"I grew up in the middle of Croatia, near Zagreb, where the cuisine is very heavy — lots of meat and potatoes," writes Snjezana Hercigonja of Raleigh, North Carolina. "But when I was young, it was customary to vacation on the Mediterranean coast in the summer, where you go to the market every day to see what's good, and everything is really fresh and light. Even the fat is good, since it's usually olive oil. This recipe is based on dishes from that region.
Select peppers that are flat on the bottom — they stand up better while cooking. Mashed potatoes would be a perfect side dish.
Ingredients
Makes 6 servings
Step 1
Cut off top 1/2 inch of peppers and reserve. Scoop seeds from cavities. Discard stems and chop pepper tops. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, parsley, garlic, and chopped pepper pieces. Sauté until onions soften, about 8 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in rice, paprika, salt, pepper, and allspice. Cool 10 minutes. Mix in 1/2 cup tomato sauce, then beef and egg.
Step 2
Fill pepper cavities with beef mixture. Stand filled peppers in single layer in heavy large pot. Pour remaining 2 cups tomato sauce around peppers. Bring sauce to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pot and simmer 20 minutes. Spoon some sauce over each pepper. Cover; cook until peppers are tender and filling is cooked through and firm, about 20 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, cover and chill. Rewarm covered over low heat.)
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Reviews (179)
Back to TopMade this today for the first time and it was excellent. Followed other reviewers’ advice and doubled salt, pepper, allspice and added some cayenne. Also used a jar of Newman’s spaghetti sauce instead of plain tomato sauce. Cooked on stovetop for 20 minutes as per the recipe, but then baked in the oven at 325 for another 30 minutes. Used a thermometer to test for doneness.
samham6321
Chicago
8/12/2020
I really liked this recipe! Took longer to cook than expected in the pot - about 40 minutes, served with a side of fresh steamed green beans. Husband loved it!
Anonymous
Milford, MI
5/10/2018
I have made this dozens of times and it always gets rave reviews. I use ground turkey instead of beef and ALWAYS brown it ahead of time to get the grease out. I use a whole lot more tomato sauce - at least 28 ounces, and pour some in the bottom of the pan and then on and around the peppers during cooking, "basting" them occasionally. I do find it takes at least 45 minutes, not 20, as I like the peppers soft. A nice crunchy whole grain bread to soak up some of the extra sauce (if a whole lot of extra sauce I put it in a gravy boat and pass) and a nice salad. Very filling and delicious.
Anonymous
Wisconsin
3/28/2017
We have been making this recipe for a few years now, and we love it. However, over time, we have doubled the garlic and Allspice, and always use long grained brown rice. We also typically use fresh red peppers from our garden - our favorite for this recipe is the Wisconsin Lakes variety.
jeanne27
Northern Illinois
10/19/2016
Very good. Baked at 325° one hour in dutch oven that I sauted the veggies in. Placed thick carrots between and on top of peppers. Will try with sour cream as suggested
jmariella
Vernon Hills, IL
7/24/2016
We, too, liked the texture of the stuffing this way much better than cooking the meat first. TIPS: Cook rice first in same pot as peppers will go while preparing stuffing, then mix everything in one bowl.. Used sweet and hot paprika 2:1. Used large can of Italian tomatoes and put part of the spice mixture into tomatoes. Even better made a day ahead so peppers get softer.
Anonymous
Miami Beach
4/23/2016
I was hunting for a stuffed pepper dish that called for the meat to be cooked within the pepper itself. Browning the meat, mixing with rice and then stuffing the peppers leads to the dullest most tasteless stuffed peppers in my opinion. The amount of rice was spot on, too. Unlike a previous poster, I don't think that 2/3 cup of cooked rice divided between 6 peppers is a "Carb Loading" meal. That was just an odd comment. But, a lot of recipes call for much more rice and I don't like the resultant texture that much. But, I had to adjust the seasonings. A lot. As is, it was rather bland. I've a tip for others who may not have heard of it before... Before cooking a dish that is made of ground/minced meat, take about a teaspoon of the raw dish and microwave it for 20-30 secs on high. Then taste the meat for the seasonings. The texture will be odd but you'll know if you need to adjust the other ingredients.
pnwdianne
Mukilteo WA
4/2/2016
Why would you pair a rice-based main dish with mashed potatoes? Really? Not unless you are carb loading for a marathon. I would suggest calling it a one dish meal (meat, starch, green veggie) or adding another solid vegetable or a salad.
SFGrandma
Santa Fe NM
2/16/2016
Oh and I used tomato basil sauce & added a little bit of water while backing!
lisovska_ol
New York, NY
1/19/2016
Very nice! I'm from Eastern Europe myself, so this recipe is very close to what my mom used to make. I baked peppers at 425 an hr or so (uncovered at the end for 20 mins). While it was backing, sautéed some carrots; and then topped peppers with that. Served with parm & parsley for hubby and sour cream for me, because that's how Eastern Europeans eat it :)
lisovska_ol
NYC
1/19/2016
Aside from using a couple yellow peppers along with the red (it was all I had), I made this recipe as written the first time . It was good, but like a lot of the reviewers here, I found it to be a bit bland. We like bold flavours in my house though, so that could be why. The second time I made it I added more allspice and five finely chopped small green Thai chilies, stems removed, seeds intact. They gave it a nice kick and the extra allspice gave it some more warmth.
lauchlen
Toronto, Ont.
12/26/2015
Love this for its one-unit-full-meal quality! Like other reviewers, we top each with goat cheese when reheating leftovers. Easy and fast to cook up. We love them for packed week day lunches. Filling, high-protein, satisfying.
susanmphal
Suburb NYC
12/20/2015
我做了这个几乎根据配方,with the exception that I substituted half of the paprika with smoked paprika. That was a mistake, but as the recipe did not call for it I cannot blame it on the recipe. However, my teenage sons and I were unimpressed with the general outcome of the dish and I would not make it again. Not sure why our taste buds appear to be so different from everyone else, but we found it was bland, except for the smoked paprika.
gitters
Bahamas
3/13/2015
Excellent recipe - I would add some grated cheese to the rice/beef mixture and I simmered it for a full hour to be sure the peppers were soft. It was easy and delicious.
jac95
New Jersey
3/2/2015
像许多先前的评论这个食谱,我altered the recipe a bit, but loved the result. I had a bag of those tiny red, yellow and orange pepper but thought they were kind of waxy and tough for fresh eating so I decided to stuff the little things. I used a pound of fresh ground beef and somewhere between a quarter and a half a pound of all natural, local spicy italian sausage because everyone mentioned they thought the recipe was a little bland. I also upped the garlic, salt and pepper, definitely used real sweet Hungarian paprika and the allspice... I also used Newman's Own marinara instead of plain tomato sauce and baked the dish instead of cooking it on the stove. I followed mandalay1's cooking instructions and threw a ton of hand grated pecorino romano on in the last 15 minutes of baking. Its delicious!!! I am NOT A GOOD COOK, and this came out wonderfully.
JulezVern
Seattle, WA
10/12/2014
