These Lasagna Stuffed Peppers have all the delicious flavors of lasagna packed into a sweet bell pepper. With a meaty sausage and beef sauce filling topped with a classic lasagna ricotta cheese mixture, these peppers are a delicious, fast, lighter way to enjoy Lasagna.
As a bonus you can prep them ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze until you are ready to eat them, then just pop them in the oven for a quick and easy week night meal with none of the stress.
Easy Lasagna Stuffed Peppers
When you are craving delicious rich, tomato sauce packed with meat with lots of creamy cheese, it can only mean one thing. You need some LASAGNA in your life!
Traditional Lasagna recipes can be pretty time intensive, so on busy nights I like to make these Lasagna Stuffed Peppers instead. The filling comes together quickly in a skillet and then is ready to stuff into delicious bell peppers, topped with creamy ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses and popped into the oven.
Voilà! Lasagna, the easy way!
If you love stuffed peppers, make sure to check out my Mexican Stuffed Peppers and Italian Stuffed Peppers too!
How to Serve Lasagna Stuffed Peppers
Lasagna Stuffed Peppers are a pretty full meal in themselves, so if you want you can serve them as is, with no need for anything else. If you want to add a few extras to keep the meal well rounded and even more filling here are some of our favorite side dishes.
Traditional Side Dishes
- Salad– Try a simple green side salad with one of these dressings keeping with the Italian theme.
- Starch- Serve a starch on the side, or place the pepper right on top
- Rice- white or brown
- Mashed Potatoes
- Pasta- I like orzo with these
- Bread– Nothing goes better with Italian food than a big piece of bread!
- Crusty baguette- keep it simple and just grab a loaf at the store!
- Garlic Bread– This really is the best!
Low Carb Side Dishes
- Vegetables
- Sautéed spinach
- Sautéed zucchini or squash
- Roasted cauliflower
- Faux Starches
- Cauliflower rice
- Spaghetti squash
- Zoodles
- Cauliflower mash
You can serve these Stuffed Peppers with one, two or a bunch depending on how many people you are feeding and how ambitious you are feeling! If you have another side that you love to serve with lasagna, let me know in the comments so I can try it next time we make these!
Recipe Tips and Tricks
You can find the FULL recipe card below, but these are a few of the things I find important while making this dish to make it taste the best.
Picking the Peppers
You can use any color you prefer in this dish. Green peppers are traditionally found in this type of cuisine, so they work well, but red, orange and yellow peppers tend to be a little sweeter, so if you have kids, they may prefer those.
The Meat
The meat is made from a mixture of ground beef and Italian sausage. This will give you the traditional flavors of lasagna.
If you aren’t familiar with Italian sausage, it can be sold in links or on a tray like the ground beef. For this recipe we use the ground Italian sausage found on the tray.
The Cheese
These Stuffed Peppers gain the feel of lasagna both through the flavor of the meat, as well as, the cheeses that are used.
We use a traditional combination of ricotta and parmesan in this recipe. You can find the ricotta cheese in a plastic container near the cottage cheese and sour cream in most grocery stores.
The Sauce
Since we gain so much of the flavor in these peppers with the meat and cheese, the sauce is really just a simple addition. All you need is tomato sauce, garlic and Italian seasonings.
If you want to make this recipe even more simple, you can substitute 2 cups of your favorite marinara sauce instead!
Recipe Substitutions
You will get the most traditional “Lasagna” flavors in these Lasagna Stuffed Peppers with the recipe as written, however, there are a few substitutions that can be made for dietary need or preference.
- Ground Turkey or chicken can be used in place of ground beef
- Cream cheese can be used in place of ricotta
- Marinara sauce can be used in place of tomato sauce and Italian seasoning.
Freezing Stuffed Peppers
These Lasagna Stuffed Peppers can be frozen before or after cooking with great results!
To Freeze Before Cooking:
- Prepare peppers through topping with cheese (step 6).
- Place the peppers in a freezer bag, or air tight container.
- Freeze.
- Once ready to cook, thaw completely.
- Place peppers in a baking dish and add 1 cup of broth to the dish. (continue at step 7)
- Bake at 350˚F for 30-40 minutes.
To Freeze After Cooking:
- Let peppers cool completely.
- Package them in an air tight container or zip top bag.
- Freeze.
- When ready to reheat, remove from freezer and reheat in microwave or oven.
Lasagna Stuffed Pepper Leftover Recipes
Whether you have leftovers you want to use the next day, or some you may have stashed in the freezer, there are a few creative ways to dress up this recipe so you can have a whole new meal.
- Lasagna Pepper Pasta Casserole– Chop up the leftovers and mix with whatever pasta you have on hand. Add additional marinara sauce as needed and place in a casserole dish. Cover with mozzarella and bake until heated through.
- Lasagna Pepper Pie– Chop up leftovers, and place in the bottom of a pie plate. Cover the top with traditional mashed potatoes or cauliflower mash. Season with garlic power, salt and pepper. Bake until heated through and the top is golden brown.
- Lasagna Pepper Melts– Chop up leftovers into small bits. Slice a loaf of french bread into slices and butter the outside of each slice, and sprinkle with garlic salt. Place the meat mixture between two slices (butter to the outside,) then add a slice of mozzarella cheese. Cook each melt on the griddle until each side is golden brown.
More Easy Italian Dinner Recipes
If you enjoyed these Lasagna Stuffed Peppers, I hope that you will save a few more of my dinner recipes for another night! Here are a few of my favorites!
- Easiest Alfredo Sauce (and the BEST!)
- Baked Chicken Cacciatore
- Easy Chicken Marsala
and don’t forget the GARLIC BREAD!!! It’s one of our all time favorites!
Lasagna Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 3 bell peppers, large
- 1/2 lb lean ground beef
- 1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage, mild
- 8 oz tomato sauce, (1 can)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning, dried
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 8 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 egg, large
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 1 tbsp parsley, fresh, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- In a large skillet, brown the sausage and beef over medium heat, breaking up as you go.
- Once the meat is no longer pink, drain the grease and return the meat to the skillet. Add the tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and garlic. Then cook over medium heat, stirring regularly for 3-5 minutes.
- To make the ricotta topping, combine the ricotta, parsley, 1/4 cup parmesan, and egg and mix until combined.
- Cut the bell peppers in half, remove the stem, ribs and seeds and rinse them off. Place them cut side up, in a large casserole dish.
- Fill the hollow of each pepper with 1/6th of the meat mixture.
- Make a divot in the middle of the meat, and add a generous spoonful of the ricotta. Top each pepper with mozzarella cheese.
- Pour 1 cup of chicken broth into the bottom of the dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350˚F for 30-40 minutes or until the peppers are tender. Optional: At the end, turn the oven to broil for 1-3 additional minutes to brown the cheese on top.
- Remove from oven and garnish with parsley if desired. To serve remove peppers from the broth and serve with rice, pasta, cauliflower, or zoodles. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
To save leftovers:
Package in an airtight container and place in the:- Refrigerator for 3-4 days
- Freezer for up to a month
To Freeze Before Cooking:
- Prepare peppers through topping with cheese (step 6).
- Place the peppers in a freezer bag, or air tight container.
- Freeze.
- Once ready to cook, thaw completely.
- Place peppers in a baking dish and add 1 cup of broth to the dish. (continue at step 7)
- Bake at 350˚F for 30-40 minutes.
To Freeze After Cooking:
- Let peppers cool completely.
- Package them in an air tight container or zip top bag.
- Freeze.
- When ready to reheat, remove from freezer and reheat in microwave or oven.
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