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Enjoy a comforting dinner with these delicious stuffed peppers made with ground pork, jasmine rice, Mozzarella / Jalapeno Havarti cheese, and caramelized onions on a bed of tomato sauce! An easy weeknight meal for busy nights.
Are you looking for a delicious and hearty weeknight dinner idea? Stuffed peppers with ground pork, caramelized onions, and jasmine rice offer a satisfying meal that your whole family will love. This delicious combination can be made in just over an hour, making it an ideal dinner idea for busy nights, especially when your oven does most of the cooking. Read on to learn how to make these while also finding out how to customize the dish with different meats and toppings!
You can prepare this dish the night before and refrigerate it until you return home from work. Then, simply pop it into the oven and relax with a glass of wine until it’s ready. And if you’re a cheese lover, don’t forget to add extra minutes near the end for that ooey-gooey-melty cheesy goodness. Voila, dinner is served! I hope you enjoy it 🙂
*Good To Know*
- What kind of rice can I use? Should it be pre-cooked?
For this dish, day-old, cooked Jasmine rice works best! It will give you a firmer texture and better flavour absorption. However, you can also use other types like cooked brown rice, long-grain, or basmati. I recommend cooking it beforehand to avoid undercooked rice due to the lack of liquid in the stuffing. If you don’t have time to make the rice a day ahead, cook it fresh with less water than the package suggests; that way, you will still get a firm texture with some flavour absorption. - What type of cheese should I use?
I used what I had on hand: Mozzarella and Jalapeno Havarti. You can use any cheese that melts well, such as Cheddar, Provolone, or Gouda. - What type of ground meat should I use?
I used ground pork, but you can swap it for any ground meat you like, such as ground beef, chicken, or even turkey. - Toppings? Any other suggestions?
Melted cheese can be a delicious topping for stuffed peppers. For a crunchy texture, sprinkle a bit of panko on top of the cheese. If you’re not a melted cheese fan, add more tomato sauce and a sprinkle of parsley instead. And if you like it spicy, try adding some chili pepper flakes for an extra kick.
Ingredients you will need:
For the stuffing:
- large bell peppers
- ground pork
- Jasmine rice (cooked, day old is even better)
- Cheese (I used Mozzarella that had full-fat with high moisture for the ultimate melt)
- yellow cooking onion
- fresh garlic
- flat-leaf parsley
- spices: kosher salt, dried oregano, chicken bouillon powder (optional), ground black pepper
For the sauce:
- One large jar of tomato sauce (I used an 880 ml jar)
- white sugar
For the topping:
- sliced cheese (I used Jalapeno Havarti cheese)
Caramelize the Onions first
Sautée diced onions with a pinch of salt in a non-stick pan using 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat until they are golden brown and fragrant. Let it cool on the side.
Tip
- Adding sugar to tomato sauce not only enhances the flavour, but also reduces its acidity.
- If you prefer stuffed peppers with a softer texture, you can blanch the seeded peppers in hot boiling water for a few minutes before stuffing them. This will make the peppers tender without having to add more baking time. However, if you like a firmer texture, you can use raw bell peppers to bake the stuffed peppers.
Prepare the stuffing
Seed the Peppers
Once you have rinsed the bell peppers, cut around the stem with a paring knife. Then, cut each pepper in half lengthwise. Remove the stem and cut out the seeds held together by the white flesh (also known as ribs). After that, flip the pepper over and give it a few taps to remove any excess seeds.
Prepare the baking dish before you start stuffing!
Why not save yourself the hassle of cleaning more dishes and placing stuffed peppers directly into the baking dish? Use a 9×13-inch glass baking dish and pour one jar of tomato sauce of your choice into the dish. Season the sauce with one tablespoon of sugar to reduce the acidity and add the remaining caramelized onions for extra flavour.
It’s important to adjust the amount of filling based on your preference and the pepper size. I prefer to stuff my bell peppers with a generous amount so they have a noticeable “bump.” However, remember that the amount of filling you use will affect the baking time. If you use less, you should reduce the baking time accordingly; if you use more, you should increase the baking time. I had extra filling, so I shaped it into meatballs that I placed between the peppers. Cover with aluminum foil and bake peppers at 375°F (190°C) on the middle oven rack for 1 hour or until an instant food thermometer inserted into the center of the filling reads between 155°F to 160°F.
After the baking time is done, carefully remove the aluminum foil, place sliced cheese on each pepper and broil on high for 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Garnish peppers with freshly chopped parsley, serve with the tomato sauce and enjoy!
Stuffed Peppers with Pork, Caramelized Onions, and Jasmine Rice
Ingredients
For the caramelized onions
- 2 cups yellow cooking onions (approx. 1-2 large onions), trimmed, peeled and diced
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt, or 1/4 tsp. Table salt
For the filling
- 1½ pounds lean ground pork
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt, or 1/2 teaspoon Table salt
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon powder, optional
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons fresh garlic (4 cloves), trimmed, peeled and minced (or pressed)
- ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, rinsed and roughly chopped (reserve 2 Tbsp. for garnish)
- 1½ cups Jasmine rice, day old cooked and cooled
- 1 cup fresh mozarella cheese (60% Moisture & 20% M.F.), diced into ½-inch cubes
For the peppers
- 3 large bell peppers (any colour), rinsed, trimmed, seeded and cut into half lengthwise
- 3¾ cups Tomato sauce of your choice
- 1 Tablespoon white sugar
- 6 slices Jalapeno-Havarti cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
Caramelize Onions
- Sautée diced onions with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt in a non-stick pan using 3 Tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat until golden brown and fragrant. Remove pan off the heat and let it cool on the side. Reserve 1/4 cup onions in a small bowl for the sauce later.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
Prepare the filling and stuff the peppers
- Combine ground pork, kosher salt, dried oregano, chicken bouillon powder, ground black pepper, minced garlic, caramelized onion, and flat-leaf parsley in a large mixing bowl. Add the cooked (day old) rice to the mixture and mix it with the ground pork until combined. Finally, add cubed mozzarella cheese to the stuffing and mix it briefly.
- After rinsing the bell peppers, use a paring knife to cut around the stem. Then, cut each pepper in half lengthwise and remove the stem and the seeds held together by the white flesh, also known as ribs. Once you have done that, flip the pepper over and tap it gently to remove any excess seeds.
- Layer tomato sauce into a 9×13-inch glass baking dish and add 1 Tablespoon white sugar and the reserved 1/4 cup caramelized onions. Stir to combine.
- Stuff each pepper half with the prepared filling according to your size preference. The amount of filling affects baking time. Less filling requires reduced baking time; more filling requires increased baking time. Extra filling can be shaped into meatballs and placed between the peppers.
Bake the peppers
- Cover the peppers with aluminum foil and bake them on the middle oven rack for 1 hour or until an instant food thermometer inserted into the center of the filling reads between 155°F to 160°F.
- Carefully remove the aluminum foil, place sliced jalapeno-havarti cheese on each pepper and broil on high for 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Garnish peppers with freshly chopped parsley, serve with the tomato sauce and enjoy!
Equipment
Tips
- Adding sugar to tomato sauce not only enhances the flavour, but also reduces its acidity.
- If you prefer stuffed peppers with a softer texture, you can blanch the seeded peppers in hot boiling water for a few minutes before stuffing them. This will make the peppers tender without having to add more baking time. However, if you like a firmer texture, you can use raw bell peppers to bake the stuffed peppers.
