Easy, pretty, and oh-so-delicious, Seafood Stuffed Bell Peppers are a tasty and elegant meal. The light and tasty seafood stuffing is tucked inside each bell pepper, making this dish a unique and yummy way to enjoy all your favorite flavors.
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I looooove seafood, but I’m not always in the mood for shrimp, salmon, or any of my other favorite dishes. And, when I don’t have fresh seafood on hand, I can get similar flavors in a delicious dish with ingredients that I usually have. Plus, when you stuff bell peppers, they make a pretty presentation that’s sure to impress – just don’t tell anyone how easy this is to make!
What you’ll love about Seafood Stuffed Peppers
- They’re pretty AND delicious!
- Make the stuffing ahead of time, and then dinner is a breeze!
- Tastier (and cheaper) than store-bought or restaurant fare.
Ingredients
You need bell peppers – red peppers are my favorite for this dish, but any color peppers will do, and the seafood stuffing. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Bell peppers – You need 2 peppers, cut in half.
- Cooked rice – White or brown
- Stuffing mix – I used chicken flavored Stove Top stuffing.
- Imitation crab – Or splurge for the real stuff!
- Baby shrimp – See my notes below on shrimp.
- Celery – Diced small.
- Onion – Diced small.
- Red bell pepper – Diced small.
- Butter – Salted or unsalted is fine.
- Cream cheese
- Seafood broth or stock – Or chicken broth/stock
- Garlic – Fresh is best!
- Old Bay seasoning
- Dill – Fresh is best!
- Parsely – Fresh and chopped fine.
Recommended
How To Buy Shrimp For Shrimp Stuffed Peppers
It’s important that you don’t use any raw ingredients in this recipe because it would be hard to get the stuffing sufficiently cooked without greatly overcooking your peppers.
For this recipe, I use baby shrimp – or salad shrimp. They’re precooked and already deveined and shelled. Soo super easy to use!
If you can’t find salad shrimp (or baby shrimp), buy small pre-cooked shelled and deveined shrimp and chop them into smallish pieces.
How To Make Seafood Stuffed Bell Peppers
For a complete list of ingredients and instructions, please scroll down to the recipe at the bottom of this page.
To make the dressing:
- Saute the diced celery, onion, red bell pepper, and garlic in the butter until the veggies are tender.
- Stir in the cream cheese until it has melted.
- Add the sauteed vegetable mixture to a medium-sized bowl and add in the rice, stuffing mix, imitation crab, shrimp, Old Bay, dill, and parsley. Mix well.
- Add the seafood broth (or chicken stock) and mix until the stuffing cubes have just started to soften. Mix well. Don’t worry, the veg and seafood will give off more liquid, and your stuffing will be soft and delicious.
To Assemble:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 375-F.
- Cut the bell peppers in half, from stem to tip, and remove the seeds.
- Lay the halved bell peppers on the baking sheet and stuff each with about 3/4 cups of seafood stuffing. Don’t pack it in too tightly, and let it mound over the top.
- Top each half with a tablespoon of butter and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the peppers are fork-tender.
- Serve and enjoy!
Chef Jenn’s Tips
- Make the stuffing ahead of time or even prepare the recipe up until it’s time to cook it, to make dinner a breeze.
- Don’t pack the stuffing into the pepper, or it’ll be dense and tough. Lightly press it in, and don’t worry if it is mounded over the top.
- The stuffing needs to be heated through (unless you’re using raw seafood in it), so don’t overcook the peppers.
Make It A Meal
Wondering what to serve with Seafood Stuffed Peppers? Here are some tasty suggestions to turn this into a delightful meal:
- Smoked Asparagus – Or just steamed asparagus – asparagus loves seafood!
- Au Gratin Potato Stacks – Creamy and cheesy, these would be a lovely side.
- Spinach, Asparagus & Fennel Salad – Keep things light with this tasty salad.
- Grilled vegetables – Always a tasty pick.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! The seafood stuffing can be made ahead of time (and even frozen), then all you need to do is stuff the peppers and bake them.
Yes! Everything is edible unless you leave some of the stems on the peppers.
No, this recipe is not gluten-free. There’s bread in it – to keep it gluten-free, you’d have to swap out the stuffing mix for a gluten-free brand.
Step By Step Process
Seafood Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 2 bell peppers sliced and seeds removed
- 1/2 cup cooked white rice
- 1/2 cup stuffing mix
- 1/4 cup butter divided
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1/4 cup diced bell pepper
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon cream cheese
- 4 ounces baby shrimp
- 2 ounces imitation crab meat
- 1 tablespoon chopped dill
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons chicken broth
Instructions
- Saute the diced celery, onion, red bell pepper, and garlic in 2 tablespoons of butter until the veggies are tender, about 6 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the cream cheese until it has melted.
- Add the sauted vegetable mixture to a medium-sized bowl and add in the rice, stuffing mix, imitation crab, shrimp, Old Bay, dill, and parsley. Mix well.
- Add the chicken broth and mix until the stuffing cubes have just started to soften. Mix well. If your mixture is still hard and really dry, add 1 tbsp of broth at a time until the mixture starts to soften.
- Stuff each half of bell pepper with about 3/4 cup of stuffing, pressing it in lightly and mounding it on the top.
- Add 1/2 tablespoon of butter to the top of each stuffed bell pepper and bake them in a preheated 375-F oven for 20-25 minutes or until heated through and the peppers are fork tender.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
A Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.
