We love these easy sausage stuffed peppers filled with Italian sausage, spinach, creamy ricotta, and tomatoes. They’re hearty, flavorful, and quick to make, perfect for a weeknight dinner or a casual gathering!
These stuffed peppers with sausage are a family favorite. They are inspired by our sausage stuffed shells. We have received so much positive feedback about that recipe that we made the filling for these peppers the same.
Serve these hearty stuffed peppers with your favorite salad, Mexican rice, or creamy mashed potatoes. For something lighter, see our vegetarian stuffed peppers with tomatoes and basil.
Key Ingredients
- Bell Peppers: I love sweet bell peppers for this recipe. Green bell peppers are okay but not as sweet, so if you can find them, go for red, yellow, or orange.
- Sausage: My go-to is Italian bulk sausage, but fresh sausage links with casings removed are great, too. For an extra kick, use hot or spicy sausage. I used chicken sausage in the photos, but turkey or pork sausage is excellent.
- Tomatoes and Spinach: I use canned tomatoes and frozen spinach for convenience. Thaw and squeeze out any excess moisture from the spinach before adding it to the filling. I also add a few fresh cherry tomatoes (cut in half) on top, but this is optional.
- Ricotta and Mozzarella: I prefer whole milk ricotta and shredded mozzarella, but cottage cheese is a delicious substitute for ricotta.
How to Make Stuffed Peppers with Sausage
My stuffed peppers with sausage are simple and even easy to make in advance (see tips below the recipe). First, I cut the peppers in half and scoop out the seeds. Then, I roast them in the oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper until they soften a little. This step replaces blanching the peppers, which is a step often found in stuffed pepper recipes.
While the peppers par-bake, you can prepare the filling. Brown the sausage in a skillet on the stovetop. When brown, stir in the garlic, spinach, and tomatoes. Cook until the liquid from the spinach and tomatoes has thickened, then stir in the ricotta cheese.
Divide the sausage filling between the pepper halves, then top them with mozzarella cheese. Finally, bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese on the top melts and the peppers are soft.
Easy Sausage Stuffed Peppers
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
These easy stuffed peppers with sausage are hearty, flavorful, and simple. Instead of blanching the peppers before stuffing them, we place them into the oven while it heats up. As the oven heats up, make the sausage filling.
You Will Need
3 medium bell peppers
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 pound bulk Italian sausage like chicken, pork or turkey sausage
1 (10oz) bag frozen spinach, thawed
3 garlic cloves, minced, 1 tablespoon
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 (15oz) can diced tomatoes or 4 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup (113g) ricotta cheese, 4 ounces
A handful of sliced cherry tomatoes, optional
1/4 cup (28g) shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 ounce
A handful of fresh basil leaves, optional
Directions
1Slice the peppers in half through the stem. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Rub the pepper halves inside and out with a teaspoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
2Place the pepper halves cut side down in one layer in a baking dish. Place the dish in the oven and heat the oven to 350°F (177°C). The peppers will par-bake as the oven heats up.
3Meanwhile, heat a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add a teaspoon of olive oil and the sausage and cook until browned, about 10 minutes. As the sausage cooks, use a wooden spoon to break the sausage up into small pieces in the pan.
4Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes (if using) and cook for one minute.
5Add the tomatoes and the thawed and ringed-out spinach. Cook until heated through, and the liquid has reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
6Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the ricotta cheese. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper if needed.
7When the peppers start to soften and release some juices (10 to 15 minutes), you can remove the baking dish with peppers from the oven. Flip the peppers, then divide the filling between them (about 1/2 cup of filling per pepper half).
8Top peppers with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, then bake until the cheese melts and the peppers are soft; about 20 minutes.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Sausage: Look for uncooked bulk chicken, turkey, or pork sausage. If you buy sausage formed into links, remove the casings by cutting a slit down the sausage and pulling the casing away from the meat.
- Fresh spinach: Substitute 1 ½ pounds of fresh spinach for the frozen spinach and add the fresh spinach directly into the pan with browned sausage.
- Storing: Baked stuffed peppers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the oven.
- Make ahead filling: The filling can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
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Looking forward to making this tonight. How long do you roast the peppers before you fill them?
Around 15 to 20 minutes, they should begin to soften and release some juices.
How long do the peppers initially roast in the first step?
When the peppers start to soften and release some juices (10 to 15 minutes), you can remove the baking dish with peppers from the oven.
Absolutely delicious! The only modification I made was to cut back on the amount of spinach as my peppers were small. Definitely will make these again.
Yay! So glad you loved them 🙂
We used Italian sausage made with venison, roasted tomatoes, and fresh spinach. I also added in some onion I needed to use up. The pound and a half of fresh spinach seemed too much so I put it in until I reach the amount that visually looked to be a good ratio of meat to spinach and I would guess about 1 pound was what I used. Otherwise followed the recipe. This was delicious!! Will make again.
Love the subs 🙂
Best peppers I’ve ever made. I used cottage cheese as I didn’t have ricotta and pepper jack instead of mozzarella for the same reason. Otherwise I followed the recipe. We really liked the roasted peppers instead of blanching them. Good Italian sausage made them even more delicious. We will have these again…soon!
These were wonderful! I used Chicken Apple Sausage, Marscapone since I didn’t have Ricotta, and chopped up a few fresh tomatoes instead of canned. Amazing, this Recipe will become a regular meal here!
Best stuffed peppers i’ve ever had!
Wonderful! 🙂