamin K, folic acid and loaded with antioxidants. Try to buy red, yellow, or orange – the green ones are harvested earlier and don’t have as many antioxidants.
Servings 4
Prep Time 10 minutes 
Cook Time 30 minutes Ingredients
- 4 medium-large bell peppers (about 1.5 lbs), cut in half lengthwise, seeds and stems removed
- 2 carrots, trimmed, quartered
- 2 celery stalks, trimmed, quartered
- ½ yellow onion, quartered
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 1 lb lean ground beef*
- ½ cup red wine or chicken broth (see note)**
- 3 cups finely chopped spinach or kale (or use 2 cups frozen)
- 1 cup (4-4.5 oz) grated parmesan
- 1 cup marinara
- Grated cheese, for topping (more parm or other melty cheese like mozzarella or cheddar all work)
- *I like to use 93% lean beef for these so it’s not too greasy. You could also use ground chicken, turkey, pork, or a mixture (see substitutions section).
- **You can skip this step if you don’t have wine or broth on hand.
- Note: ~ the filling for the recipe is almost the same as the filling I make every year for Dean’s birthday dinner – cannelloni. So you can take this filling and stuff it into pasta (shells or big tubes) instead of peppers.
- To make vegetarian: ~ sub the meat with 1 cup cooked lentils and 2 cups chopped mushrooms (or do a meat and lentil combo). Add the mushrooms in when you would have added the meat (with the salt). Once they are cooked through, follow the recipe as is and stir in the lentils when you add the parmesan.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the peppers on the baking sheet and drizzle lightly with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with some salt. Rub around to coat. Arrange them cut-side-down and bake for 10 minutes while you make the filling.
- In a high-speed blender (or food processor), add the carrots and celery and blend/pulse until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides and under the blade, then add the onion and garlic and blend again until everything is chopped up.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion mixture and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the water has evaporated and things are looking very soft and caramelized.
- Push the onion mixture to the sides and place the beef in the center of the skillet. Break up into chunks and sprinkle with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, continuing to break into smaller chunks, until almost cooked through, about 2-3 minutes. Mix it all up with the onion mixture and continue to cook until the meat is cooked through, about 1 more minute.
- Stir in the greens until wilted down (or thawed if using frozen), then pour in the wine or broth. Let it simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2-3 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the parmesan. Flip the peppers over so the cut side is facing up. Scoop the meat mixture into each pepper. Top with a spoonful of marinara followed by a sprinkle of cheese.
- Transfer back to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and meat mixture is browned/crispy on top.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Cut 4 bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove stems/seeds
- Blend up the carrot/celery/onion mixture
- Finely chop (use the blender!) 3 cups spinach or kale (or use 2 cups frozen)
- Grate 1 cup parmesan
- Bake the peppers for 10 minutes
- Cook the filling
- Stuff the peppers and top with marinara and cheese. Now they’re ready to bake!
Substitutions:
- See recipe note to make vegetarian. To make vegan, skip the cheese and add 1 tbsp soy sauce and extra salt. Or find a vegan cheese.
- Use any other ground meat in place of beef. Just add an extra tablespoon of oil in with the meat to make up for the lost fat.
- You can stuff this filling into anything!! Or serve over pasta.
Storage:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 2 months
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- If you have extra filling leftover, toss it into pasta or serve it on top of any cooked grain. You can add more greens to it when you reheat it.
- The easiest way to reheat the peppers is in the microwave. You can cut them in half to help them heat through evenly and faster.
- Serve with a simple salad of bitter greens.
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