Ciao friends! This Caponata Stuffed Bell Pepper recipe is legit. When I was a kid, my mom was a waitress at an Italian restaurant called Pasta Primavera (which still exists, by the way!). Hands down, they have the best caponata ever. They bring it out with your bread (so you can dip the bread in the caponata!) and it’s oh my gosh drool worthy. I can still remember the taste and it’s been at least a decade since I’ve enjoyed it!
Caponata is a Sicilian dish that is mostly pan-fried eggplant with olive oil. It’s sweet but has a sour taste as well from all the herbs and capers. The restaurant my mom worked at blended the caponata up so it was like a semi-smooth salsa. It’s so delicious!
This recipe tries to honor my memory of the caponata. I knew I wanted to make a meal out of it versus a dip, and entertained ideas like stuffed sweet potato (which would still be yummy!). I landed on the bell pepper because I love stuffing bell peppers with deliciousness, which I figured was a pretty good reason!
This recipe is fairly simple. Saute all the filling ingredients and then stuff the bell peppers. Toss in the oven for 40-ish minutes and voila! You’ll be transported to Pasta Primavera – sans the bread, plus the bell pepper & sausage. If you’re Whole30-ing, skip the mozzarella. I tried with and without cheese and both versions were good. You won’t miss out on too much, I promise.
I would not recommend this meal during the week unless you prep the filling and stuff the bell peppers ahead of time. It would simply take too long and I don’t want to lie to you!
Currently I am thousands of feet in the air jetting toward Phoenix to visit my family. I have 27% left on my computer and we’re going through some serious turbulence, so I need to cut this short.
So without further ado, I present to you the recipe! Please enjoy and let me know if you try it!
- 1.5 pounds eggplant
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (8 oz) jar sundried julienned tomatoes
- 1½ cups marinara sauce
- 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp of capers, drained
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ⅓ cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
- 6 bell peppers
- Mozzarella
- Pine nuts
- Parsley
- Basil
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Peel the eggplant, then dice into ½ inch cubes.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil from the sundried tomatoes in a large pan over medium heat. Once heated, add the onion, garlic and eggplant. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add sundried tomatoes (and all of the oil), marinara sauce, capers, vinegar and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, cook the sausage in a large skillet. When cooked through, drain the grease.
- Add the sausage and chopped basil to the eggplant mixture and stir well.
- Cut the tops off the bell peppers and remove seeds and ribs. Fill each bell pepper with the sausage/eggplant mixture, and add mozzarella (if desired). Place filled bell peppers on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
- Cover the bell peppers with aluminum foil to avoid burning, then bake in the oven for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, remove the foil and continue baking for 10-15 minutes longer, just until the top crisps up and the cheese browns slightly.