Baked stuffed peppers recipe

Slow roasted peppers filled to the brim with tasty bacon, egg and cheese filling.

Some recipes really stand the test of time and this one. These baked stuffed peppers are a Women's Weekly classic, originally published in 1958. They are quite quick to prepare, then you just whack them in the oven for about an hour. This gives enough time for the cheese to melt and the flesh of the peppers to soften and sweeten. Each pepper is only 240 calories, perfect if you're looking for options for low calorie dinners. Serve with a big green salad or if you're after something more filling, bake some potato wedges in low calorie cooking spray.

Ingredients

• 6 small-medium red peppers

For the filling

• 200g (7oz) streaky bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• Small knob of butter
• 30g (1oz) breadcrumbs
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and chopped
• 45g (1½oz) finely grated Cheddar cheese
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. To make the filling: Put the bacon, onion and butter in a frying pan and cook gently for about 10 mins, until the onion is tender. Take off heat and stir in breadcrumbs, chopped egg, half the cheese and some seasoning.
2. Set the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
3. Cut tops off peppers and pull out the cores and seeds. Rinse them well. Slice a little off bottom of peppers, if necessary, so that they stand up straight. Stand them in a roasting tin.
4. Spoon the filling into the peppers and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 45 mins. Remove the foil and cook for another 10 mins, to brown the tops.

Top tips for making baked stuffed peppers

If your peppers are very oddly shaped you might have trouble getting them to sit up on their bases. Don't worry, cut them vertically down from the core instead and lay them on their side to stuff them.

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