Orzo Stuffed Peppers are filled with a flavorful orzo, tomato and zucchini mixture and Parmesan cheese, then baked with extra Parmesan on top!
My infatuation with orzo doesn't seem to be going away. When I saw La Bella Cook's Orzo Stuffed Peppers, I knew I had to try them!
Originally I thought about stuffing tomatoes with this orzo mixture, but ultimately Bob and I decided to use the peppers. I love cooking orzo in chicken broth - it truly imparts a wonderful flavor to the pasta. This is the same method in one of my favorite side dishes, Orzo with Parmesan and Basil. We loved this dinner!!!
Recipe Details
My favorite brand of orzo is Barilla because it is thinner than other brands.
I made the entire recipe of 'stuffing' (enough for 6 peppers) and just used it to stuff 2 peppers, then baked the rest in a casserole dish to have for my lunches the rest of the week.
Gluten Free Option
Use gluten free orzo pasta in place of traditional orzo to make this recipe entirely gluten free.
Looking for More Orzo Recipes?
Check out these other recipes using orzo pasta:
Lemon Orzo Salad
Tomatoes, Zucchini and Olive Orzo
Ale Braised Sausages and Peppers with Orzo
Orzo with Parmesan and Basil
Creamy Orzo
📖 Recipe
Orzo Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 28 ounces canned petite cut diced tomatoes
- 1 zucchini (grated)
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil (plus extra for garnish if desired)
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic (grated)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 ½ cups dry orzo
- 6 sweet peppers (any color)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl. Add the zucchini, basil, cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Meanwhile, bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the orzo and cook for 4 minutes (I think you can even reduce this amount depending on the thickness of your orzo because the orzo really expands when it's cooked in the peppers). Do not fully cook.
- While the pasta cooks, prepare the peppers by cutting off the tops and scooping out the ribs and seeds.
- Pour the orzo/chicken broth into a strainer set above a 3 quart baking dish so that the broth collects in the dish. Transfer the orzo to the large bowl with the vegetables. Stir the orzo into the vegetable mix to combine.
- Fill the peppers with the orzo mixture and place in the baking dish containing the warm chicken broth. Cover the dish and bake for 45 minutes. (If using less than 6 peppers and you have leftover orzo, put it in a covered casserole dish and bake alongside).
- Remove the foil and sprinkle the top of each pepper with Parmesan cheese. Continue baking uncovered until cheese is golden, about 15 additional minutes.
- Remove from oven and carefully transfer peppers to serving dish. Garnish with extra fresh basil if desired.
Unknown says
Yum!! I've used rice and Israeli couscous for stuffed peppers, but I haven't made them with orzo yet. The filling sounds so good -- packed with lots of my favorite ingrediets.
Melissa says
I love orzo too! Looks great!
Maria says
I usually use brown rice, I can't wait to try orzo! Yum!
Kerstin says
What a yummy dinner, stuffing peppers with orzo is a great idea! I love the grated zucchini in there too.
La Bella Cooks says
I am glad to see you enjoyed these. I personally could not stop eating the orzo before I even stuffed the peppers! Awesome idea with baking off the rest as I found there was lots of stuffing left over. I will be trying that idea next!
Anonymous says
This sounds and looks good and I want to have some. This goes on my list of "to makes".
You have a beautiful blog.