Rice-Stuffed Peppers in Tomato Sauce
Bell peppers stuffed with herby tomato rice and baked until tender make a satisfying meatless main that looks impressive but comes together with pantry staples.
Stuffed peppers show up at Sunday tables across plenty of kitchens, and this version leans on a quick tomato-rice filling instead of anything fussy. Simmering the peppers briefly in their own sauce before the feta browns keeps every bite moist rather than dry. Serve two halves per person with crusty bread to mop up the extra sauce pooling in the dish.
Ingredients
Method
Tap a number to mark a step donePreheat the oven to 375F and lightly oil a baking dish large enough to hold the peppers upright.
Slice the tops off the red bell peppers, scoop out the seeds and ribs, and set the peppers cut side up in the dish.
Warm olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the diced yellow onion for 5 minutes until soft, then stir in the garlic for 30 seconds.
Add cooked rice, half of the crushed tomatoes, oregano, salt, and pepper to the skillet and stir until evenly combined and warmed through.
Spoon the rice mixture into the peppers, packing gently, then pour the remaining crushed tomatoes around and over the peppers.
Scatter crumbled feta over the tops, cover the dish tightly with foil, and bake for 35 minutes until the peppers are tender.
Uncover and bake 10 minutes more so the tops color slightly, then rest 5 minutes before serving.
Finish with chopped parsley over the sauce and spoon extra sauce from the dish over each pepper at the table.
Kitchen note
Make the rice filling a day ahead and refrigerate; stuffed peppers also freeze well before baking, so double the batch and bake one straight from frozen, adding 15 extra minutes.
