Smoked Stuffed Peppers

Smoked Stuffed Peppers are the perfect way to cook peppers on the smoker. Fill them with sausage and cheese, and let the grill add that perfect smoky flavor! They are easy to make and a great appetizer or main dish.

Grilling peppers is one of our summertime favorites. If you grow your own peppers in the garden, this is a great way to use them up and add in some extra protein while you're at it.

Mini peppers are always a hit, but this same cooking process and technique can be used with bell peppers, poblano peppers, and even jalapeno peppers as well.

Love this recipe? Try our Smoked Stuffed Mushrooms next! And our Smoked Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe!

Ingredients

• Mini peppers - Mini peppers are easy to prep, colorful, and fast to cook. They also have a sweet flavor that pairs nicely with the stuffing mixture. 
• Sausage - You can use mild sausage, Italian sausage, or hot sausage, so change it up and enjoy. You can add raw meat. It will cook as the peppers cook.
• Rice - I like to use white rice but brown rice would work too.
• Mozzarella cheese - This is our go-to shredded cheese for this recipe, but change it up. Cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese, or even a Colby blend would be great. 
• Marinara sauce - This is what holds all the ingredients together in the pepper. (and adds great flavor) 
• Kosher salt and black pepper - These can be added to taste.

How to Make Smoked Stuffed Peppers

Step One: Preheat smoker to 225.

Step Two: Mix together the sausage, rice, cheese, marinara, salt, and pepper.

Step Three: Divide the sausage mixture between the pepper halves.

Top Tip: Pack the mixture into the peppers tightly so that you can squeeze in as much as possible.

Step Four: Smoke the peppers for an hour or until the sausage filling reaches 160.

Storage

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or oven.

These can also be frozen for 2-3 months. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap.

Variations

• Use other meats - Ground meat (ground chicken, ground turkey, ground beef, or ground pork) would be great for this.
• Panko - Swap out the rice for some panko bread crumbs.
• Cream cheese - If you want to add a bit of creaminess, you can opt to use cream cheese (or even smoked cream cheese) in place of the marinara.
• Use bell peppers or red peppers - Any type of pepper will work! Green peppers are not as sweet and will take longer to cook because they tend to be larger.
• Vegetables - Love some heat? Go ahead and make this using jalapenos or poblanos. Finely chop up some onions and carrots and add them to the filling. Mix in some spinach. The possibilities are endless.
• Sauce - You can opt to use tomato sauce instead of marinara. You will just want to flavor it since it can be bland. Add some heat by using some red pepper flakes! Or try them with smoked tomato sauce.
• Garlic - Chop a couple of garlic cloves and mix them into the filling. Use smoked garlic for extra flavor.

Want a vegetarian version? Try these Mexican vegetarian stuffed peppers.

Common Questions

Can I make this pepper recipe in the oven?

Yes, you can cook stuffed peppers in the oven. I recommend actually cooking the sausage in a skillet first, so that way you know that it's done all the way. You can then add the cooked sausage to the rest of the filling and cook it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 60 minutes or so.

Just make sure that you're keeping an eye on the peppers, no matter the cooking method. The outside of the peppers may start to turn darker in coloring, but you don't want them to burn. Cooking them on the grill or in the oven is a cooking method that takes a bit longer but it's so that the peppers don't burn.

How do I keep the peppers from sticking to the grill grate?

No matter if you're using mini peppers or bell peppers, it's always a good idea to spray the grill grate or add a little bit of oil on top before adding.

Some people actually like to also toss the peppers in olive oil or coconut oil after cutting them in half, as this helps to "coat" them so that the bottoms won't stick while they're cooking.

What is the best way to prep a pepper?

Start by washing off the peppers and then cutting off the stem on top. You can then halve all the peppers, and scoop out any seeds that are inside.

Once the inside of the pepper is hollow and cleaned out entirely, you can then start adding in the mixture a tablespoon at a time until they're full and ready to put on the pan or on the grill grate.

Recipe

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Originally Published July 25, 2022. Revised and Republished February 17, 2026.