Orzo Stuffed Peppers
Updated March 26, 2019
One of my favorite meals is Orzo Stuffed Peppers. We make stuffed peppers frequently in the summer because we can find the most beautiful sweet bell peppers at the farmers market for super cheap. The other day peppers were on sale so we decided to bring a little summer sunshine to our cold winter day by making orzo stuffed peppers for dinner.
We use yellow, orange, or red peppers and stuff them with orzo, spinach, tomatoes, garlic, onion, basil, and cheese. We like to use mozzarella cheese and Pecorino Romano. We put a little in the mix and sprinkle some on top of the peppers when they are almost finished baking. Stuffed peppers can be served as a side dish or main dish. We usually serve our stuffed peppers with a side salad and call it good. They are pretty filling. I try to not eat the entire pepper so I can have leftovers, but I am always licking my plate clean.I can’t help it, they are too tasty!
If you are looking for a new dinner idea, try Orzo Stuffed Peppers.
Orzo Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups fresh spinach leaves roughly chopped
- 1 28 ounce can can diced tomatoes
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 cups orzo
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese plus more for sprinkling on top
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese plus more for sprinkling on top
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves finely chopped
- 6 sweet bell peppers red, yellow, or orange
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
- 2. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for two more minutes. Stir in the spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat.
- 3. Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl and stir in the spinach mixture. Set aside.
- 4. Meanwhile, bring the vegetable broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the orzo and cook for five minutes. The orzo should be only partially cooked because it will finish cooking in the oven. Strain the orzo pasta, making sure you save the vegetable broth.
- 5. Stir the orzo into the tomato spinach mixture. Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the basil.
- 6. Pour the vegetable broth into a 3-quart baking dish. Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all ribs and seeds. Cut a very thin slice from the base so the peppers will stand up in the baking dish.
- 7. Place the peppers in the baking dish and spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 40- 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle the top of each pepper with additional cheese and continue baking until the cheese is golden, about 15 minutes.
- 8. Remove from the oven and let peppers sit for five minutes. Serve warm.
Have you tried this recipe?
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If you like these Orzo Stuffed Peppers, you might also like:
Southwestern Stuffed Peppers from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Dad’s Stuffed Bell Peppers from Simply Recipes
Stuffed Peppers from This Week for Dinner
Love Love Love Stuffed Peppers! Beautiful Maria!
I make stuffed peppers all the time in the summer too! I love the yellow ones! These look so flavorful and delicious! Yum!!
Gorgeous Maria! This is such a great dish.
Great post!
Lovely combination of flavors and a perfect meatless meal and one that even my carnivorous clan would eat!!
this look delicious. There aren’t enough recipes for orzo and this just seems so tasty. Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
These look delicious. I grew up on stuffed peppers…LOVE them.
What a beautiful and healthy dish! Love that you used orzo instead of rice. 🙂
This recipe looks so healthy and delicious. I’m going to have to make this for me and my daughter soon (my hubby doesn’t like peppers…but I bet he’d like what’s in ’em!).
Yum!
I just made orzo stuffed peppers too and loved how they reminded me of summer – yours look fabulous!
I enjoy these in the summer time as well and I always love the vibrant colors of the peppers. The slightly browned cheese on top looks inviting too!
These look delightful, Maria. I love peppers, and stuffing them with orzo just makes them seem all the more inviting.
I love all the ingredients of the stuffing, the orzo, the spinach the tomatoes and of course the cheese! I could eat this every day.
The pictures are gorgeous! and these peppers looks delicious, the filling having such a great combination of flavours!
This pepper recipe looks so tasty. I love orzo, and am excited to pair it with peppers!
Love orzo and Israeli couscous too interchangeably. Stuffed bell peppers many times with rice but never with orzo. Dish looks fresh and healthy!! btw stumbled you!
Thank you:)
Looks amazing Maria. I love love love orzo!
I very nice meatless meal though I bet my hubs would be voting to add some sausage to the mix 😉
These look lovely! I always get so many bell peppers from our CSA during the summer, so I will save this recipe so that I know what to make when I start to run out of ideas for all of those peppers!
Such a bright, cheery summer dish. Lovely.
Yum! I love stuffed peppers. Looks great.
Looks awesome! I love the colorful peppers so much better than green 🙂
oh these look amazing. I’m going to have to try this, I wonder if my husband would eat it??
In India we stuff our peppers with anything and everything! We use potatoes, rice, chickpea flour n even paneer n meat but stuffing with orzo pasta sounds SO wonderful! next time I’m stuffing my bell peppers with some orzos 🙂
Thanks for sharing the recipe my frnd!
I love stuffed peppers, but honestly always forget about them! This looks good.
My grandma used to cook alot with orzo when we were kids – it brings back memories! I love stuffed peppers, but I’ve never done them with orzo. Definitely something I will have to try next time peppers are on sale here!
Love orzo and great idea to stuff in into a pepper. It’s so pretty!
I needed one more dinner for my menu this week, when I remember you made this one. I think I’m going to try it. It looks delicious.
I hope you like the stuffed peppers!
This looks great Maria! Stuffing peppers is something I always forget to do. It’s a dinner that I really like, especially with that yummy filling!
Maria and Josh, I just wanted to let you know that I made these last night and they were delicious! I halved the peppers the long way so that they laid flat more easily, and served them as a side dish to grilled chicken. Thanks for the recipe – it’s a keeper! 🙂
Thanks for the wonderful recipe! I made them last night and my husband and kids gobbled them up!!
I’m making these tonight but substituting the orzo for brown rice (couldn’t find any in the supermarket!). How do these store for re-heating/how would you re-heat them? I’m planning on having them as leftovers later in the week.
You can reheat in the microwave or cover with foil and heat in the oven at 350.
I just put these in the oven – can’t wait! Thank you for sharing the recipe. 🙂
PS – Switched the Orzo to Quinoa and hoping for the best!
Thanks for the great recipe! It was light and delicious–perfect for a summer dinner.
I love your recipe and make these all the time. I make mine Greek style. I use a package of feta cheese, zest of one lemon, juice of one lemon and crushed tomatoes instead of diced. I find the filling freezes well, so I make a double-batch of it and freeze half. These are not “your mother’s” stuffed peppers.
I notice in your recipe you mention when to add basil, could you please clarify
Sorry you didn’t mention when to add basil
Can I make these ahead and reheat or do they get soggy?