I think you will love these vegetarian stuffed peppers.
They have a savory and slightly sweet filling that is delicious and very healthy.
I have mentioned three starches that you can select from to make this stuffed pepper recipe: white rice, brown rice or couscous. If you need this to be gluten free please be aware that the first two are gluten free, but couscous is not. You can also use quinoa, which is gluten free.
This recipe is an extremely healthy one. I particularly like the inclusion of the walnuts. They add both texture and nutritional value.
Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup white rice, long grain or brown rice, quinoa or couscous
- 4 red peppers, large or yellow, orange and/or green
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 4 shallots, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 3 tablespoons walnuts, toasted & chopped
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 4 tablespoons cheddar cheese, grated
- 2 tablespoons basil, fresh, chopped
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- In a large pan, cook the rice in bowling water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold running water and drain again. (Follow the directions below the recipe if you are using couscous.)
- Using a sharp knife, cut the tops off the peppers and set them aside. Remove the seeds and cores. Blanch the peppers and tops in boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove them from the heat and drain well.
- In a large skillet, heat half the oil. Add the garlic and shallots and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the celery, walnuts, tomatoes, lemon juice and raisins. Cook an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese, basil, rice and seasoning.
- Stuff the peppers with the rice, quinoa or couscous mixture. Place on a baking dish. Place the tops on the peppers and drizzle with the remaining oil. Loosely cover the baking dish with foil and bake in preheated 350ºF (180ºC) oven for 45 minutes.
Nutrition
Serves 4 as a side dish or two as a main course.
Instructions for Making Couscous:
Place the couscous in a heat proof bowl. Pour in an amount of boiling water that is equal to the amount of couscous you are using, cover and let it sit for 5 minutes without touching it, to allow the couscous to absorb the water. Fluff with a fork to separate the kernels. That’s it. Use as you would use the cooked rice.
Notes:
- Use these peppers with vegetarian stuffing as a main vegetarian meal or as a vegetable side dish with a meat based meal. Either way I think you will really enjoy them.
- This recipe can easily be doubled to serve more.
If you want non vegetarian stuffed peppers, look here for our meat stuffed pepper recipe.
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