Romanian Stuffed Peppers (Ardei

Umpluti)
I grew up with these Romanian Stuffed Peppers (Ardei Umpluti) and
to this day it's one of my favorite dishes ever. Using sweet yellow
Hungarian peppers, stuffed with a mixture of ground pork, rice and
herbs and slowly cooked in a simple tomato sauce with sour cream.

Prep Time 4.64 from 72 votes

15 mins

Cook Time
2 hrs 30 mins

Total Time
2 hrs 45 mins

Course: Dinner, Main Course Cuisine: Romanian

Keyword: ardei umpluti, romanian stuffed peppers, stuffed peppers Servings: 10
Calories: 291kcal Author: Joanna Cismaru

Ingredients
For Peppers
10 medium peppers
1½ pound ground pork
½ cup rice uncooked
1 onion chopped
1 egg
¼ cup fresh dill chopped
¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

For Sauce
2 cups tomato puree or passata
½ cup sour cream
2 cups water
½ teaspoon salt or to taste
¼ teaspoon pepper or to taste

Instructions
 1. Arrange a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 375℉.
2. Prepare the peppers by cutting off the tops of the peppers. Remove and discard any
seeds and membranes from the insides of the peppers. To keep the peppers from falling
over while cooking, cut a small flat piece off the bottom of the pepper so that it has a
more even bottom.
3. In a large bowl combine the ground pork, rice, onion, egg, dill, parsley, salt and pepper.
Mix well. Stuff each pepper really well and arrange them in a big pot standing up. I used a
large 5 quart oval Dutch Oven with a lid.
4. To make the sauce whisk together the tomato puree with the sour cream, water, salt and
pepper. Pour this over the peppers. Add more water if needed, there should be enough
water to come about half way up the peppers.
5. Cover the pot with a lid or aluminum foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours covered. Remove the lid
and continue baking for another 45 minutes to an hour uncovered. The peppers are ready
when you insert a fork in a pepper and it goes easy through the skin of the pepper and
meat, and the rice is cooked.
6. Serve these hot with lots of sauce and a dollop of sour cream on top, along side some
crusty bread for dipping in the sauce.

Notes
1. These stuffed peppers are best when made with sweet yellow Hungarian peppers or
sweet yellow dove bell peppers.
2. If you do not have tomato puree or passata you can also use tomato paste instead, about
3 or 4 tbsp and just whisk it with enough water to cover the peppers about half way
through.
3. These peppers will keep for 3 - 5 days if stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
4. Be sure the meat is cooked all the way through and that the peppers are entirely cool
before placing in the freezer. Put the peppers in a freezer safe container or wrap them
individually with plastic wrap before placing in a freezer bag. This will keep for 6 -
8 months. Allow the dish to thaw completely in the fridge before allowing to warm back
up to temperature in the oven.

Nutrition
Serving: 1pepper | Calories: 291kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat:
7g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 309mg | Potassium: 700mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A:
1020IU | Vitamin C: 105.6mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 2.3mg