Easy Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers

Shweta
by Shweta
4 servings
45 min

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These easy vegetarian stuffed bell peppers have become a regular thing in my household. They're vegetarian and can easily be vegan by using vegan cheese or omitting the cheese. An easy meal that's loaded with vegetables, Mexican flavors, and hearty with black beans and couscous. Everytime we make these, we are amazed with how easy, tasty, filling, and healthy this meal is! I love making these as a weeknight meal. Takes about 15 minutes to prep, and 25 minutes in the oven.


On a side note, I'm typing up this blog post while we have had a power outage here in Houston for almost 24 hours now...my fingers are about to FREEZE off! I had two of these stuffed peppers leftover in the fridge and I had to throw them out because of the outage!! I know once the power is back, I’ll be restocking my fridge with ingredients to make these stuffed peppers.

What goes in these Easy Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers:


  • Couscous. This is the key ingredient that makes this dish so EASY. Couscous is a great and quick alternative to rice! It's slightly lower in carbs than white and brown rice. It also has about 1-2 grams more protein than both brown and white rice as well. The biggest win for me is that it's MUCH faster than both types of rice. You can always use white or brown rice, or quinoa in place of couscous. Cooking times for these alternatives will vary from couscous.
  • Black beans. A great source of protein and fiber. I used canned, drained, low sodium or no salt added. Fresh is always a better option but for the ease of convenience, I use canned.
  • Veggies. Any seasonal vegetables work great with this dish. In mine, I used zucchini, onions, mushrooms.
  • Enchilada Sauce. I use any canned enchilada sauce for these. The recipe calls for one cup, however, if you like it more saucy, you can use a whole 10 oz can.
Tips for a successful meal:


  1. Cover with foil. This helps the dish cook thoroughly without the cheese burning on top.
  2. Add water to the baking dish. This gets the bell peppers perfectly tender without burning them.
  3. Broil at the end. I love my cheese bubbly and brown so this give you that goodness at the end!


Other recipes you may enjoy:



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Easy Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers
Recipe details
  • 4  servings
  • Prep time: 15 Minutes Cook time: 30 Minutes Total time: 45 min
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Ingredients

  • 4-6 bell peppers; (see notes)
  • ½ cup couscous
  • 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • ½ zucchini chopped
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 cup chopped mushrooms
  • 1 cup enchilada sauce
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
  • salt; to taste
  • cheese for topping; I use Kirkland's Mexican Blend
Instructions

Preheat often to 400° F and grease a medium casserole dish.
Cook the couscous according to the package instructions.
Cook the garlic and veggies in oil.
Add the black beans and cooked couscous.
Pour the enchilada sauce and combine well.
Cut the bell pepper in half and remove the seeds. Optionally, you may choose to only remove the top instead of cutting it in half.
Add the couscous mixture in the bell peppers and top with cheese.
Add about ¼ cup water at the bottom of a casserole dish.
Place the bell peppers in the casserole dish. Grease foil and cover the tray with foil. Bake until bell peppers are well-cooked. If you like cooked bell peppers with a slight crunch, cook for 20-25 minutes. If you like a soft bell pepper, cook for about 25-30 minutes.
After bell peppers are cooked, remove foil and place back in the oven to broil for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and brown.
Topping options: scallions, cilantro, sour cream, or avocados.
Tips
  • Depending on the size of your bell peppers, you may need between 4-6 bell peppers.
  • Cooking for longer may make bell peppers stick to the bottom of the casserole dish after the water is cooked off. If so, add two tablespoons of water to deglaze the casserole dish.
  • You can use any seasonal vegetables for this dish! Get creative and add whatever vegetables work for you!
  • We love to top our peppers with The Chutney Life's Cilantro Jalapeño Sauce!
Shweta
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Comments
  • Mary Mary on Apr 03, 2021

    Must try this tomorrow. Always looking for vegan receipes for my son.




    • Bonnie Bonnie on Apr 03, 2021

      why the one star?

  • Renu Renu on Apr 03, 2021

    Sounds delicious

    side note - edit the first step and replace ‘often’ to ‘oven’

    question - are you using two casserole dishes? One with water and another on top with bell pepper?

    • See 2 previous
    • Shweta Shweta on Apr 05, 2021

      Thank you for the feedback! I have updated it on the website to be more clear with the instructions.

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