Enjoy this slow cooker Italian meatball stuffed pepper recipe. served with pasta for a Sunday supper, and is a perfect dish for feeding a crowd.
I'm sharing a slow cooker, Italian meatball stuffed pepper recipe, with you today with a little help from my husband. This is a nice one that takes a little prep work. However, it easily makes 3 meals for the two of us. I think they taste even better as leftovers.
My husband makes the best meatballs and sauce I've ever tasted. He learned the basics from his Italian mother and grandmother and has perfected it over the years. One of the secrets is adding some green pepper flavor to the sauce. That is what made us think of stuffed peppers in the first place.
So we picked up some fresh bell peppers from the local farmer's market.
We stuffed the peppers with Phil's signature metaball mix and topped them with some crushed tomatoes and let the slow cooker do the work.
What kind of peppers to you need for Italian meatball stuffed peppers?
As you can see we used a mix of bell peppers. They have a nice large cavity for filling and the taste we were looking for.
Sometimes peppers except green bell peppers are fairly expensive so if you are watching your budget don't bother with the bright colored ones. The basic green ones were delicious.
If you are a spicy pepper lover I could see trying some large poblanos or wax Hungarian peppers. In fact, one of my husband's favorite appetizers is stuffed hot peppers which is similar to this recipe. They are just a lot smaller.
We ended up making seven huge stuffed peppers with pasta on the side.
They could easily be shared severing 14 people or more, but you may want a whole one all to yourself.
P.S. Since my husband is a huge lover of Italian food I've shared several recipes here on the blog that you may also like. For example, the Ever Expanding Lasagna is a great go-to and another meal for a crowd. His Homemade Stromboli is another favorite. And, for an easy weekday meal, try this Spaghetti Casserole recipe.
Italian Meatball Stuffed Pepper Crockpot Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb . meatloaf mix ground beef, ground pork and ground veal
- 2 eggs
- 2 large cloves garlic crushed
- 2 T Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 - 3/4 c Italian bread crumbs
- 1 T chopped fresh basil
- 6 large bell peppers
- 1 large can crushed tomatoes.
Instructions
- Cut the tops off the peppers save for later.
- Discard the ribs and seeds.
- Poke a couple of holes in the bottom for drainage.
- In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients.
- Fill the peppers with the filling.
- Cover with original pepper tops and place in the crockpot.
- Cover with crush tomatoes.
- Cool on low for 7-8 hours.
- Serve with pasta.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although attempts have been made to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Billie
I did make this for Thanksgiving. It was easy to make and very delicious. I will be making it again. Thank you!
Patti Estep
Thanks for letting me know Billie. My husband's meatball recipe is a big hit in this house. Glad to know you enjoyed it on Thanksgiving.
Billie
So I do not need too cook the meat before hand...it goes in the pepper uncooked?
Patti Estep
Yes. That's how we made it.
Billie
Ok thank you. I am using ur recipe for Thanksgiving.