Meatball Stuffed Peppers
Meatball Stuffed Peppers are an easy to make one-pan dinner recipe. Bell peppers are stuffed with (grain-free!) giant meatballs and roasted in the oven with cherry tomatoes. They're delicious!
Can we have a minute to give some praise to quick and easy dinner recipes? And by quick I mean 15 minutes of simple prep before you slide these stuffed peppers into your oven, tidy your kitchen, then pour yourself a glass of wine and relax.
This recipe is so simple because the sauce pretty much makes itself and giant meatballs mean that you're not fussing over rolling tons of tiny ones. It's really easy.
I like to fill a big plate bowl with spinach or baby kale and put the meatball stuffed peppers on top. When I pour the cherry tomato sauce over the top it wilts the greens and they become one with dinner.
5 reasons you'll love these meatball stuffed peppers
- Tender meatballs + cherry tomatoes + peppers are reminiscent of spaghetti and meatballs but with way less work.
- It's a super healthy dinner recipe that feels like comfort food.
- Served over pasta or rice will keep even the pickiest eaters happy. Or serve it on a bed of greens or over zoodles if you love your veggies (like me!)
- Leftovers are AMAZING. Give it up for meal prep!
- Juicy cherry tomatoes make the most flavorful sauce with zero work.
How to make these stuffed bell peppers
This stuffed peppers recipe couldn't be any easier to make. Here's how I do it:
- Put lots of cherry tomatoes and some onion, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a casserole dish.
- Cut 3 bell peppers in half, remove the seeds, and put them on top of the tomatoes.
- Mix the giant meatball ingredients then roll six meatballs and pop them into the peppers. Sprinkle a little paprika on top (to make them look extra pretty!) and pop them into the oven.
That's it! After only 3 super easy steps you'll have dinner prepped.
Why make paleo meatballs?
While I'm not one to turn down a butter-slathered slice of warm bread, I do try to avoid eating grains as much as possible. I feel much better when I eat grain-free. So when I cook for my family, I always opt for paleo alternatives in recipes.
To make tender, Swedish-style meatballs, I use almond flour instead of the traditional breadcrumbs. It's a healthy alternative and I promise you that you won't be able to tell the difference.
But if you stock breadcrumbs in your pantry, you can always use those instead.
I've made this stuffed peppers recipe a few times since the idea was delivered to my mailbox. In the last issue (and very sadly the last English version they will publish) Ricardo Magazine had a recipe for veal stuffed peppers with a cherry tomato sauce.
They made their sauce on the stovetop and used grain-based ingredients in their meatballs. But I loved the idea and wanted to make it easier to make and use easier to find ingredients. (IE: ground beef and pork instead of ground veal.)
This version is so simple to prep since the cherry tomatoes create their own sauce as they cook and their liquid is released. Let's give it up for easy to make stuffed peppers!
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Meatball Stuffed Peppers Recipe
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 4 pints cherry tomatoes, 2 ½ lbs
- 1 small onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon each: salt and pepper
- 3 bell peppers, cut in half and seeds removed
Meatballs
- 1 lb. each: lean ground beef and lean ground pork
- ½ cup almond flour, see notes
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon each: salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika, on top
Instructions
- Turn your oven to 425 degrees.
- Add the cherry tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper to an 11×13″ casserole dish and mix well. Nestle the 6 bell pepper halves on top of the tomatoes.4 pints cherry tomatoes, 1 small onion, 3 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon each: salt and pepper, 3 bell peppers
- In a large bowl, mix together the meatball ingredients using your hands. Form into 6 large meatballs, place one in each bell pepper half, and gently press it down. Sprinkle the paprika over the top of the meatballs.1 lb. each: lean ground beef and lean ground pork, ½ cup almond flour, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon each: salt and pepper, 1 teaspoon paprika
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes then remove from the oven and let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Great idea for a recipe! I made it for fewer people in a 9×9 pan with mini sweet peppers and some store-bought meatballs (raw). Cooked in about 35 minutes and we ate it with rice! Delicious! Thank you!
I love your appetizer twist on this recipe. Great idea!
I need to make this! It looks amazing!
They’re so good!!
Excellent! I doctored up the meatballs with fresh spinach and parsley; dried basil and oregano, and red pepper flakes, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. My grocery store had aloha peppers–the yellow and red stripped ones, and I also used one green and one red. When I told my housemate I was making stuffed peppers he kind of grumbled, but when he saw the assembled dish he changed his tune! They look enticing and taste fantastic. Thanks!
That makes me so happy to hear! Hooray!
Kristen, This is fantastic. What a GREAT idea to stuff a pepper with a large meatball. And OH MY GOODNESS, that cherry tomato sauce looks out of this world! I love that this is a one-pan meal. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe.
You are so welcome!!! 🙂