I love love love stuffed peppers. One of my favourite dishes because you can be creative, always add cheese, and no matter what, you end up with a yummy caramelized oven-roasted pepper. There’s a trick to making these mushroom-parmesan stuffed peppers right, and I’m going to let you in on it!
Most people don’t like stuffed peppers because the peppers don’t cook all the way through, so they eat the inside and discard the pepper. What a waste! Seriously a crime against peppers everywhere. So to help you make the best stuffed peppers you’ve ever had, I’m going to let you in on a simple trick that will be sure to have you and your family finishing every last bite.
These mushroom-parmesan stuffed peppers are best served with coleslaw.
The creamy crunchy, refreshing flavour of the coleslaw complements the cheesy and textured taste of my perfect mushroom-parmesan stuffed peppers.
Cheesy Mushroom-Parmesan Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 5 medium green pepper (green capsicum) - cut in half, de-seeded and rinsed
- ½ medium green pepper (green capsicum) - diced for sauteing
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 large yellow onion - diced
- 1 package mushrooms - sliced
- 1 package mozzarella cheese - shredded
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- 8 ounces tomato paste
- ½ pound ground pork (minced pork)
- ½ pound ground beef (minced beef)
- ¼ cup olive oil - extra virgin
- 1 dash salt
- 1 dash ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 dash garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to a rolling boil.
- Get a large frying pan, heat on high, and coat the bottom generously with extra virgin olive oil.
- Saute diced onions and garlic until clear and slightly caramelized.
- Then add diced peppers and saute, adding sea salt and pepper.
- In another medium saute pan with a bit of olive oil, saute your mushrooms (do not add salt because your mushrooms will turn to mush!).
- If your boiling water is good, throw in your halved peppers and time them for exactly 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, take them out, remove all excess water and set them aside.
- While those are boiling, continue sauteing onions, peppers, and garlic in one pan and mushrooms in another. When everything looks almost cooked, put the mushrooms in with the onions and garlic and mix well.
- Now you can season with a little more sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, and oregano.
- The pan that had made mushrooms was used to brown your meat. Heat your pan on high and add the pork, beef, salt, and pepper liberally and brown.
- Use a wooden spoon to break the meat into smaller pieces and cook thoroughly.
- When it’s almost 90% cooked, add 1/4 cup of tomato paste to the meat and about 1/2 cup of tomato sauce into the pan and mix well. (Combine leftover sauce and paste into a container and save to make a nice sauce for later in the week)
- Reduce heat to low, then stir in 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese until well combined.
- Now take the onion, pepper, and mushroom mixture and combine with the meat, cheese, and sauce mixture into a large bowl or one frying pan.
- Lay your halved-blanched peppers on a baking sheet or ceramic cooking stone greased with olive oil.
- At the bottom of the peppers, sprinkle about tablespoons of shredded mozzarella cheese.
- With a tablespoon, spoon healthy servings of stuffing into the peppers until they overflow.
- Cover the whole thing with a sprinkle of Parmesan and generous coat shredded mozzarella.
- Bake in 350-degree Fahrenheit oven for 30 minutes. I like to raise the temperature for the last 10 minutes to 375 degrees Fahrenheit to get a nice crispy caramelized pepper.