Easy Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers Recipe

I am 100% sure you are going to fall head over heels for these easy Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers! They’re loaded with Italian flavors including basil, tomatoes, olives and Fontina cheese and they pack 14 grams of protein per pepper!

What Are Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers have been a staple of American cuisine going back to the late 1800’s with a documented variation in the Fannie Farmer Cookbook. 

Stuffed peppers appear in a number of different world cuisines in various forms and flavors such as chile rellenos in Mexico and pimientos rellenos in Spain.

In both the Joy of Cooking and the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, versions of stuffed peppers involve par cooking the peppers and stuffing them with beef, rice and cheese and cooking them with tomato sauce.

My version of Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers today is theoretically similar, but I have swapped in canned beans for the beef to make it a meatless recipe and amped the flavors up with bold Italian inspired ingredients. 

Ingredients For These Italian Stuffed Peppers

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large red onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning herb blend
• ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
• 6 bell peppers, any color
• 8-ounce package cooked brown rice or 1 ½ cups cooked brown rice
• 14-ounce can kidney or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup tomato sauce (or 1-8 ounce can)
• ½ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• ¼ cup chopped black olives, optional
• ½ cup chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish if desired
• 6 ounces Fontina cheese, grated

Notes about the spices

If you don’t have Italian Seasoning you can use 1 teaspoon dried oregano and 1/2 teaspoon dried basil. The fennel mimics the flavors of Italian sausage, but without the meat, calories and fat. If you do not have fennel seed you can skip it.

I also tested this recipe using 2 teaspoons of Hot Italian Spice from Teeny Tiny Spice Company which has fennel and the herbs traditionally included in Italian Seasoning blend. Plus some red pepper which really is a nice touch if you like spice! 

What Kind Of Peppers Are Best For This Recipe

• Look for medium-sized firm, unwrinkled peppers. Make sure they are free from soft spots.
• Any color of sweet bell pepper works great. I like to use a variety of colors so everyone can choose their favorite color. 
• Look for peppers that can stand upright easily.

Step-by-Step Directions To Make These Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

To make the filling for the stuffed peppers, the only “pre-cooking” you have to do is of the onions and garlic. They cook so quickly after they are stuffed that otherwise the onions would be too raw and the garlic too hard. Cooking them and softening them helps to mellow out the garlic and makes the onion taste sweeter. 

Step 1

• Simply heat the olive oil in a skillet, add in the onion and garlic and add some salt. Sauteeing the onion with salt helps them to release their liquid which will help them soften before they brown. 
• Before you take the onion and garlic off the stove, add in the spices. I used a blend of Italian Seasoning herb blend and fennel seeds. 
• Adding the spices to the onions and garlic in the oil allows them to wake up and will make them more flavorful. 

Step 2

Scrape the onion mixture into a mixing bowl.

Step 3

• Cut the top off the peppers removing the stem and a small amount of edible pepper. (Save the edible portion and add to a salad.) 
• Cut around the core and then pull out the core and seeds.
• If the pepper doesn’t stand upright, you may have to level it by slicing a small amount off the bottom of  the pepper. Try not to cut through the bottom of the pepper though so the filling can’t fall out the bottom! 

Step 4

Just like in the Joy of Cooking, the peppers in this recipe are pre-cooked to give them a bit of a head start to soften them. To save time, I used the microwave. 

• Place the peppers in a microwave safe casserole dish and add 1/2 cup water. Cover with parchment and then plastic wrap.
• Microwave for 6 to 7 minutes until the peppers are softened but not collapsing.

Step 5

• Combine the cooked onion, garlic and spice mixture with the beans.
• Add in the cooked rice (I used a package of pre-cooked brown rice.)
• Add in tomato sauce. (A small 8-ounce can is the perfect amount.)
• Add in cherry tomatoes, olives and basil. 
• Take the shredded Fontina cheese, and divide it visually in half (it doesn’t have to be exact.) Stir half of it into the filling. This will help the filling to stick together and give it creamier texture too.

Step 6

• Be careful when you remove the plastic from the peppers, there may be some steam trapped in there that will try to sneak out and burn you.
• Make sure there isn’t any water in the bottom of the peppers, just tip them out with tongs if you see any water in the bottom. It is okay if there is still water in the casserole dish. This will help them steam and cook.
• Return/keep the peppers in the casserole dish, because they will continue cooking in the dish in the next step.
• Use a large spoon to scoop the filling into the peppers, dividing evenly among the six hollowed-out, par-cooked peppers. 
• Take the rest of the shredded Fontina and pile it on top of the peppers. 

Step 7

To finish the dish, simply transfer the casserole back to the microwave and cook on high power for 3 to 4 minutes. Microwave ovens vary in power so you may have to adjust the amount of cooking time up or down depending on your individual microwave oven. 

Step 8

Top the peppers with chopped red onion and more basil. Serve hot!

FAQs and Expert Tips For This Recipe

Meal Prep Instructions

1. Make the filling.
2. Par-cook the peppers.
3. Stuff the peppers, but do not top with cheese.
4. Set in a casserole dish, cover and refrigerate up to two days ahead. 
5. When you are ready to serve them, make sure there is a little water in the bottom of the casserole dish. Cover the peppers with parchment and plastic. Microwave until they are warmed through. 
6. Remove the plastic and parchment and top with the remaining Fontina cheese. 
7. Microwave until the filling is steaming hot and the cheese on top is melted. 

What should I serve with vegetarian stuffed peppers?

• To make this a rounded vegetarian meal, serve these with roasted butternut squash with smoked paprika and turmeric. I have been eating that a lot lately and it is so satisfying and simple to prepare. 
• For a lighter meal, you could pair it with a green salad with Light Creamy Italian Dressing. 
• Or you could make a batch of Grilled Zucchini with balsamic vinegar to go with them.  
• For some lower carb pairings, you could try these Zucchini Noodles with Pesto or reheat some Frozen Cauliflower Rice. Either would be great with this Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers recipe and keep the overall calories in check.

At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie

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