We prepare these French meat stuffed peppers at home for the whole family. The meat is flavored with herbs, and we use smaller sweet mini bell peppers.
These are then baked until just right and can be enjoyed with a multitude of side dishes.
TL;DR
I think this meat stuffed pepper dish counts as an easy meal idea. Please, don't feel overwhelmed by the ingredient count, most are seasoning ingredients.
You can use either ground beef, or as we do, ground beef and pork mixed (50:50).
The peppers are cut open and filled with seasoned meat. They are then placed next to each other with a tomato sauce in a baking dish. The casserole meal is then baked and that's all there is to it.
My mother has always made a stuffed tomato variation and a meat stuffed zucchini boat version. These are all commonly made in French homes.
Occasionally, she'd prepare all three in one casserole dish because my father prefers the stuffed zucchini, I like the peppers and my sister is fond of the tomato version. You can do that too if you like.
Ingredient Notes
For the Seasoned Meat Stuffing:
- Stale Bread — You can use day old stale bread from your kitchen or cubed stale bread (you get those in some countries in grocery stores). The stale bread keeps the meat filling juicy. I don't recommend skipping this.
- Milk — To soak the stale bread. It adds flavor too.
- Ground Meat — We generally use a 50/50 ground beef and ground pork mixture in Europe. It's the best flavor and fat combo. The meat shouldn't be too lean because fats are flavor producers and carriers.
- Onion — Diced small. We use white or yellow onions.
- Garlic — Fresh, chopped.
- Olive Oil — Extra Virgin Olive Oil, cold pressed, is preferred.
- Oregano — Dried or fresh.
- Thyme — Dried or fresh.
- Parsley — Freshly chopped.
- Salt & Black Pepper
For the Peppers and Sauce:
- Peppers — I like to use small mini peppers because they are more tender and sweet. They are also called snack peppers. I found some orange ones at Aldi the other day, but you can use yellow or red ones too.
- Garlic — Fresh chopped.
- Onion — Diced small. We use white or yellow onions.
- Herbs — You can use either a herb of your choice such as thyme, oregano, or summer savory, either dried or freshly chopped. Or you can use them combined. Another idea is to add a finished Herbe de Provence seasoning blend.
- Salt & Black Pepper
- Tomato Sauce — Unflavored.
- Water
- Bay Leaf — Adds a French flavor to your dish. Remove and discard the bay leaf after you are done cooking your peppers.
- Olive Oil — To drizzle over your pepper before baking.
Process Overview
Step 1
Place the stale bread and milk into a bowl and mix. Add the meat, raw cut onion and garlic, olive oil, as well as the oregano, thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper.
Mix it all up.
Step 2
Cup open each bell pepper close to the stem, so that you have a hollow pepper to fill. The top will be your “cap”.
Clear out any seeds and place the cleaned peppers with the hat next to each other into your casserole dish.
Step 3
Combine the tomato sauce ingredients in a bowl. That's the fresh cut garlic, onion, the herbs (see ingredients), black pepper, salt, unflavored tomato sauce and water.
Step 4
Fill each pepper well with the ground meat mixture and close them with the “cap”.
Place them next to each other in your casserole dish.
Step 5
Pour the prepared tomato sauce around the peppers in the casserole dish, add the bay leaf to that, and drizzle some olive oil over the peppers.
Bake until cooked through and golden brown.
📖 Recipe
French Meat Stuffed Peppers Recipe
Ingredients
For the Seasoned Meat Stuffing:
- 1 Cup Stale Bread cubes
- ⅓ Cup Milk
- 1 Pound Ground Meat *see Notes
- 1 Small Onion diced
- 2 Cloves Garlic chopped
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Teaspoon Oregano Dried or fresh
- 1 Teaspoon Thyme Dried or fresh
- 2 Teaspoon Parsley Fresh chopped
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground
For the Peppers and Sauce:
- 12 Piece Mini Sweet Pepper aka Snack Pepper
- 1 Clove Garlic chopped
- 1 Small Onion diced
- 1½ Tablespoon Herbs fresh or dried *see Notes
- Pinch Black Pepper Ground
- Pinch Salt
- ⅓ Cup Tomato Sauce unflavored
- ⅓ Cup Water
- 1 Bay Leave
- Drizzle Olive Oil
Instructions
For the Seasoned Meat Stuffing
- Place the stale bread into a bowl and pour the milk over it. The bread needs to soak up the milk before you can proceed.1 Cup Stale Bread, ⅓ Cup Milk
- Add the ground meat, raw cut onion and garlic, olive oil, as well as the oregano, thyme, parsley, salt, and ground pepper to the milk soaked bread.1 Pound Ground Meat, 1 Small Onion, 2 Cloves Garlic, 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil, 1 Teaspoon Oregano Dried, 1 Teaspoon Thyme Dried, 2 Teaspoon Parsley Fresh, 1 Teaspoon Salt, ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground
- Mix the meat filling well so that everything is well incorporated. Keep aside.
Prepare the Peppers
- Slice off the top of each bell pepper near the stem to create a cap then, hollow out the inside. Remove all seeds and membranes.12 Piece Mini Sweet Pepper
- Place the empty peppers next to each other in a casserole dish and set the tops next to them like little hats,
Prepare the Sauce
- Combine the chopped garlic, diced onion, herbs, black pepper, salt, tomato sauce and water in a bowl. That's your sauce. Keep aside.1 Clove Garlic, 1 Small Onion, 1½ Tablespoon Herbs, Pinch Black Pepper Ground, Pinch Salt, ⅓ Cup Tomato Sauce, ⅓ Cup Water
Assemble
- Preheat your oven to 350 Fahrenheit (180 degree Celsius).
- Take a pepper in your hand and with a small spoon stuff with the seasoned meat filling. Add as much meat filling as possible, so that the meat overflows.
- Close the meat stuffed pepper with the top bell pepper cap. Repeat with all peppers and place them next to each other in a casserole dish.
- Pour the sauce around the bell peppers and place the bay leaf somewhere in-between. Drizzle with some olive oil.1 Bay Leave, Drizzle Olive Oil
- Roast at 350 Fahrenheit (180 degree Celsius) for about 35 to 40 minutes uncovered, or until the meat is cooked through, and the peppers are turning light brownish at the top.
- Discard the bay leaf, and serve up hot with a side of your choice.
Notes
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl to prepare the meat mix and the sauce
- Silicone Spatula to mix the seasoned meat and to combine the sauce ingredients
- 8" Chef Knife
- Cutting Board to cut and clean the peppers
- Teaspoon to fill the peppers with the meat filling
- 8x13 Rectangular Baking Dish to bake your peppers
Nutrition
Serving
We have always served this meal with a side dish and that's usually cooked polenta, as in a plain Mămăligă or a creamy polenta.
Optionally, we make it with plain cooked rice, or aromatic rice. I like clove and onion flavored rice.
In any case, you can always enjoy baked bread, such as a baguette, with this meal.
I also recommend turning this into a complete meal, by serving a small side salad along with the dish. A vinegar-based dressing is best suited to compliment all the flavors.
And don't forget to add some pungent Dijon mustard to your plate to use as a dip with the meat stuffed peppers. If you like it hot, add a pinch of shredded/ground horseradish.
Storing
Leftovers can be left for about 2–3 days in your fridge.
I place them into rectangular glass containers that can be closed with a clip. These can be stacked over each other and thanks to the glass, you don't forget about your leftovers.
Gradually reheat the leftovers in the oven on a lower heat setting.
Freezing
To freeze a batch, you will have to prepare the peppers without the sauce. These are then frozen raw.
That means, stuff the peppers with the meat filling and place them next to each other on a tray to freeze them hard.
Once frozen, keep them in a freezer container to save space in your freezer. Use them within 1–2 months.
Once you are ready to cook them, place them into the casserole dish frozen, prepare and pour the sauce around the filled peppers, and bake them. Preheating the oven can help you save roasting time.
You will need to add some extra time to the baking instructions as they are frozen. So, in total, the meat and peppers will take about 60–80 minutes to thaw and cook through.
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