With Halloween around the corner, it's hard not to get caught up in the festivities and one of our favourite traditions is pumpkin carving. But why stop at pumpkins when you can bring that same fun to the dinner table by making Jack-O-Lantern Stuffed Peppers! Using orange peppers and a little creativity it can be so much fun carving a jack-o-lantern face into the pepper before stuffing it with a delicious mix of sausage and rice and baking for a super easy and festive Halloween dinner.
To make your own Jack-O-Lantern Stuffed Peppers you’ll need the following:
- 2-3 Orange Peppers
- 2lbs Mild Italian Sausage, casing removed
- 2 cups Cooked Rice
- 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Baking Sheet Pan
- Begin by preheating your oven to 350F.
- Wash your peppers then cut the top off and scoop out all the seeds and membrane.
- Now it’s time to get creative, carefully use a paring knife to cut jack-o-lantern faces into the sides of the peppers. Let your imagination go crazy with this one, but be aware that the peppers will warp and shrink slightly as they cook so make sure not to do too small of details!
- In a large mixing bowl mix the mild Italian sausage meat, cooked rice and cheese.
- Stuff the sausage mixture inside of the peppers over filling by approximately 1/2 inch.
- Place the stuffed peppers onto a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the sausage filling reaches a temperature of at least 165F in the middle. If the peppers are getting too browned you can loosely cover the tray with tin foil.
- Remove the peppers from the oven and let rest on the counter for 10-15 minutes before serving!
These are so much fun to make, and just as much fun to eat. You can swap out the mild Italian sausage for any other type of sausage you enjoy to change up the flavour! If you want to see us making these Halloween stuffed peppers you can watch that YouTube video here!