Quinoa & Veggie Stuffed Peppers

It wasn’t till recently that it dawned on me that I can stuff peppers with quinoa! I mean, I’ve always done it before with rice and quinoa is an alternative to rice so why not? Not only is quinoa a healthier source of fiber but it is delicious you guys! Even more flavorful when mixed with some seasoned veggies. I am so excited about introducing you to this dish because its so easy and so enjoyable. It is vegan friendly too! Plus, you will not feel guilty eating it what so ever. When serving, I topped these with some shrimp because we need a protein in this household for dinner every day. Feel free to leave it as is or top with whatever you prefer 🙂

Total Time: Approx. 1 hour

Servings: 6 pieces

Ingredients

3 bell peppers halved lengthwise (*colored bell peppers are sweeter than green)

1 cup quinoa

2 cups vegetable stock

1 zucchini finely chopped

5  mushrooms finely chopped

1 small onion finely chopped

1/2 an eggplant finely chopped

1/2 a cup of chopped cilantro

4 cloves of finely chopped garlic

1/3 cup pine nuts

2-3 tbsp coconut aminos or balsamic vinaigrette (adjust as needed)

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

1/2  a fresh lemon’s juice

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 F.
• Place prepped bell pepper halves into a baking pan. Spray the pan and peppers with olive oil. Salt and pepper the peppers as well.
• Cook the quinoa as the package instructions say. Cook with vegetable stock instead of water. That will add more flavor. Quinoa takes about 15-18 min to cook.
• In a large saute pan, add the olive oil along with all the veggies and pine nuts. Cook on medium heat for about 10-12 minutes till veggies are tender. Season with salt & pepper.
• Once quinoa is cooked, add to the veggie mixture. Season with the garlic powder, paprika, Italian seasoning, and coconut aminos. Also season generously with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-4 minutes. Squeeze half a lemon over the quinoa veggie mixture. Taste the mixture. If it needs any more seasoning, add it now.
• Stuff the peppers with this quinoa veggie mixture.
• Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. After the 35 minutes, take aluminum foil off. Raise temperature to 400 F and bake for another 15-20 minutes.
• You can garnish these a squeeze of lemon, some cilantro, avocado and/or a tahini sauce.
• I topped these with cooked shrimp to make it a heartier meal 🙂

Enjoy!