These peppers have been a favorite meal in our household for years.
The filling is warm and hearty, and when stuffed into tender bell peppers, the presentation is pretty enough to serve to company– without too much additional effort.
As you may know, quinoa is a gluten-free “pseudograin” that is loaded with all of the essential amino acids the body needs, making it a complete source of protein. Paired with sauteed vegetables, beans, and a rich marinara sauce, it makes for a warm and filling meal during these cold winter months. In case you have allergy concerns, it’s also nut-free and dairy-free!
This recipe is easily adaptable, so feel free to use any seasonable vegetables you have on hand. You can taste and adjust the seasoning as you go, so it’s practically fool-proof!
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Quiona Stuffed Peppers (Vegan)
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
1/2 cup dry quinoa
1 cup water
4 bell peppers, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds and white pith removed
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup chopped mushrooms (about 4 ounces)
1 zucchini, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can white cannellini beans (about 1 1/2 cups cooked beans)
1 cup marinara sauce, plus more for serving
Sea salt and black pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Combine the quinoa and water in a small saucepan and bring the water to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat, cooking until the quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
Place the bell peppers cut-side down on a baking sheet and bake them for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
In the meantime, melt the coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat and saute the onion until it starts to become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic, mushrooms and zucchini, and saute until all of the vegetables are tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add in the cooked quinoa, beans, and marinara sauce, and stir well to combine and adjust the seasoning to taste. Arrange the cooked bell peppers cut-side-up and spoon the filling into each pepper. It should generously fill 4 bell peppers. Spoon additional marinara sauce over each pepper to help prevent them from drying out, then bake for 30 minutes at 350F, until the peppers are very tender. Serve warm, with additional marinara sauce, if you like.
Quinoa Stuffed Peppers (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dry quinoa
- 1 cup water
- 4 bell peppers , sliced in half lengthwise, seeds and white pith removed
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 small onion , chopped
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms (about 4 ounces)
- 1 zucchini , chopped
- 1 (15-ounce) can white cannellini beans (about 1 1/2 cups cooked beans)
- 1 cup marinara sauce , plus more for serving
- Sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Combine the quinoa and water in a small saucepan and bring the water to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat, cooking until the quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
- Place the bell peppers cut-side down on a baking sheet and bake them for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- In the meantime, melt the coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat and saute the onion until it starts to become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic, mushrooms and zucchini, and saute until all of the vegetables are tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add in the cooked quiona, beans, and marinara sauce, and stir well to combine and adjust the seasoning to taste. Arrange the cooked bell peppers cut-side-up and spoon the filling into each pepper. It should generously fill 4 bell peppers. Spoon additional marinara sauce over each pepper to help prevent them from drying out, then bake for 30 minutes at 350, until the peppers are very tender. Serve warm, with additional marinara sauce, if you like.
Nutrition
Per Serving: Calories: 199, Fat: 5g, Carbohydrates: 32g, Fiber: 7g, Protein: 7g
Notes:
- This filling can easily be enjoyed on its own, without stuffing the peppers. Or, you can fill your favorite winter squash or zucchini, too!
- To keep this recipe sugar-free, make sure you use a marinara sauce that is free of added sugar. (Amy’s Organic Pasta Sauce is sugar-free.)
Enjoy!
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite dish to make when company comes over?
When company comes over, we like to do a Mexican themed night. It’s pretty quick to make, most people like it (not sketchy) and people can adjust it to fit their dietary needs/wants/whatever…..if you keep all the toppings separate.
I love how you used a yellow bell pepper for these stuffed peppers. For some odd reason, I love colored peppers, but dislike green bell peppers. No clue why! But I always use colored bell peppers for stuffed peppers too and think they look so pretty, the orange, yellow and red on the baking tray.
Yum! These look so tasty!! Can’t wait to try these and see what my family thinks 🙂
XO Kelly
These sound delicious! Also, the filling is freakishly similar to the soup I made, from out of my head, for a potluck, last night – ha! Lately, most of the time when I come up with something I think is new I find a recipe that reminds me a lot of it immediately before or after I make it! Maybe that doesn’t mean I’m not creative enough, but that I’m clearly going in the right direction :0).
Where did the beans go? They are in the ingredients then disappear.
Beanless, I looked (because it drives me crazy when I can’t find something in a recipe, too!) & saw that after the first ingredient list there is a set of four photos, then the beginning of the second paragraph after those photos says, “Add in the cooked quinoa, BEANS, and marinara sauce, and stir well…” I hope this is helpful!
Stuffed peppers with quinoa is one of my favorite dinner recipes! So good and filling and protein packed. Can’t beat it!
I always make coconut curry when people come on round, normally in a slow cooker/crock pot – simple and super yum!
You read my mind! I just made a pot of quinoa last night and was wondering how to prepare it. So many options! This looks delicious and yummy! 🙂 In reading the directions I didn’t notice when you add the beans in. I’m guessing you add them right before the quinoa? Could you please let me know. thanks!
We had my wife try and go grain free for awhile, which was mostly good but she decided things like quinoa felt good so she’s grain free plus quinoa 😉 I’ll have to give these a try for her!
Just tired these tonight. I did use green peppers, and asparagus instead of zucchini, and chick peas instead cannellini beans as I had them on hand… Yummy will have often I am certain, Thanks for the great healthy ideas.
great recipe! i made them without the beans, and they were still delicious. inspiring recipe in the sense that many different veggies could be swapped in or out. simple and yummy! thanks!
Just wondering what your thoughts are about nightshades. I love them, but are there circumstances when one should take them out of their diet?
Just made this for dinner tonight and my husband and I ate the all thing!!the all 4-6 servings! Next time will do the dish without even the bell pepper. Delicious!
I have made these in the past with rice and ground turkey and also with quinoa instead of the rice. Always a great meal. My two youngest sons don’t like peppers so I usually serve them just the stuffing. They always ask for seconds! I will try adding the extra veggies and beans next time (instead of the ground turkey) because that will really add some extra flavour. Thanks for the new ideas.
Thank you for this great variation on stuffed peppers! I made these last night and they looked beautiful and I’m very impressed with the myriad of flavors and texture.
I followed the recipe, only adding a hint of cinnamon and ground ginger to the saute. No trouble with them drying out at all and the mixture itself could be its own dish in any number of settings. I’ll make your coconut ice cream next and can’t wait — thank you for sharing!
These are just great! I’ve fixed them twice and everyone just loved them.
These were so easy, quick and delicious! I used green, yellow and red peppers – the yellows ones outshone the others with their natural sweetness. Will be sure to make these again. Thanks for the great recipe!
These were super easy and delicious! I substituted the quinoa for farro and added some italian seasoning to the mixture, which was great on its on!
I also cheated and melted some chedder and mozerella on the peppers.
I made these today, using eggplant instead of mushrooms, adding kale and dried herbs. So delicious!!! Thank you!
I hope to try this soon but without the beans. I think my little girl and I will love this =)
I made this for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit!! I will definitely make again, thanks so much for the recipe 🙂
These turned out amazingly good! I don’t particularly like mushrooms, so I left them out and added a second zucchini. Delicious!!
I have made these at least six or so times now. They are absolutely delicious! My boyfriend doesn’t even miss the meat in these. I have also made them with lentils, but I prefer the quinoa. We use a mix of peppers. It always makes enough for us to stuff six peppers. We usually just put some extra filling on the side. This last time we froze the extra filling. We also like to shred a little bit of cheese on top sometimes.
I made these for supper, last night and they were delicious. I was a little skeptical about the white beans, but they were actually really good and complimented the dish nicely. Yum!
Forgot to rate it!
Delicious! Had everything on hand and a ton of peppers – this was perfect!
After years and years, these stuffed peppers still make it into our lunch or dinner rotation at least once a month. They are pretty quick as far as hands-on work goes and so yummy! I can’t believe I’ve never reviewed them before, but they definitely deserve a place on your plate.
This one is a crowd pleaser and looks great on the table when hosting guests. I skip the initial 10 minute cook time for the peppers alone. 30 minutes at the end does the job. I also, unfortunately, skip the mushrooms because my husband doesn’t like them. Instead I add some of Trader Joe’s’ umami mushroom seasoning to the mixture.
So easy and so good! Even my meat-eating dad loved it!