Gefullte Paprika (German Stuffed Peppers)

About This Recipe

Gefullte Paprika is a straightforward, comforting dish found across German home kitchens, bell peppers hollowed and filled with a mixture of ground beef, rice and onion, seasoned simply with paprika and marjoram. The stuffed peppers simmer directly in a light tomato sauce rather than being baked dry, which keeps them tender and lets the peppers soften fully while the filling absorbs some of the surrounding sauce. A dollop of sour cream stirred into the finished sauce is a distinctly German touch, adding richness and a gentle tang, and the dish is traditionally served with boiled potatoes to soak up the extra sauce.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 6bell peppers
• 500 gground beef
• 1onion(diced)
• 1 cupcooked rice
• 1egg
• 1 tsppaprika
• 1/2 tspdried marjoram
• 1.5 tspsalt
• 1/2 tspblack pepper
• 2 tbspvegetable oil
• 2 cupscrushed tomatoes(for sauce)
• 1 cupbeef stock(for sauce)
• 1/2 cupsour cream

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the peppers

   Cut the tops off the peppers, remove seeds and membranes, and set aside.

2. 2

   Make the filling

   Combine ground beef, onion, cooked rice, egg, paprika, marjoram, salt and pepper until well mixed.

3. 3

   Stuff the peppers

   Fill each pepper generously with the beef mixture.

4. 4

   Brown briefly

   Heat oil in a wide pot and briefly sear the stuffed peppers on their bottoms, about 3 minutes.

5. 5

   Add sauce

   Pour crushed tomatoes and beef stock around the peppers.

   Simmer the peppers directly in the tomato sauce rather than baking them dry — this keeps the peppers tender and the filling moist throughout.

6. 6

   Simmer

   Cover and simmer 35-40 minutes until the peppers are tender and the filling is cooked through.

7. 7

   Finish

   Stir sour cream into the sauce just before serving.

Variations

• •

  A version with ground pork mixed with the beef gives a slightly richer flavor.

• •

  Adding fresh parsley to the filling brightens the flavor.

• •

  Serving over egg noodles instead of potatoes is a common variation.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 4 days in an airtight container; reheat gently on the stove, as the sour cream sauce can separate if boiled too hard.

Frequently Asked Questions