Southern Seafood Stuffed Peppers feature cornbread stuffing laced with shrimp, spicy andouille sausage and Parmesan cheese. Remember to Share this yummy recipe!
Southern Seafood Stuffed Peppers
I must give a shout out to my friends Gary and Sue for bringing this recipe to my attention. It started when Gary posted a recipe link on Facebook after Sue made this delicious dish for dinner. Gary and Sue, Southern natives, prepared their stuffed peppers with crayfish. That sounded intriguing, so I scouted out crayfish at the local grocery store (in Fort Myers, FL.)
I noticed these crayfish were whole little creatures that seemed a little daunting to clean, so I decided to go with shrimp instead. Since we are entertaining guests at the condo this week, I decided to go with the easy and familiar vs. the new and exotic. This is a key thing to keep in mind whenever you cook and entertain. Make sure you don’t tackle more than you can handle so you can enjoy your meal and your guests!
Ingredients Tips
- Cornbread – I used a cornbread mix which made a 8 x 8 pan of cornbread (this yielded more than the 2 1/2 cups required.) You could also buy cornbread or corn muffins to make this step even easier.
- Peppers – for a nice color combination I used red and yellow peppers, which also provided a little extra sweetness. Feel free to use whatever color peppers you prefer. Optionally, you can blanch the peppers before stuffing and baking them. The original recipe doesn’t call for that, and I personally liked the crisp-tender texture. The rest of our dining party thought blanching them first would be preferred. Directions for blanching the peppers has been included.
- Andouille Sausage – I used Aidell’s Cajun Style Andouille Sausage which is readily available at most major grocery stores.
Rounding Out The Menu
These stuffed peppers come pretty close to being a 1 dish meal because they provide a nice combination of protein, vegetables and carbs. However, I always enjoy a little something fresh. So, I also served Crispy Cucumbers in Dill Dressing, as a side salad. My Brother, Jeff and Sister-in-Law, Bridget selected a nice bottle of Prosecco for our meal, which married perfectly with the shrimp, cornbread and sausage flavors.
To finish off the meal, we enjoyed home made Lemon Ice Cream, an intensely lemon, rich treat which was a great counter balance to the spicy andouille sausage.
Southern Seafood Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 lb. raw shrimp peeled, deveined and coarsely chopped
- 4 large bell peppers any color
- 2 tbsp. vegetable oil divided
- 12 oz. andouille sausage chopped
- 1 large sweet onion chopped
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 2 1/2 c. crumbled cornbread
- 1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs beaten
- 3/4 tsp. kosher salt + additional salt to taste, for seasoning shrimp
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper + additional pepper to taste, for seasoning shrimp
- 1 tbsp. snipped fresh chives optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Wash and dry bell peppers then cut in half lengthwise (do not cut tops off.) Remove and discard core and seeds. If you prefer a softer pepper, bring a pot of water to boil with enough water to cover peppers (you can use a small pot and blanch the peppers one at a time or a larger pot and blanch them all at once.) Place pepper(s) in boiling water and blanch for 2-3 minutes. Carefully remove pepper(s) from water with tongs, draining all water and set aside to cool. Note – this step is not required if you prefer a more crisp tender pepper.
- Heat 1 tbsp. oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and saute 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon to a large mixing bowl, leaving drippings in skillet. Add remaining 1 tbsp. oil and let heat briefly. Add onions and saute for 10 minutes or until lightly caramelized. Add garlic and saute 2 minutes. Scoop sauteed onions and garlic into mixing bowl. Add shrimp to skillet and season to taste season with salt and pepper. Saute for 2 minutes, until just starting to turn pink. You do not need to fully cook the shrimp because it will finish cooking when the peppers are baked. Add shrimp to the mixing bowl.
- Add crumbled cornbread, Parmesan, eggs, salt and pepper and mix well. Divide stuffing between peppers, packing it tightly. Place peppers in lightly greased baking dish or on a sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until stuffing has reached 155 degrees. Top with snipped fresh chives, if desired.
Brad and I love stuffed peppers. I might try these with glutten free stuffing mix.