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Full of a hearty lentil and rice filling and topped with a gooey layer of melted vegan cheese, these Vegan Stuffed Peppers are good for simple weeknight household dinners! Vegan and Gluten-Free.
Acquired a bunch of bell peppers mendacity round? Use them to make Vegan Stuffed Peppers! This straightforward and crowd-pleasing dinner stuffs colourful bell peppers with a meaty lentil and rice filling earlier than they’re topped with dairy-free cheese and baked to gooey perfection. Have them on the desk in about 1 hour for a household dinner to recollect!
Desk of Contents
A Meaty, Tacky, and Wholesome Weeknight Dinner
There are literally thousands of recipes for stuffed peppers everywhere in the web, and for good purpose. Who can resist a meaty filling stuffed and baked inside hollowed-out bell peppers? It’s precisely why this traditional family-friendly meal impressed my Wholesome Stuffed Pepper Soup and my Vegan Stuffed Pepper Casserole recipes.
Sometimes, stuffed peppers recipes are made with a seasoned rice and floor beef combination however my Vegan Stuffed Peppers Recipe is all about plant goodness. I seasoned cooked lentils and rice with on a regular basis seasonings and sautéed aromatics to make the simple filling. After stuffing it into halved bell peppers and topping each with vegan cheese, the peppers are baked till they’re steaming scorching and tremendous tender.
These stuffed peppers are good as a result of (1) the healthy-ish filling is full of taste and completely irresistible, particularly when paired with the roasted peppers, and (2) by par-cooking the bell peppers earlier than stuffing them, they arrive out of the oven with essentially the most smooth and tender texture.
Substances for Vegan Stuffed Bell Peppers
This successful dinner recipe is simple to make with a handful of budget-friendly substances:
- Aromatics: sautéed onion, mushrooms, garlic, and tomato paste are liable for the restaurant-quality flavors within the filling.
- Easy Seasonings: the filling is seasoned with a mix of floor cumin, Italian seasoning, and dietary yeast. If a traditional Southwestern taste is what you’re after, you possibly can exchange the Italian seasoning mix with an equal quantity of chili powder or smoked paprika.
- Lentils: cooked inexperienced or brown lentils are the primary supply of plant protein within the filling. Crimson lentils ought to work simply as effectively right here however will take much less time to cook dinner and be a lot softer.
- Rice: I used white rice however brown rice and even quinoa will bulk up the filling completely.
- Bell Peppers: clearly, you want a couple of bell peppers for this stuffed peppers recipe. Use a trio of various colours, like pink peppers, orange peppers, and yellow peppers, for a enjoyable and colourful presentation!
- Vegan Cheese: a gooey layer of melted vegan mozzarella cheese is just like the cherry on high of this stuffed pepper recipe.
Make Vegan Stuffed Peppers
- Heat the oil in a big pan over medium warmth, then add the onion and sauté till it’s beginning to brown. Subsequent, add the mushrooms and tomato paste and proceed to cook dinner. Add the garlic, cumin, Italian seasoning, and dietary yeast, and sauté till aromatic.
- Add the tomatoes, lentils, rice, broth, and salt to the pan and warmth to a boil. Scale back the warmth, cowl with a lid, and simmer till the lentils are tender.
- In the meantime, reduce the peppers in half lengthwise and take away their cores and seeds. Place them skin-side-down in a baking dish with a skinny layer of water on the underside. Season the peppers with oil, salt, and pepper, then roast for 20 minutes.
- Take the peppers out of the oven and stuff them with the rice and lentil filling. High each with cheese.
- Bake the stuffed peppers once more till the cheese is melted. As soon as finished, serve them on plates and garnish with parsley.
Caitlin’s Cooking Ideas
- Don’t skip the water within the baking dish: Par-cooking the bell peppers in a baking dish with a skinny layer of water on the underside helps the peppers nearly cook dinner via and prevents them from sticking to the underside. When you skip this step, the peppers could cook dinner inconsistently or gained’t soften as properly.
- Make the filling forward: When you’d wish to get a headstart on these stuffed peppers, make the filling 1 or 2 days forward of time and retailer it in a sealed container within the fridge. It’s an effective way to save lots of time for household dinners or meal prep!
Serving Strategies
These stuffed peppers could be served as a satisfying weeknight dinner paired with easy facet dishes. They’re scrumptious with these Garlic Inexperienced Beans, this On a regular basis Kale Salad, these Dijon Garlic Roasted Potatoes, and a bowl of this Roasted Tomato Soup. And for additional particular meals, make a batch of my Pesto Star Bread to serve on the facet.
When you’re on the lookout for extra vegan stuffed pepper recipes, you’ll additionally love these Kale & Quinoa Stuffed Peppers and these Curried Lentil Stuffed Peppers!
Retailer Leftover Stuffed Peppers
The leftover stuffed peppers will maintain for as much as 5 days within the fridge and as much as 2 months within the freezer. Bear in mind to allow them to cool fully earlier than transferring them to an hermetic container or freezer-safe bag.
To reheat, place the peppers in a baking dish and heat them in a 350ºF oven for quarter-hour (or a bit longer if frozen) or till heated via. You can too reheat them within the microwave for about 1 to 2 minutes.
Substitutions and Variations
- Oil-Free: Omit the oil and sauté the greens with water or vegetable broth as an alternative. Add extra liquid to the pan as wanted if the filling seems to be dry at any level.
- Dry Lentil Substitute: Make this with 1 to 1 1/4 cups of pre-cooked or canned lentils as an alternative of dry lentils. Add the lentils to the pan in step 3 of the recipe and cut back the vegetable broth to solely 3/4 cup.
- Lentil Substitute: Or, if you happen to don’t need to use lentils, substitute them with an equal quantity of canned white beans, black beans, or store-bought vegan beef as an alternative. Sauté the “beef” within the pan with the onions and mushrooms till it’s browned and simmer the filling for about quarter-hour or till the rice is tender.
- Topping Concepts: Be happy to high the roasted peppers with basil leaves, a drizzle of vegan pesto, diced avocado, a dollop of vegan bitter cream, or a sprinkle of vegan parmesan cheese.
Recipe FAQs
Sure! Par-cooking the peppers within the oven for 20 minutes helps them soften so the ultimate bake time could be as speedy as doable.
This could occur while you roast the peppers for too lengthy or if there may be an excessive amount of water within the baking dish.
Sure, you may make this with day-old cooked rice or quinoa as an alternative. Add it to the filling after the lentils are cooked.
Sure, the filling on this stuffed peppers recipe is inherently gluten-free.
Take pleasure in! When you make this recipe and determine to share it on Fb or Instagram, don’t neglect to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I might additionally adore it if you happen to may depart a remark beneath with a recipe ranking! Thanks for the help 😊
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Prep: Preheat the oven to 400F and set a 9×13” baking dish apart.
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Filling: Heat the oil in a big sauté pan over medium warmth. Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes, till translucent and starting to brown. Add mushrooms and tomato paste and sauté for a further 3 to five minutes. Lastly, add the garlic, cumin, Italian seasoning, and dietary yeast (if utilizing). Sauté for 1 to 2 extra minutes, till aromatic.
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Simmer: Add the tomatoes, lentils, rice, broth, and salt. Convey to a boil over excessive warmth, then cut back the warmth to medium-low; cowl and simmer for 28 to half-hour, till the lentils are tender.
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Roast the Peppers: Within the meantime, reduce the peppers in half lengthwise and take away their cores and seeds. Add 1/2 cup of water to the baking dish so there’s a skinny layer of water throughout the underside. Organize the pepper halves skin-side-down within the baking dish; brush or spray with oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast peppers within the center rack of the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes.
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Stuff: Take away the peppers from the oven; if any of the peppers have liquid of their facilities I wish to dump it out. Generously stuff every pepper with the cooked lentil and rice filling, making a mound on the highest of every pepper half. Sprinkle the peppers with cheese.
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Closing Bake: Return the baking dish to the highest rack of the oven and bake for 10 extra minutes. If the cheese continues to be not melted, you possibly can broil the peppers for 1-2 extra minutes till they attain your required doneness.
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Serve & Retailer: Sprinkle the peppers with chopped parsley, then serve heat. Retailer any leftovers within the fridge for as much as 5 days, or you possibly can freeze these vegan stuffed peppers for as much as 2 months.
- Gluten-Free: This recipe is gluten-free as written!
- Oil-Free: Omit the oil and sauté the greens in step 2 with water or vegetable broth.
- Cooked Lentils: You may also make this recipe with pre-cooked or canned lentils. Add 1-1 1/4 cups of cooked lentils to the sauté pan together with the opposite substances in step 3. Scale back the vegetable broth to solely 3/4 cup.
Energy: 477kcalCarbohydrates: 72gProtein: 17gFats: 15gSaturated Fats: 3gPolyunsaturated Fats: 2gMonounsaturated Fats: 7gSodium: 848mgPotassium: 1208mgFiber: 18gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 4286IUVitamin C: 176mgCalcium: 170mgIron: 7mg
