Stuffed peppers were one of my favorite dishes growing up. My mom made them stuffed with a mix of seasoned ground beef, rice and tomatoes. When I decided to part with meat, I made a version of the peppers stuffed with rice, vegetables and cheese. But now that I’m cutting grains out of my diet, I had to find a substitute for rice.
Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is not a grain. It’s a flowering plant related to spinach and is harvested for its seeds. Quinoa is high in protein, and is actually one of the non-animal sources of protein that is “complete” in that it contains all of the essential amino acids. It is gluten-free and a good source of fiber, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron and calcium. So not only is it a powerhouse of nutrition, it turns out to be a perfect substitute for rice when I make stuffed peppers.
If you haven’t cooked quinoa before, it’s very simple – just use one part dry quinoa seeds to two parts water, bring to a boil, cover, reduce to simmer and cook for 15 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the seeds sprout a tail (the germ). We keep a batch of this in the fridge to throw together a quick meal. I often make a hot breakfast by mixing re-heated quinoa with soy milk, sliced bananas, a bit of agave nectar and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Delicious and fast!
Ingredients
4 medium bell peppers
1 sweet onion, diced
½ red onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup chopped parsley
1 cup dry quinoa (about 2 cups cooked)
1 cup TVP (texturized vegetable protein – I use Bob’s Red Mill brand)
2 cups low sodium tomato juice
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 tsp. red chili pepper flakes
2 tbsp. canola oil
sea salt & pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a sauce pan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil, then add in 1 cup quinoa. Lightly salt the water. Bring back to a boil, then cover and reduce to simmer. Cook for 15 minutes.
- Cut the tops off the peppers and clean out the seeds and ribs. Dice the pepper tops to add to the filling.
- Dice the onions and chop the garlic. In a pot, heat 2 tbsp. canola oil and add the chili pepper flakes. When heated, add onions and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and the diced pepper tops and cook another 2-3 minutes until tender.
- Add the tomato juice, TVP, cooked quinoa and chopped parsley. Mix well.
- Add 1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese and mix thoroughly.
- Add salt and pepper to taste if necessary.
- In a baking dish, put ½ inch of water in the bottom, then arrange the 4 bell peppers in the dish so they will not fall over during cooking.
- Stuff the peppers with the filling mixture.
- Cover with an aluminum foil cover.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.
- Remove foil cover and cook another 15 minutes to allow top to get crusty.
- Remove from oven and allow to rest 5-10 minutes before serving.
Sarah @ Running On Brie says
I love quinoa, I love peppers- these look super tasty!
Amy says
These really are tasty so I hope you can give them a try. Thanks for stopping by, Sarah!