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Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers Recipe (Italian-Style)
Why should meat lovers get to have all the fun?! These healthy Italian Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers are packed with all of the flavors of this classic dish. And they're a breeze to make!
Prep
10 min
Cook
55 min
Total
1h 5m
Serves
6
Instructions
- 01
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- 02
Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet set over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots. Season with ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
- 03
Stir in the garlic, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute.
- 04
Add the crushed tomatoes, chickpeas and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
- 05
Remove from the heat and stir in the cooked quinoa and 3 tablespoons parsley.
- 06
Place the pepper, cut side up, in a large baking dish. Divide the chickpea mixture evenly between the peppers. Pour 1/2 cup water in the bottom of the baking dish.
- 07
Cover tightly with foil and cook until the peppers are tender, about 30 minutes.
- 08
Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese over each pepper. Bake, uncovered, for an additional 5 minutes.
- 09
Garnish with remaining 1 tablespoon of parsley. Serve.
Nutrition
per serving · 1 Stuffed Pepper half
- Calories
- 248.6
- Protein
- 11g
- Carbs
- 40.1g
- Fat
- 6.4g
- Fiber
- 7.6g
- Sugar
- 6g
- Sat. fat
- 1.7g
- Sodium
- 611.7mg
- Cholesterol
- 6.4mg
Variations & swaps
Ingredients and substitutions
- Peppers: The recipe calls for red bell peppers, but yellow or orange bell peppers work equally well. Could you use green peppers? Yes, but the flavor will be a little different.
- Aromatics: Chopped onions, carrot and a few cloves of garlic.
- Tomatoes: Use good-quality canned crushed tomatoes.
- Chickpeas: I like to use chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) in this recipe. Be sure to drain and rinse them well. Cannellini or great Northern beans can be substituted.
- Quinoa: Keep cooked and frozen quinoa on hand to make meal prep even easier. Try making quinoa in an Instant Pot. Easy substitutes are cooked brown rice or cauliflower rice. All are good gluten-free options.
- Herbs & spices: Dried Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper flakes can be found in the spice aisle of any well-stocked grocery store. Add minced flat-leaf parsley to the sauce.
- Cheese: A mixture of part-skim mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses (animal rennet-free Parmesan for vegetarian) melt well on top. For vegan stuffed peppers, either leave off the cheese or substitute with a store-bought vegan cheese option or a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.
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