Sausage and Bacon Stuffed Green Bell Peppers Recipe with Freezing Tips

Every year we plant a backyard garden and one of the veggies that we plant is bell peppers. We will like to plant 5 green, 1 yellow and 1 red bell pepper plants every year. We start harvesting them in mid July through the end of September. Throughout the growing season I will make a variety of different bell pepper recipes and freeze them for later use.

* This post contains affiliate links.

When it comes to freezing them…I like to freeze the pepper shells separately from the filling. I will hollow out my bell peppers, place them onto a baking sheet and pop them into the freezer for 2 hours. I then remove them and place 6-8 shells in a freezer bag, purge out the air and freeze them. I like to place the filling (fully cooked into plastic freezer containers) and will freeze that separately.

During the winter season I will thaw out the filling overnight in my refrigerator. The next morning I take out a bag of shells and place that into the refrigerator. Later in the day I will stuff them and bake them in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 40-50 minutes.

The following recipe is one that I use if I’m going to make and serve them the same day. If not…I just do all of the prep work and cook-up the filling portion using the recipe to freeze for later use. Below the recipe you’ll find another frugal tip preparation tip.

Sausage and Bacon Stuffed Green Bell Peppers Recipe

6 to 7 large green bell peppers
1 lb. lean ground pork sausage
6-7 slices of cooked bacon
1/8 cup finely chopped onion
1 small can diced tomatoes with juice
1 medium can tomato sauce
2 cups uncooked white rice
1 tablespoon basil
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheese (your favorite)

Wash bell peppers, remove stem & seeds, set aside. Cook up the white rice until almost done. It should be el dente. Drain away water and set aside.

n a large frying pan simmer the lean ground pork sausage with the finely chopped onion over medium heat until beef is done. Drain away grease, set aside. Frying up the bacon until well-done. Place slices on a paper towel to drain away the grease. You’ll need to reserve 2 slices of bacon to use for the topping. Crumble up the remaining slices to toss into the filling.

In a large mixing bowl combine together all of the above ingredients EXCEPT for the shredded cheese. Spoon filling into the shells of the green bell peppers or into the shells of large tomatoes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place peppers and/or tomatoes into a large baking dish and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove. Top each pepper or tomato with a small piece of cooked bacon and shredded cheese. Place baking dish back into the oven for 5-8 minutes to melt cheese. Remove and serve immediately.

Additional Tip: I try to waste NOTHING as food is expensive. I will cut the tops off of my bell peppers and remove the stem. I then chop up (dice) the little pepper ring that remains. I place the diced pieces into a small freezer storage bag for later use. I can use those pieces when baking a pizza, to toss into our omelets or scrambled eggs, into meatloaf, a homemade veggie soup, etc. You can get enough to fill a “snack size bag” if you’re trimming the tops off of 6-10 peppers, depending on their size. What you see if my photograph was the top from one which would normally be tossed away. Purge air out of your freezer bag, label and freeze. It’s always nice to have a little of this on hand throughout the winter season.

* This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, we may or may not receive a small commission which helps to support this site. Thank you!