Name: Who makes Europe’s best stuffed peppers?
Uploaded: 2025-12-01T16:17:56.414Z
Duration: 5 min 21 s
Description: Stuffed peppers have a long history in many European kitchens. We travel to Hungary, Bulgaria, and Albania to compare the different delicious recipes.

Stuffed peppers have a long history in many European kitchens. We travel to Hungary, Bulgaria, and Albania to compare the different delicious recipes.

Budapest

Stuffed peppers are a popular dish in many South-East European countries, with Albania, Bulgaria, and Hungary each claiming their own version as the best. The recipes and preparation methods vary, reflecting both local traditions and the historical influence of the Ottoman Empire.

In Albania, stuffed peppers are often vegetarian and made with fresh vegetables, while Bulgaria favors red peppers stuffed with pork and rice, baked and served with an egg and yogurt sauce. Hungarian stuffed peppers are typically filled with meat and rice and cooked in tomato sauce, highlighting regional differences in this beloved comfort food.

Who makes Europe’s best stuffed peppers?

In many South-East European countries stuffed peppers are a favourite dish, but which ones are the best, and how do the recipes differ? The best stuffed peppers come from Albania. Of course, they've always been a Hungarian dish. I'd say they're Bulgarian, but so many people have passed through our land that the recipes have changed over time. Even so, I think they were originally Bulgarian. We'll have a look at how this traditional dish is made in three countries. We'll start out in Albania. Seventy-three-year-old Mida Ara lives with her family north of the capital Tirana. She loves to cook, and once a week she serves up her very own stuffed peppers. The fresher the vegetables, the better they taste. For this recipe, we need bell peppers to stuff with onions and vegetables like eggplant, tomatoes, some rice, pepper and salt, garlic, oil, and mint. Albanians regard stuffed peppers as a fairly simple dish. Almost every family has their own way of making them. Mida uses her mother's vegetarian recipe. I follow the family tradition and make them without meat. I've never stuffed peppers with meat because I don't like it, though I know many others do. Now I chop the onions, eggplant and zucchini, peel and chop the tomatoes. I've washed the rice and herbs. And now I'll stuff the peppers. The mixture is cooked for 15 minutes, and then the green peppers plus filling go into the oven. We'll see the result in a bit. Like Mida, many Albanians buy their peppers at the market, or grow them in their own garden plots. All Albanians love stuffed peppers and cook them often, especially in the summer. We've always got them on the table. We stuff them with meat and spices that give them such a wonderful taste. But where did the tradition of stuffing peppers originate? Like many Southeast European countries, Albania was long a part of the Ottoman Empire. The centuries of Turkish rule left their mark, even on the cuisine. The practice of stuffing vegetables came from the Ottomans. Bulgaria's cuisine was also influenced by an Ottoman past. Today, I'll show you a traditional Bulgarian recipe for peppers stuffed with ground pork and rice. Everyone loves it. It's been popular since the 14th century. My grandmother used to fix it. The recipe's been handed down and perfected through the generations. Bulgarians prefer red peppers for their version, and most often stuff them with meat. Usually they're baked in a clay pot for about an hour and a half. Then they're smothered in an egg and yogurt sauce. Many Bulgarians make the dish at home. I love stuffed peppers, especially my grandmother's. Now my mum will be mad at me, and my wife too. If my wife hears me say this, she won't be happy. But I like them the way my mother fixes them. Hungarian cuisine is also riddled with peppers. Here too, the Ottomans introduced the pepper plant in the 16th century. It's native to Central and South America. Alongside goulash, stuffed peppers are among the most popular Hungarian dishes. Sándor Csíki likes to buy his vegetables at the farmer's market in Budapest. These are the right bell peppers. The Hungarian peppers are traditionally stuffed with meat, either ground beef or diced bacon. This is mixed with rice, egg and herbs. Then the stuffing is packed into the bell peppers and cooked in a tomato sauce, unlike their Bulgarian and Albanian counterparts, which stay closer to their Ottoman origins. The Hungarian version is completely different. Even though we moved to the north, Hungarian cuisine has evolved in a wonderful way. Like this dish. The filling still has the rice and the meaty, pasty texture, but cooking it in tomato sauce puts a new emphasis on it. On the table, the dish looks like this. Meanwhile, back in Albania, it's also time to eat. The peppers may be stuffed a bit differently in different places, but for everyone, they're a little slice of heaven on a plate.

Major rescue and recovery efforts are underway across Southeast Asia after a series of severe storms battered the region displacing millions and killing more than 1,100 people.

Nuwara Eliya

Severe storms batter Southeast Asia, displacing millions

Honduras’ presidential race is too close to call, with Nasry Asfura and Salvador Nasralla nearly tied at just under 40% each as technical glitches delay official results.

Tegucigalpa

Asfura, Nasralla in tight battle for Honduras presidency

Airbus must inspect hundreds of its A320 jets for potential quality flaws in the plane's body as a total of 628 aircraft contain panels that may be too thick or too thin due to a manufacturing issue at a supplier.

Blagnac

Airbus to inspect hundreds of A320s for defective panels

U.S. President Trump warns against actions that could ‘interfere with Syria’s evolution’ amid new Israeli incursions and strikes.

Damascus

Syria demands Israel withdraw amid escalating cross-border incursions

The White House confirmed it authorized a second airstrike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat in September, but denied it ordered everyone on board be killed, which would be considered a war crime.

Washington

U.S. authorization of second strike of Venezuelan ship questioned

Monday is World AIDS Day. It has been recognized globally since 1988, but this year, the U.S. government is not commemorating it for the first time.

U.S. not recognizing World AIDS Day this year

Operation "Swamp Sweep," a monthslong immigration crackdown centered in New Orleans, is set to begin Monday. CBS News national reporter Kati Weis has the details.

New Orleans

Immigration enforcement operation set to begin in New Orleans

Luigi Mangione, the man charged with murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was in a New York City courtroom on Monday for a pre-trial hearing focused on what evidence the jury will see. CBS News' Anna Schecter has the details.

New York

Luigi Mangione's lawyers seek to toss evidence in state murder case

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Monday that Andrew Wolfe, the second National Guardsman shot in Washington, D.C., last week, has woken up from an induced coma.

National Guardsman injured in shooting has woken up from coma

Lawmakers are questioning the massive mobilization in the Caribbean as President Trump announced airlines and pilots should consider "the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela to be closed in its entirety." It comes amid new controversy over the strikes on suspected Venezuelan drug boats that has some lawmakers raising questions over whether the Pentagon committed a war crime.

Caracas

Pentagon 'may have' committed war crime amid questions over drug boats

Steve Witkoff, one of President Trump's key envoys helping negotiate a peace proposal between Russia and Ukraine, is set to meet with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, the Kremlin says. CBS News' Ramy Inocencio reports.

Moscow

Trump envoy set to meet with Putin in Moscow, Russia confirms

Russian missiles and drones continue to hit Ukrainian cities even as U.S. negotiators try to broker a deal between the two countries. Some Ukrainians have expressed anger over President Trump's original peace plan put forward last month, saying it does not guarantee their safety.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Ukrainians express anger over Trump peace proposal as strikes continue

Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last December, is set to appear in court for hearings on evidence for his upcoming trial. CBS News' Katrina Kaufman reports.

Luigi Mangione headed to court on what evidence should be allowed

Thousands rallied outside President Isaac Herzog’s residence in Tel Aviv, urging him to reject a pardon request from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces fraud charges. Demonstrators held signs demanding accountability and warned that approval could undermine justice in Israel.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Protests in Tel Aviv after Netanyahu seeks pardon in fraud cases

The Ukrainian delegation met with U.S. officials in Miami on Sunday ahead of scheduled talks between the U.S. and Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin, later this week.

Miami

Rubio calls U.S.-Ukraine talks productive but says more work ahead

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu submitted a formal pardon request in his long-running corruption cases to the Israeli president. Herzog says he will "sincerely consider the request."

Netanyahu asks president to grant him pardon from corruption charges

Two men and two women from the Paris region have been taken into custody in connection with the theft at the Louvre last month, prosecutors said.

Paris

Four more suspects arrested over Louvre jewelery heist

Entire areas of Sri Lanka's capital were flooded on Sunday after a powerful cyclone triggered heavy rains and mudslides across the island, with authorities reporting nearly 200 dead and dozens more missing.

Colombo

Sri Lanka reels from Cyclone Ditwah as death toll nears 200

Top Trump administration officials are meeting Ukrainian negotiators in Florida this weekend, pushing to broker an end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

Florida

Rubio and Witkoff to meet with Ukraine's negotiators in Florida

President Trump intensified his pressure campaign on Venezuela on Saturday. He posted that the airspace around the country is "closed in its entirety." It comes amid growing pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to step down.

Trump declares Venezuela's airspace closed

Negotiators for Ukraine are headed to Florida for further peace talks with Trump administration officials. The visit comes amid new deadly air assaults across Ukraine.

Deadly Russian air assaults hit Ukraine amid peace talks

Approximately 24 million people across the U.S. are under winter storm alerts. Dave Malkoff and Andrew Kozak have the details on this holiday weekend's forecast and the impact.

Chicago

Major storm blasts Midwest, impacting holiday travel

Ukraine’s security services say that domestically made naval drones struck two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea, involving vessels described as part of Russia’s “shadow fleet.”

Ukraine strikes Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea

From Rome to Berlin, from São Paulo to Istanbul: the demonstration in the Italian capital, led by Global Movement to Gaza, reflects a global protest for Gaza, with thousands of people united in solidarity and justice

Rome

Thunberg joins pro-Palestine march in Rome

US President Donald Trump has said the airspace above Venezuela is to be closed. With a US task force already in the Caribbean, land operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers could soon begin.

US military threat fuels fear and uncertainty in Venezuela

More than 150 people have been killed as Cyclone Ditwah has been battering Sri Lanka with torrential rains that triggered flooding and landslides. Authorities declared a state of emergency.

Cyclone Ditwah pounds Sri Lanka with deadly force

Investigators in Hong Kong are gathering evidence at the site of the apartment block fire that killed at least 128 people. At least 150 are missing, and 11 people involved in the renovation of the complex have been arrested.

Tsim Sha Tsui

Hong Kong apartment fire survivors share how they escaped

United States President Donald Trump has said the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela is to be closed “in its entirety”, as tensions between the countries escalate. There was no immediate response by Venezuela to Trump’s social media post on Saturday.

Trump says Venezuela airspace to be shut as tensions rise

Pope Leo XIV visited Istanbul's historic Blue Mosque, officially known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, as part of his trip to Turkey.

Istanbul

Pope Leo XIV visits Istanbul's iconic Blue Mosque on Turkey trip

The Afghan man accused of shooting two National Guard members will face first-degree murder charges for an attack that prompted President Donald Trump to declare he would freeze migration from "Third World Countries" to the U.S.

Breakdown