Easy vegetarian stuffed peppers are filled with plant based protein for a hearty and satisfying dinner – you won’t even miss the meat.
Easy Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers – A Quick and Easy Dinner
Peppers are fun to stuff. You can stuff them with just about anything from ground meat and rice, cheese, beans, vegetables or any combination above. This recipe has a Southwest flavor and they taste great with a side salad and a dollop of fresh, homemade guacamole on the side.
I use quinoa and beans for protein, in meatless stuffed peppers recipes. When they are cooked with tomatoes the texture resembles ground meat. If you prefer meat, there are instructions below for adding meat.
Stuffed peppers are perfect for meal prep too. They can easily be made ahead of time and popped in the oven for a quick 20 minutes. Be sure to make leftovers because they are so easy to re-heat.
Here Is what you will Need to Make This Recipe
- Bell Peppers Any color is fine, or mix and match the colors for a colorful presentation
- Cooked quinoa
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Fresh Garlic
- Diced tomatoes – Fresh taste best if you have them. If not canned organic diced tomatoes will work
- Black Beans
- Cumin
- Fresh cilantro
- Fresh oregano
- Lime Juice from a lime
- Queso Fresco, Cotija or Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese
Recipe Steps
Even though the ingredients list is quite long, this recipe comes together quickly. It can be made ahead of time and baked just before eating.
- If you are starting with uncooked quinoa, get that going on top of the stove since that takes the longest to prepare. If it’s already cooked, move on to step 2.
- While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the peppers by washing them, slicing them in half and removing the membrane.
- Dice the tomatoes if you are using fresh
- Squeeze the lime juice
- Chop the garlic, onions, and fresh herbs
- Saute the garlic and onions, by this time the quinoa should be cooked, if not turn the heat off of the garlic and onions until the quinoa is ready
- Add the cooked quinoa, tomatoes, beans, cumin and chili powder to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes over low heat
- Add the lime juice and spices
- Stuff the pepper halves with the filling, top with cheese and bake.
Recipe Variations
- For a Vegan Version, leave out the cheese
- For a meaty version add 1/4 pound ground turkey, chicken or beef
You Might Also Like these Plant Based Meal Ideas
PrintVegetarian Stuffed Peppers
TASTY FOOD FACTS: Vegetarian, excellent source of vitamin C, good source of Vitamins A & B,magnesium and phosphorus
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
Ingredients
- 4 bell peppers
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes
- 2 cups black beans (canned or cooked)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro
- 2 teaspoons fresh chopped oregano
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco or shredded pepper jack cheese
Instructions
- Cut the stems off of the peppers and slice the peppers in half vertically. Remove the membrane and set peppers aside
- Add the oil to a saute pan and ad the garlic and onions – cook until they begin to soften
- Add the quinoa, tomatoes, beans, cumin and chili powder – mix well
- Next, stir in the lime juice and fresh herbs mix until all ingredients are combined
- scoop the mixture into each pepper half top with cheese and bake at 350 for 20 minutes until heated through
Notes
OPTIONS:
Vegan – omit the cheese
Meat – add 1/4 to 1/2 pound organic/sustainable ground meat of choice and reduce quinoa to 1 cup
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pepper
- Calories: 308
- Sugar: 8.7g
- Sodium: 250mg
- Saturated Fat: 1.9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5.5
- Carbohydrates: 47.8g
- Fiber: 13.1g
- Protein: 13g
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