Slow-Cooker Stuffed Peppers
By America's Test KitchenPublished on March 22, 2012
Time
4 to 4½ hours on low
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers 1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth ¾ cup Arborio rice 8 ounces hot Italian sausage, casings removed2 onions, chopped fine 6 garlic cloves, minced½ teaspoon dried oregano Salt and pepper ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 2 ½ ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 ¼ cups)2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Working one at a time, cut off top 1/2 inch of bell peppers. Discard stem and seeds. Chop pepper tops into 1/4-inch pieces; reserve pepper cups. Microwave broth and rice in covered large bowl until liquid is absorbed and rice is nearly tender, 13 to 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook sausage in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up meat into small pieces, until browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to paper towel–lined plate.
- Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet. Add onions and chopped pepper and cook until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, bring to boil, and remove from heat.
- Combine 1 cup sauce, sausage, and 1 cup Parmesan with parcooked rice. Transfer remaining sauce to slow cooker. Using skewer, poke 4 holes in bottom of each reserved pepper cup. Fill each pepper with one-quarter of rice mixture and place upright in slow cooker. Top peppers with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Cover and cook on low until peppers and rice are tender, 4 to 4 1/2 hours.
- Transfer peppers to plate. Stir basil into sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over peppers. Serve.
Time
4 to 4½ hours on lowYield
Serves 4Ingredients
4 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers
1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
¾ cup Arborio rice
8 ounces hot Italian sausage, casings removed
2 onions, chopped fine
6 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 ½ ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 ¼ cups)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
4 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers
1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
¾ cup Arborio rice
8 ounces hot Italian sausage, casings removed
2 onions, chopped fine
6 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 ½ ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 ¼ cups)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
4 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers
1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
¾ cup Arborio rice
8 ounces hot Italian sausage, casings removed
2 onions, chopped fine
6 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 ½ ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 ¼ cups)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Try cooking a stuffed pepper in a slow cooker, and chances are you’ll get a mealy, slumped pepper that spills its soggy, bland rice filling. Our first plan of attack was to amp up the flavor. Adding a bold tomato sauce to the slow cooker seasoned the peppers as they cooked, and stirring a small amount of the sauce into the filling provided an additional punch of flavor. As for the rice, Arborio, our go-to for risotto, turned creamy, not mushy, in the filling, unlike spindly long-grain.
Instructions
- Working one at a time, cut off top 1/2 inch of bell peppers. Discard stem and seeds. Chop pepper tops into 1/4-inch pieces; reserve pepper cups. Microwave broth and rice in covered large bowl until liquid is absorbed and rice is nearly tender, 13 to 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook sausage in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up meat into small pieces, until browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to paper towel–lined plate.
- Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet. Add onions and chopped pepper and cook until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, bring to boil, and remove from heat.
- Combine 1 cup sauce, sausage, and 1 cup Parmesan with parcooked rice. Transfer remaining sauce to slow cooker. Using skewer, poke 4 holes in bottom of each reserved pepper cup. Fill each pepper with one-quarter of rice mixture and place upright in slow cooker. Top peppers with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Cover and cook on low until peppers and rice are tender, 4 to 4 1/2 hours.
- Transfer peppers to plate. Stir basil into sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over peppers. Serve.
Gift This Recipe
Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.
Appears In
Keep Exploring
My Rating
This is a members' feature.
0 Comments