Peperoni Ripieni
Cheesy Italian Stuffed Peppers
Peperoni Ripieni 🇮🇹 is a delicious Italian gratin-style dish made with bell peppers stuffed with minced meat, milk-soaked stale bread, Italian cheese and fresh herbs. It’s wonderfully aromatic, packed with flavor and an absolute crowd-pleaser!
This post may contain sponsored content and/or affiliate links.
Jump to
Why We Love It!
- Easy: It’s incredibly easy: just 20 minutes of prep, and the oven does the rest.
- 🤌 Italian Must: It's definitely a must-try for lovers of Italian food...
- Double up! You can easily make a bigger batch and just spread it out on a baking tray.
- Meal Prepping: Peperoni Ripieni is easy to make ahead and feels like a little mid-week celebration!
What is Peperoni Ripieni?
Peperoni Ripieni, or Italian stuffed peppers, is a traditional dish from southern Italy. Although stuffing vegetables had already been part of the Mediterranean diet since the Middle Ages, the dish really took shape after bell peppers arrived in Europe in the 16th century. Their popularity grew quickly in the warm southern climate, and Italians began filling them with whatever ingredients were common locally – bread, cheese, herbs, olives, capers, anchovies, and later minced meat or rice – leading to many regional versions.
Over the years, Peperoni Ripieni became a true staple of Italian home cooking, especially in summer when peppers are in season. Today, it’s still loved across Italy, enjoyed at family tables and in traditional trattorias, with recipes passed down from one generation to the next.
We make our version of Peperoni Ripieni with yellow and red peppers, using a mix of three types of minced meat – beef, veal, and salsiccia (super tasty Italian sausage you often find in pasta sauces) – combined with milk-soaked stale bread. We also add some sautéed onions, provolone, and Grana Padano. And we mix in fresh garlic, parsley, and basil for extra flavor!
Ingredients
Peperoni Ripieni
left to right top to bottom – check our ‘Recipe’ card below for quantity info
- Fresh parsley: Adds freshness and a light herbal flavor that brightens the filling
- Yellow onion: Gives sweetness and depth once sautéed; it builds the flavor base
- Red & Yellow bell peppers: Sweet, vibrant, and perfect for stuffing, they hold their shape and add color
- Fresh Basil: Brings a classic Italian aroma and a soft, sweet herbal note
- Eggs: Help bind the filling together so it holds its shape when baked.
- Ground beef: Adds richness and a hearty, meaty flavor
- Ground veal: Makes the filling softer and more tender, balancing the beef
- Salsiccia: A flavorful Italian sausage that adds spice and extra depth
- Provolone: Adds melty cheese pull
- Grana Padano: Provides a salty, nutty flavor
- Fresh Garlic: Adds sharpness and classic Italian aroma to the filling.
- Olive Oil
- Seasalt: Check if the mince is salted, then go easy on extra salt!
- Black pepper
- Milk: Used to soak the bread, creating a soft, moist texture in the filling
- Stale bread: Soaked in milk, it lightens the meat mixture, making it tender and juicy instead of dense. It’s an old Italian trick to give the filling a perfect texture!
How To Make Peperoni Ripieni
Preheat
Preheat the deep fryer to 350°F (180°C)
Mix
First mix the stale, crumbled bread with the milk and let it soak.
Chop & Fry
Peel and chop the onion into small pieces.
Fry it in a little olive oil for about 2 minutes until they become translucent.
Chop & Grate
Chop the parsley, basil and garlic and make sure the garlic is chopped really, really fine.
Grate the provolone and the Grana Padano.
Mix
Put all the beef and veal mince in a large bowl. Squeeze the meat out of the salsiccia casings and add it to the bowl.
Add the soaked stale bread, the sautéed onions, the eggs, the garlic, the chopped parsley and salt and pepper (unless the meat is already salted). Also add the grated provolone and Grana Padano (reserve some for the gratin later)
Mix everything together thoroughly.
Halve & Clean
Halve the peppers and clear out the seeds and white bits. We leave the stem on for presentation.
Stuff & Bake
Fill the halved peppers with the meat mixture, arrange them in a baking dish. If you’re making a large batch, you can also place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Add a few drops of olive oil on top of each piece. Bake for about 40 minutes.
Gratin
Take the roasted peppers out of the oven for a moment and turn the heat up to 435°F (225°C).
Sprinkle the reserved cheese over the peppers and pop them back into the oven for about 5 minutes, or just until the cheese melts into a golden gratin.
Breathe in the amazing aroma of the Peperoni Ripieni - and serve the peppers piping hot!
Serving Tips & Pairings
- Herbs: Add a little basil or parsley on top.
- Olive oil: Finish with a cheeky drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.
- Salad: Pair with a bright, crunchy green or arugula salad.
- Hot: Turn up the heat by adding a few chili drops!
- Side: Serve with pasta, roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, rice or quinoa to turn it into a full and satisfying meal.
- Drinks:
- Refreshing drinks such as sparkling water with lemon, iced tea, ginger ale or Limonata help to balance the rich flavors of Peperoni Ripieni.
- Chianti, Barbera, Montepulciano and Nero d’Avola bring acidity and warm, fruity flavors that perfectly match the rich filling and sweet roasted peppers… A light blond or amber beer, or a good a Belgian tripel pairs beautifully as well; try the excellent Pezzo da Novanta!
Substitutions & Variations
- Cheese: swap Provolone for mozzarella or scamorza; replace Grana Padano with Parmesan.
- Meat: try turkey or chicken mince instead of beef and veal.
- Bread: use panko or fresh breadcrumbs if you don’t have stale bread.
- Peppers: stuff sweet mini peppers for bite-size portions and simply adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- Spicy version: add some chopped chili or chili flakes to the mixture for a more spicy version.
- Herby twist: use oregano, thyme or rosemary instead of basil and parsley.
- Mediterranean style: add olives, sun-dried tomatoes, or capers to the filling.
- Veggie option: swap the meat for a mix of mushrooms, lentils and grated zucchini.
- Airfryer: For the first stage, cook them at 180°C (350°F) for 20–25 minutes, then switch to 200°C (390°F) for 3–5 minutes to give the cheese a quick, golden gratin.
FAQs
The way to pronounce Peperoni Ripieni is
peh-peh-ROH-knee ree-PYEH-knee
with stress on ROH and PYEH and a soft Scottish ‘r’
You can prepare the stuffed peppers completely – fill them and arrange them in the dish – then cover and refrigerate them for up to 24 hours before baking.
When you’re ready, simply bake them as usual; you may need to add 5 extra minutes because they start cold.
You can also bake them fully in advance and reheat them at 150°C (350°F) for about 10–15 minutes. Super for meal planning!
Recipe
Peperoni Ripieni
Ingredients
- 10 g fresh parsley leafs
- 100 g yellow onion
- 400 g red bell pepper
- 400 g yellow bell pepper
- 10 g fresh basil leafs
- 2 pieces eggs
- 150 g ground beef
- 150 g ground veal
- 150 g Salsiccia sausage
- 200 g provolone - for the meat mixture
- 20 g provolone - for the gratin
- 50 g Grana Padano - for the meat mixture
- 20 g Grana Padano - for the gratin
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt - if ground beef is unsalted
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 150 ml milk
- 100 g old bread/ stale bread
Instructions
- Preheat the deep fryer to 350°F (180°C)
- First mix the stale, crumbled bread with the milk and let it soak.
- Peel and chop the onion into small pieces.Fry it in a little olive oil for about 2 minutes until they become translucent.
- Chop the parsley, basil and garlic and make sure the garlic is chopped really, really fine.Grate the provolone and the Grana Padano.
- Put all the beef and veal mince in a large bowl. Squeeze the meat out of the salsiccia casings and add it to the bowl.Add the soaked stale bread, the sautéed onions, the eggs, the garlic, the chopped parsley and salt and pepper (unless the meat is already salted). Also add the grated provolone and Grana Padano (reserve some for the gratin later)Mix everything together thoroughly.
- Halve the peppers and clear out the seeds and white bits. We leave the stem on for presentation.
- Fill the halved peppers with the meat mixture, arrange them in a baking dish. If you’re making a large batch, you can also place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Add a few drops of olive oil on top of each piece. Bake for about 40 minutes.
- Take the roasted peppers out of the oven for a moment and turn the heat up to 435°F (225°C).Sprinkle the reserved cheese over the peppers and pop them back into the oven for about 5 minutes, or just until the cheese melts into a golden gratin. Breathe in the amazing aroma of the Peperoni Ripieni - and serve the peppers piping hot!
Notes
Fresh parsil: Adds freshness and a light herbal flavor that brightens the filling- Yellow onion: Gives sweetness and depth once sautéed; it builds the flavor base
- Red & Yellow bell peppers: Sweet, vibrant, and perfect for stuffing, they hold their shape and add color
- Fresh Basil: Brings a classic Italian aroma and a soft, sweet herbal note
- Eggs: Help bind the filling together so it holds its shape when baked.
- Ground beef: Adds richness and a hearty, meaty flavor
- Ground veal: Makes the filling softer and more tender, balancing the beef
- Salsiccia: A flavorful Italian sausage that adds spice and extra depth
- Provolone: Adds melty cheese pull
- Grana Padano: Provides a salty, nutty flavor
- Fresh Garlic: Adds sharpness and classic Italian aroma to the filling.
- Olive Oil
- Seasalt: Check if the mince is salted, then go easy on extra salt!
- Black pepper
- Milk: Used to soak the bread, creating a soft, moist texture in the filling
- Stale bread: Soaked in milk, it lightens the meat mixture, making it tender and juicy instead of dense. It’s an old Italian trick to give the filling a perfect texture!
Nutrition
What's on the menu today or digging this recipe? Share the LOVE via email, Facebook or WhatsApp!
Have any burning questions or awesome suggestions? We're all ears and excited to hear from you!