The Best Three Meat Stuffed Italian Banana Peppers

Stuffed banana peppers are the perfect dish to impress your guests. Filled with three types of meats, cheese, and aromatic spices, they pack a flavorful punch. Coated in a zesty banana pepper sauce, these bites are sure to be a hit.

Fall is here in the ‘Burgh which means we have an abundance of banana peppers! Oh, Fall how I love you. The cooler weather, hoodies, farmer’s markets with Fall fruits and vegetables, and comfort food.

For me, I’m all about “stocking up” for the winter food-wise. I’ll make huge batches of soups or chili for both dinner and the freezer. Pans of lasagna or stuffed shells make great freezer meals and then stuffed “stuff”.

Growing up this time of year, early October was our “busy” season in the house. Mom was a canning madwoman between apple sauce, apple chutney, 87 million stuffed cabbages, and pretty much everything else she could stuff.

Growing up, I was not an adventurous eater. It wasn’t until years later did I try a banana pepper at a restaurant and was like “Whoa!  These are awesome!”. Now it did take me a few tries to get the heat level right as I will tell you this, the first time I made them they were so hot that I had a blister form in the roof of my mouth!

That is not these. *smile*

No, these stuffed banana peppers will not make you spew fire (from either end lol) but they do have some heat, naturally from the pepper itself as well as some of the filling ingredients. I’ll be honest, I like these peppers better than my traditional hot sausage stuffed peppers.

These have a more well-rounded flavor profile. Both recipes freeze beautifully but I would go with these for say a football party or even a holiday party. These tend to appeal to more people.

Plus let’s get real here for a minute.

That Spicy Banana Pepper Sauce is AMAZING! I am over the moon in love with the sauce!

When I made these our accountant was at the house helping Mr. Fantabulous with some of the remodeling. Does your accountant help you?  Yeah, it’s not typical of most people’s accountants but we’re fortunate as he’s also a really good friend AND he loves my cooking.

That day I whipped up a batch of these and OMG he went nuts over these. Like the tray you see below, he ate almost the entire tray (and no, he’s not a bigger guy either!). The few leftovers I had he took them home. And every time after that when we’d see him I’d give him a tray of frozen peppers (plus something chocolate extreme).

How To Freeze Stuffed Banana Peppers

I cook mine then freeze them. Some folks freeze raw. I don’t care for the way the pepper turns when it’s frozen raw. It gets an almost slimy texture.

1. To freeze, once baked and cooled put some Spicy Banana Pepper Sauce in a freezer pan, add the cooked (cooled) peppers, top with some more sauce, and double wrap in plastic then foil. Freeze for up to 3 months.
2. To cook later on, unwrap to remove the plastic wrap, re-cover with foil, and stick the cold pan in the oven. Set the oven to 350F and bake for 30 minutes or until the center is hot.

So next time you’re at the farmer’s market or your neighbor asks if you want some banana peppers, get them and whip up a couple of batches of this – one for dinner and one for the freezer!  These definitely will not disappoint!

Three Meat Stuffed Italian Banana Peppers

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Stuffed banana peppers are the perfect dish to impress your guests. Filled with three types of meats, cheese, and aromatic spices, they pack a flavorful punch. Coated in a zesty banana pepper sauce, these bites are sure to be a hit.

• Author: The Kitchen Whisperer
• Yield: 4-6

Ingredients

• 10–14 banana peppers
• 1lb ground pork
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (80/20)
• 1/2 pound loose Italian hot sausage
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 1/2 tablespoon garlic, minced (~5 cloves)
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1/2 tablespoon parsley
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1/2 cup tomato puree
• 1 1/4 cups grated mozzarella cheese, divided
• 3 slices bread, torn into pieces
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 Xl eggs
• 3 – 3 1/2 cups Spicy Banana Pepper Sauce (or favorite marinara)

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cut the tops off the peppers and set them aside (throwing away the stem itself reserving the tops for another use). Wearing rubber/plastic gloves, take a knife and chop off the top of the peppers and run the knife on the top about 1/4” from the tip to the top of the pepper. You do not want to split them in half; you want the pepper whole. Remove the rib and seeds; discard.
3. In a small bowl add the milk and bread. Press the bread down to ensure all of the pieces are wet. Let sit for 2 minutes.
4. In a large bowl combine the pork, beef, sausage, onion, garlic, oregano, parsley, pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, tomato paste, tomato puree, eggs, 3/4 cup of cheese and milk/bread mixture. Gently mix just to combine. The mixture should be wet but hold a shape
5. Using a large piping bag or plastic bag filled with the meat mixture (with large hole cut in the corner) pipe the mixture into the peppers. Fill the peppers up completely taking the meat to the tips of the peppers.
6. In a large baking dish ladle half of the Spicy Banana Pepper Sauce on the bottom. Lay each pepper down into the sauce. If needed make another row of peppers with sauce in between the layers or use a second tray. Spoon the rest of the sauce over top of the peppers.
7. Cover with foil tightly and bake for 40-50 minutes or until the pepper is tender and the temperature reads 165F inside the meat.
8. Remove the foil, add the rest of the cheese over top of the peppers and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until melted.
9. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

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