Unstuffed Puttanesca Pepper Casserole

I had a friend share a recipe for Puttanesca Stuffed Peppers and while I love stuffed peppers I always hate the extra work they take so unstuffing them was top on my list for modifications! I also recently made this in a crockpot and tweaks are listed at the bottom. I hope you enjoy!

Unstuffed Puttanesca Pepper Casserole

1lb grassfed beef

1lb ground pork

2 tbsp olive oil 

1/2 yellow onion diced

2 bell peppers, cleaned & chopped

1 cups uncooked white rice, cooked per directions

28oz of marinara of choice

3/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped

3C spinach 

2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend (Trader Joe’s)

Salt/pepper/garlic powder to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sauté peppers and onion in olive oil until softened, add ground burger and cook through. Add kalamata olives and spinach and cook until wilted. 

In a large bowl mix cooked rice, meat, veggie and olive mixture, and marinara. Spread mixture into a deep 9x13lb and top with cheese. 

Cook covered for 30 minutes, cover and cook for 10-15 more minutes or until cheese is golden brown for a total of 45 minutes. 

To make in a crockpot follow first set of instructions with sauteeing peppers and onions in a pan until soft and then add ground meat to cook through. Add spinach to wilt and stir in marinara. In the crockpot add 1 cup of rice and 1 cup of water. Pour in meat mixture and stir to combine. you can add cheese on top at this stage or add with 30 minutes to cook at the end. Cook on low 4 hours.