These vegetarian stuffed bell peppers are a staple at our house, we make them at least once a month! They're super easy to put together, plus they are gluten-free and easily adapted to be dairy-free! I sometimes worry about vegetarian meals being very filling, but trust me, this recipe will leave you stuffed.
This recipe is PACKED with flavor, though not "spicy". However, if you are extra sensitive to spice, limit the amount of cayenne pepper that you add in.
If you're looking other vegetarian recipes, check out some of my other favorites:
Roasted Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese
Adapt these vegetarian stuffed bell peppers to your preferences
If you'd like these stuffed bell peppers to also be dairy-free (vegan), just leave out the cheese.
I used to make these stuffed bell peppers with rice, but I have a newly found love for quinoa--and I feel like it goes so perfectly with this recipe! That said, use whichever you prefer.
Also, as stated before, if you're sensitive to spice, only add ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper. However, if you want it to be extra spicy, try keeping in some of the seeds from the jalapeño--this will definitely add an extra kick.
You also don't need to use red, orange, and yellow bell peppers. If you don't like the flavor of one of the colors, just substitute it for another one. However, I find green bell peppers to be too bitter for this recipe--so I tend to avoid those.
If you try out these vegetarian stuffed bell peppers or any of my other recipes, I’d LOVE to hear about it. You can leave a comment below the recipe. If you post a picture on Instagram, be sure to tag me! Getting any feedback on my recipes is both rewarding AND helpful as I write and edit recipes in the future.
Now get cooking, and enjoy!
Ingredients
- 8 large bell peppers (yellow, orange, red)
- 1 ½ cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 jalapeño, seeded, diced
- 2 can (14.5 oz) black beans, drained, rinsed
- 1 can (14.5) corn, drained, rinsed
- 3 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2.5 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- ½-1 teaspoon cayenne*
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 lime
- 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro
- 2 cup shredded cheese
Toppings (optional)**
- avocado
- cholula/tapatio
- salsa
- sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut off top of bell peppers and remove the inside seeds. Fill a 9x13 glass pan with about 1 inch of water, and place bell peppers top down in the pan. Then put in the oven for about 25 minutes, until the bell peppers start to wrinkle.
- In a large sauce pan, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add diced onion and jalapeno and cook for 2-3 minutes, mixing occasionally. Add garlic, chili powder, cayenne, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and tomato paste and mix well until onions and jalapeno are well coated. Rinse quinoa in a strainer and add to the sauce pan, mix until well coated in spices. Saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Add vegetable broth to the sauce pan, mix well, turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add black beans and mix well. Cover the pan and allow to simmer on lowest heat setting for about 20 minutes, or until quinoa has absorbed all of the liquid.
- Once the bell peppers are done in the oven, take them out but leave the oven on. Remove water from the glass pan and flip the bell peppers so that they are standing right side up.
- Once the quinoa mixture is done cooking, mix in the juice from 1 lime and mix well. Then mix in corn, cilantro, and 1 ½ cups of cheese. Stir on medium heat until cheese is melted.
- Fill bell peppers with quinoa mixture. Top the bell peppers with remaining ½ cup of cheese. Put bell peppers back into the oven for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted. Top with your favorite topping--avocado, salsa, sour cream, hot sauce, etc. Enjoy!
Leave a Review