Cook up these ricotta stuffed peppers for a fun vegetarian main dish or as a tasty side! Super easy to make with just a little prep time, enjoy these cheese stuffed peppers as a meat-free family dinner with some tasty sides.
Love gooey cheesy ricotta recipes? Do have a peek at my ricotta stuffed chicken and my red pepper ricotta pasta for more tasty meal ideas!
There's something fun about stuffed chicken and veggies don't you think? These gooey herb ricotta stuffed bell peppers join my stuffed mini peppers with cream cheese for a tasty vegetarian recipe that both kids and adults alike will enjoy!
In this recipe I'll show you you how to add lots of flavor to the creamy ricotta cheese, with fragrant herbs, onion, garlic and fennel making the stuffed peppers so delicious. Then enjoy as an appetizer, main or side dish!
For more vegetarian main dishes do check out my popular shredded potato fritters, pesto ricotta pasta, gnocchi with ricotta sauce and butternut squash sauce gnocchi recipes!
Jump to:
🫑 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Some notes on a few of them:
- Bell peppers - I suggest to use red and yellow peppers as they have a delicious sweetness when roasted in the oven.
- Ricotta cheese - A mild fresh cheese, we use herbs, onion and fennel to give it extra flavor. You want to use the type of ricotta cheese that comes in a tub and is a fresh cheese.
- Fennel - for that delicious anise flavor, make sure to dice it fairly finely so it mixes in with the cheese.
- Herbs - I like to use rosemary, fresh basil and parsley, but use the fresh herbs you like best!
🔪 Step by step instructions
Making these easy ricotta stuffed peppers requires just a little prep time, and all you need is a baking dish and your fresh ingredients. No fancy kitchen equipment necessary!
All the instructions are set out in the recipe card below, but these photos should help guide you.
Step 1: Prepare the bell peppers
Slice your bell peppers in half lengthways. Leave the stalk intact but use a small spoon to remove the white membrane and seeds. Rub a little olive oil over the peppers, inside and out, and roast in the oven for 20 minutes in a baking dish (image 1).
Step 2: Cook onion, garlic and fennel
Drizzle a little olive oil into your skillet and saute diced onion, garlic and fennel, until softened (image 2). Keep the heat fairly low so you don't burn the garlic!
Step 3: Prepare the ricotta cheese filling
Combine the ricotta cheese, fresh herbs, egg yolk, onion, garlic and fennel mixture, salt and black pepper (if using) in a bowl. Stir well to combine (image 3).
Step 4: Stuff and roast the peppers
Carefully spoon the ricotta mixture into the bell peppers and then roast the peppers for 15-20 minutes (image 4). You may need to let the peppers cool slightly before adding the filling so you can more easily handle them!
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- Cut the bell peppers lengthways through the stem rather than horizontally! And don't forget to remove the hard seeds and membrane.
- Keep the stalk on the peppers as this helps them hold together as they cook in the oven.
- I suggest not to skip roasting the peppers before adding the filling. I've tried to make this recipe without pre-roasting the peppers and they were a little too hard and didn't have as much flavor.
- If you love a lot of herbs, simply add more!
📋 Frequently asked questions
Red, yellow and orange bell peppers have a delicious sweetness when roasted in the oven, while green peppers have a little bitterness. So choose the color you like best!
I do suggest to roast the peppers in the oven before adding the filling. This ensures they soften and become tender. If you don't pre-roast the peppers they can be overly hard which isn't too tasty!
🍽 How to serve cheese stuffed peppers
The beauty of these ricotta stuffed peppers is how versatile they are! Serve as a mian dish, side dish or as an appetizer! Some ideas for a filling dinner idea:
- Serve with rice, quinoa or other suitable grain. Or perhaps follow my guide to cooking frozen cauliflower rice for a veggie side!
- Pair with a chicken recipe such as my air fryer boneless skinless chicken thighs or my rosemary thyme chicken, or with a plant-based main.
- Prepare a fresh salad as a side for a lighter meal - my apple cucumber salad, cucumber beet salad and my broccoli beet salad are all so refreshing!
🥣 More vegetarian dinner ideas
Find lots of vegetarian recipes here on the site, including dinner ideas such as my asparagus risotto and my vegetable orzo soup as well as these fun recipes:
I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And I love to hear from you - so please do leave a comment and star rating ⭐⭐⭐ if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Ricotta Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 3 bell peppers
- 1 tablespoon olive oil divided
- ¼ onion finely diced
- 1 small fennel stalks and fronds removed, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced or finely diced
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoon thyme leaves diced
- 2 tablespoon basil leaves diced
- 2 tablespoon parsley leaves diced
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 390F / 200C.
- Slice the bell peppers in half lengthways and use a small spoon to remove the membrane and seeds. Rub a little olive oil over the peppers (inside and out) and place cut side up in a baking dish. Roast the peppers for 20 minutes.
- Saute the diced onion, fennel and garlic in a little olive oil in your skillet for 4-5 minutes, until softened. Keep the heat fairly low so you don't burn the garlic!
- Combine the ricotta cheese, egg yolk, fresh herbs, salt and black pepper (if using) and onion mixture in a bowl and stir well.
- Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, spoon the ricotta mixture into the peppers, dividing equally between them. Roast the cheese stuffed peppers for 15-20 minutes or until they are tender.
Notes
- Slice the bell peppers lengthways through the core rather than horizontally.
- Make sure to pre-roast the bell peppers before adding the cheese filling so they are softened and tender.
- Nutritional information is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- I suggest to use white onion, which scores 0.
- garlic, which scores 1.
- black pepper, which scores 2.
Alice Landoch says
Loved this but I would change the recipe to not cook the peppers before they are stuffed. They were way softer than they needed to be as I wanted to cook for 20 minutes the second time due to the egg yolk in the ricotta. They are yummy!!
Claire says
Hi Alice, I have tried not cooking the peppers before adding the stuffing and they were far too hard for my taste. But of course, you can not do so if you prefer. Glad you enjoyed the flavors!