These easy vegetarian stuffed peppers with tomato sauce are so delicious and fulfilling. Whether you eat a vegetarian diet or have a meatless meal night, you'll not go wrong with this delightful recipe.
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My all-time favorite summer meal is stuffed peppers. Whenever I visit Serbia in the summer, I ask my mom to make them. She makes them with ground pork and rice. I recently discovered the meatless version that tastes great, and vegetarian stuffed peppers with tomato sauce became my new favorite. They are also great with ground turkey if you are not craving a vegetarian dish. But I suggest giving it a try as it is easy to make and is fulfilling. I promise this will become your go-to healthy stuffed pepper recipe. You can make it with any peppers, but in my opinion, bell peppers work best for stuffing.
So, if you want to start eating cleaner and incorporating meatless dinner nights, this recipe is perfect. Also, you can try my meatless Spinach Pasta recipe and learn why it is good to go meatless sometimes.
Bell Peppers Varieties
Bell peppers belong to a family of Capsicum annuum, and we call them sweet peppers. They come in various colors, and red, orange, yellow, and green find their way to grocery stores. For specific varieties, the color of the bell peppers is different due to the degree of ripeness. The same goes for their price and nutritional value. When the fruit shows up on the vine, it will be green, and as time passes and the fruit ripens, the color changes. Thus, green bell peppers are the least expensive than red bell peppers since the red peppers spend more time on the vine.
On the other hand, there are varieties of bell peppers that never change color and stay green as they mature.
I always choose different bell pepper colors for stuffed bell peppers for colorful dish representation.
Bell Peppers Nutrition
Bell peppers have an essential role in my kitchen. Eaten raw or cooked, in salads, scrambled with eggs, stuffed, they never get boring. Most importantly, they are very nutritious.
One medium-sized red bell pepper (119 g) offers:
1.2 g protein (3% recommended daily intake),
7.2 g carbs (6% of RDI),
2.5 g dietary fiber (10% RDI),
152 mg vitamin C (200 % of RDI),
54.7 mcg folate (14% of RDI),
3720 IU vitamin A (140% of RDI),
1.88 mg of vitamin E (13% RDI).
So, bell peppers are low-carb food but very high in essential vitamins. Find out here why vitamin C is necessary for our health. Vitamin A has antioxidant properties and protects our cells from free radicals. It is also vital for healthy vision and eye health. Vitamin E is essential for the health of our blood, brain, and skin. So, not only that stuffed peppers look great on your plate, they are healthy and good for you!
We learned why is eating bell peppers good for us. Now, get your apron ready, and let's dig into the best vegetarian stuffed bell peppers recipe.
Ingredients You'll Need
- 1 carrot large
- 1 zucchini
- 1 onion small
- 1 cup frozen cut corn
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 3 bell peppers medium size
- 4 tbsp tomato sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup rice
- 1 tsp ground paprika
- 1 ½ cup water
- 1 stick of mozzarella cheese
- 1 tbsp parmesan optional
How To Prepare Easy Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers with Tomato Sauce
Time needed: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Cooking rice.
Rinse the rice in a fine-mesh strainer under cold water until the water runs clear. Transfer the rice to a pot and add 1 cup of water. Cook uncovered on medium heat until the water starts boiling. Turn the heat to low and cover the pot. Let it steam for 15 minutes.
- Filling preparation.
While rice is cooking, cut carrots, onions, and zucchini into small cubes. Warm 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until tender, frequently stirring with a wooden spoon. Add carrots and zucchini and cook until tender. Add frozen corn and add salt and pepper to taste. Add cooked rice and 2 tablespoon of tomato sauce. Stir everything well with a wooden spoon. Set aside.
- Peppers preparation.
Halve the peppers from stem to base. Remove the stem and seeds.
- Baking stuffed peppers.
Preheat the oven to 395°F (200°C). Grease the baking dish with 2 tablespoon olive oil and 2 tablespoon tomato sauce. Place the pepper halves in a baking dish, cut side facing up. Stuff each half with a generous amount of filling. Add 1 ½ cups of water to the bottom of the baking dish. Cover with a lid and bake for 30 minutes. Cover it with aluminum foil if your baking dish has no lid.
- Take out of the oven.
After 30 minutes, remove the baking dish from the oven and remove the lid. Mix 1 teaspoon of ground paprika with 1 tablespoon olive oil and drizzle the mix evenly over each pepper halve. Add mozzarella cheese on top of each pepper half. Return to the oven and bake for additional 5-10 minutes or until the top is crispy.
Enjoy!
Easy Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers with Tomato Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Cooking pan
- 1 Baking dish with lid
Ingredients
- 1 carrot large
- 1 zucchini
- 1 onion small
- 1 cup corn frozen, cut
- 5 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 bell peppers medium size
- 4 tablespoon tomato sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup rice
- 1 teaspoon ground paprika
- 1 ½ cup water
- 1 stick mozzarella cheese cut in pieces
- 1 tablespoon parmesan optional
Instructions
- Cooking rice. Rinse the rice in a fine-mesh strainer under cold water until the water runs clear. Transfer the rice to a pot and add 1 cup of water. Cook uncovered on medium heat until the water starts boiling. Turn the heat to low and cover the pot. Let it steam for 15 minutes.
- Filling preparation. While rice is cooking, cut carrots, onions, and zucchini into small cubes. Warm 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until tender, frequently stirring with a wooden spoon. Add carrots and zucchini and cook until tender. Add frozen corn and add salt and pepper to taste. Add cooked rice and 2 tablespoon of tomato sauce. Stir everything well with a wooden spoon. Set aside.
- Peppers preparation. Halve the peppers from stem to base. Remove the stem and seeds.
- Baking stuffed peppers. Preheat the oven to 395°F (200°C). Grease the baking dish with 2 tablespoon olive oil and 2 tablespoon tomato sauce. Place the pepper halves in a baking dish, cut side facing up. Stuff each half with a generous amount of filling. Add 1 ½ cups of water to the bottom of the baking dish. Cover with a lid and bake for 30 minutes. Cover it with aluminum foil if your baking dish has no lid.
- After 30 minutes, remove the baking dish from the oven and remove the lid. Mix 1 teaspoon of ground paprika with 1 tablespoon olive oil and drizzle the mix evenly over each pepper halve. Add mozzarella cheese on top of each pepper half. Return to the oven and bake for additional 5-10 minutes or until the top is crispy.
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