Bob's Stuffed Banana Peppers

These stuffed banana peppers are filled with an Italian sausage mixture and baked in a delicious tomato sauce. We get requests to make this awesome recipe for banana peppers all the time from the guys my husband works with.

Ingredients

• 8 banana peppers
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 0.5 cup chopped onion
• 0.5 cup chopped celery
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 ½ teaspoons salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 0.5 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
• 0.5 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pound hot Italian sausage
• 1 pound mild Italian sausage
• 1 ½ cups bread crumbs

Steps

1. Cut off the tops of peppers. Chop edible portions of the tops; set aside. Use a small knife to slice lengthwise through one side of each pepper; remove ribs and seeds.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add peppers, reduce heat, and simmer until tender but still firm, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. Heat butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Sauté reserved chopped pepper, onion, and celery in hot butter until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and garlic. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, basil, oregano, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
5. Meanwhile, combine Parmesan cheese, egg, Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a large bowl. Mix in hot sausage, mild sausage, bread crumbs, and 1 cup tomato sauce mixture until well combined.
6. Fill each pepper with sausage mixture using a piping bag or sausage stuffer. Place in a 3-quart casserole dish; pour remaining tomato sauce mixture over peppers.
7. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven until sauce is bubbly and sausage is cooked through, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the filling should read at least 160 degrees F (72 degrees C).