These stuffed peppers aren’t the kind your mom made. They’re meatless and loaded with fresh flavor. They’re cheesy as shown, yes, but they’re just as good without the cheese. You can easily make these peppers dairy free or vegan.
Most stuffed peppers are made with Italian seasonings, but I went in a different direction. I was inspired to incorporate some of my favorite Mexican ingredients, including pinto beans, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, lime, chili powder and cumin. The filling is so tasty, I could eat it as a side dish! These peppers are somewhat time consuming, but each element is simple to make.
The trick to making great stuffed peppers is to slice the peppers in half from the stem end down through the base. Then, pre-roast the halves until they’re tender and a bit caramelized at the sliced edges. This way, their flavor is condensed and their texture is just right—not too crisp, but not falling apart.
Please do yourself a favor and cook extra brown rice while you’re at it. Then, you’ll be one step closer to dinner tomorrow night—say, Extra Veggie Fried Rice or any of these rice-based dishes. High five!
How to Make Stuffed Peppers
You’ll find the full recipe below, but here’s the gist:
- Roast the peppers.
- Cook the rice (unless you’re using leftover cooked rice).
- Cook the filling, adding the rice and beans at the end.
- Stuff the peppers and top with cheese.
- Bake and serve!
These peppers are a great meal to prepare in advance. You can get a head start by cooking the rice and prepping the peppers. Or assemble them completely, then cover and refrigerate for later. This would be a great dish to drop off at a friend’s house with baking instructions (about 12 to 15 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit).
Watch How to Make Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed Pepper Serving Suggestions
These stuffed peppers are a balanced meal in their own right, featuring whole grains, veggies and beans for additional protein and fiber. Here are a few side dishes that would complement the meal:
- Black Beans (From Scratch!)
- Chunky Avocado Salsa
- Elote (Mexican Street Corn)
- Fresh Corn Salsa
- Guacamole
- Herbed Avocado Salad
- Mexican Green Salad with Jalapeño-Cilantro Dressing (or a simplified version of it)
More Hearty Mexican-Inspired Recipes
If you enjoy these stuffed peppers, you’ll also appreciate these recipes:
- Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas
- Epic Vegetarian Tacos
- Pinto Posole
- Roasted Veggie Enchilada Casserole
- Veggie Black Bean Enchiladas
Please let me know how your stuffed peppers turn out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers
- Author:
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 stuffed peppers 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Vegetarian
These vegetarian stuffed peppers are inspired by my favorite Mexican dishes! This recipe features roasted bell peppers filled with a flavorful combination of pinto beans, brown rice and fresh veggies, topped with melted cheese (optional). This recipe yields 8 stuffed peppers, enough for 4 main dish servings or 8 sides.
Ingredients
Roasted peppers
- 4 large red bell peppers, halved from stem to base, seeds and membranes removed
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, as needed
- Fine salt and freshly ground black pepper, for sprinkling
Filling and topping
- ½ cup long-grain brown rice (or 1 ½ cups cooked rice)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- ½ teaspoon fine salt, to taste
- 1 pint (2 cups) cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 can (1 ½ cups) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 4 ounces (about 1 cup) grated part-skim mozzarella or cheddar
- Optional garnishes: Sliced ripe avocado or guacamole, perhaps a drizzle of cilantro-hemp pesto, red salsa, sour cream or vegan sour cream
Instructions
- To roast the peppers: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the halved peppers in a large 9 by 13-inch baking dish, or on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over the peppers and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Use your hands to rub the oil all over both sides of the peppers, then arrange them with the cut sides facing up. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the peppers are a little blistered around the edges and easily pierced through by a fork. Set aside. Leave the oven on for baking the peppers.
- In the meantime, cook the rice: Bring a large pot of water to boil. Rinse the rice in a fine-mesh colander until the water runs clear. Add the rice to the boiling water and continue boiling, uncovered, for 30 minutes (reduce the heat as necessary to prevent overflow). Drain off the remaining cooking water and return the rice to the pot. Set aside.
- Prepare the filling: In a large skillet over medium heat, warm 2 tablespoons olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion and ½ teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until they’re lightly squishy, another 5 minutes or so.
- Add the cilantro, garlic, chili powder and cumin. While stirring, cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 to 60 seconds.
- Remove the pot from the heat and add the rice, beans, lime juice and about 10 twists of black pepper. Stir to combine, then season with additional salt (I usually add ¼ teaspoon) and black pepper, to taste.
- To stuff the peppers, first pour off any excess juice pooled within the peppers. Then stuff each pepper generously with the rice mixture (if the peppers were truly large, you should have just the right amount of filling—if you have extra, save it to serve as a side dish). Top the peppers with the cheese.
- Bake at 425 for 12 to 13 minutes, until the cheese is golden in spots. Serve warm with fresh cilantro leaves on top or any other garnishes of your choice. Leftovers keep well in the fridge, covered, for up to 4 days. I believe they would freeze well for several months, but haven’t tried to be sure.
Notes
Make it dairy free/vegan: Omit the cheese, and cover the baking dish during its final stint in the oven. I recommend topping the finished peppers with something creamy or saucy, like guacamole, cilantro-hemp pesto or vegan sour cream.
Prepare in advance: This dish is a bit time consuming, though it’s not difficult. You could make the rice in advance, and/or prep the peppers so they are ready to pop in the oven later. You could even assemble the peppers completely and refrigerate, covered, until you’re ready to bake (they will likely need a few extra minutes in the oven to warm through).
Sharon
I am not a good cook but am trying to eat a more vegetarian diet. I didn’t have all the right ingredients but was able to replace and – amazing! Thank you so much for this recipe!! Look forward to trying more
★★★★★
Erika
I’m always looking for new vegetarian options. My son is a vegetarian, but I’m not. This recipe is a winner! Great flavors. I’m sure I will be making this regularly. Thanks.
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Erika! I’m excited to hear you love these stuffed peppers.
Stacey
I can confirm that these do freeze pretty well, and are great to pull out when you don’t feel like cooking.
Very versatile recipe, I always use orzo instead of rice with great success. Thanks for another great recipe
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing how you changed this recipe, Stacey! I appreciate your review.
Josie Fitzpatrick
★★★★★
Laura Green
I particularly like the prep method here of pre-roasting the peppers; works better to my mind than all of the alternatives (not pre-cooking at all; parboiling; adding liquid to the pan while baking/baking covered). I don’t like my peppers to bite back (which happens if you don’t precook at all) but I also don’t like them mooshy (which happens with the liquid options. These were perfect—tender but still firm. I also used green peppers and they worked great—I’ve come to like their greater vegetalness/less sweetness for stuffing. (The star rating link is giving me static; it’s meant to be 5 but please excuse if it didn’t work right.)
★★★★★
Kate
These were so tasty! Really well seasoned and a delicious vegetarian option for a week night meal or even a dinner party
★★★★★
Kate
Great to hear, Kate! Thank you for sharing.
ROBIN
Delicious. Substituted garbanzos and basil and tamari instead of extra salt. This is also a great way to use garden peppers and tomatoes.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Robin!
Lori
This was a delicious recipe! I made it as written, except I used some chopped slicing tomatoes along with the cherry tomatoes, and home-grown green peppers as the base. Just a wonderful flavor! I supplemented it with a Southwestern Salad mix and some jalapenos and green onions. Thanks for the outstanding recipe :-)
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Lori! I appreciate your review.
Trudy
I just made this tonight. I eyeballed the ingredients since it was just one serving for myself. I’m very picky about my food but this was absolutely amazing. I definitely will be making again.
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great to hear, Trudy! I appreciate your review.
Kristen
Loved these! Made them last night for a crowd. They were pretty quick and easy. I skipped cilantro because I didn’t have any and I pregrilled the peppers on the grill instead of in the oven. All around wonderful! Thank you
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Kristen!
Susan
I made it today with some alterations. I used airfryer instead of oven. I didn’t have cilantro so i used shredded kale to get a green component. It turned out great. I’m definitely going to make this again. Thank you.
Tessa
I love your recipes and was gifted your cookbook for my birthday. I tried this but the peppers collapsed and lost their shape after being cooked…How do I keep that from happening?
Kate
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that. They will become some what soft after being cooked.