Description
This easy banana pepper recipe is one of my favorite ideas for a quick weeknight dinner or meal prep because it uses simple peppers and a cozy beef rice filling with the best melted cheese on top. It feels healthy and satisfying without being fussy so you can serve it for a family dinner and also bring it to a potluck or party when you need something colorful and homemade.
Ingredients
- 8 peppers large banana peppers
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup cooked white rice
- 1 small onion finely diced yellow onion
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cut the 8 banana peppers lengthwise and remove the seeds so each pepper opens like a small boat. The peppers should look irregular with some wider halves and some narrower halves because homemade stuffed peppers never look identical.
- Cook the beef with onion and garlic until the meat changes from pink to browned and crumbly. The onion should soften into the beef and the garlic should look mixed through the darker pieces instead of sitting on top.
- Add the cooked rice and Italian seasoning and salt and black pepper to the browned beef. The filling should become lighter in color with rice scattered through the beef and the grains should look unevenly folded rather than perfectly blended.
- Spoon the beef and rice mixture into the 8 pepper halves and let some filling spill slightly over the edges. The peppers should now look fuller and more structured with uneven mounds of filling sitting inside each pepper.
- Pour tomato sauce around and lightly over the filled peppers then scatter mozzarella across the tops. The red sauce should peek between the peppers and the cheese should sit unevenly so some filling remains visible.
- Bake until the peppers soften and the cheese melts into uneven creamy patches with light browning. The sauce should look thicker around the edges and the pepper skins should wrinkle slightly while still holding their shape.
- Transfer one serving to a white plate and add a little parsley over the melted cheese. The portion should show tender pepper edges and saucy beef rice filling with melted cheese stretching over the top in uneven spots.
Notes
Pro Tips:
- Use large banana peppers with firm skins because they hold the filling better and soften without collapsing.
- Let the beef filling cool for a few minutes before stuffing so the peppers stay firm while you fill them.
- Scatter the cheese unevenly instead of covering every inch so the sauce and filling stay visible after baking.
- Rest the baked peppers for five minutes before serving so the filling settles and the sauce thickens slightly.
Storage: Store leftover stuffed banana peppers in an airtight container once they are fully cooled. Keep them in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and spoon any extra tomato sauce over the peppers before reheating so they stay moist. Reheat covered in the oven until the filling is hot and the cheese softens again or warm a single portion in the microwave for a quicker meal. For freezing place cooled peppers in a freezer safe container with sauce around them and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating so the pepper skins warm evenly and the filling keeps its best texture.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American