Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers add a little Tex-Mex flair to sweet bell peppers filled with a combination of chewy brown rice, tender black beans, garden fresh vegetables, tangy cheese, and blend of southwest seasonings to make these healthy morsels anything but bland or ordinary. Thank you Milk Means More – United Dairy Industry of Michigan for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.
Sorry I’ve been slightly MIA, friends. Consider this my Proof of Life check in for the past few weeks! All is well here up on the 45th Parallel. Spring soccer season is in full swing, which means that I’m fortunate enough to coach ‘s Son #3’s U-12 team again this spring. I have thirteen energetic little go-getters that share my love of the game and keep my on my toes. Son #1 was able to pick up with a spring U-18 team with a few of his Varsity teammates, so they are the happiest guys around to be able to play soccer in their off season. Sons #2 & #4 are content to climb trees and seek out new playgrounds while the rest of us are on the field.
Even though spring soccer also means that our weekends consist of double-headers in (not so) far away lands all. weekend. long. we still love it! We’re also working diligently to wrap up our homeschool year by Memorial Day so that we can take a Big Family Road Trip.
The extra long school days are worth it because we’re cutting out early to head to Niagara Falls and Washington DC for a little real life application of our studies. I cannot wait to take the kids through Canada! Growing up near the Detroit-Windsor border, visiting Canada always feels like an extension of home because I’ve spent so much time there. My boys, however, don’t have any memories of our jaunts across the border so they are looking forward to the adventure in a different country. All of the sports, studying, and adventure planning makes easy family dinners an even bigger necessity than ever.
While I grew up eating sweet bell peppers straight out of the garden as if they were apples, my crew is a little more suspicious of the colorful nightshades. However, I was a sweaty, borderline hangry mess after practice one night, and trying to decide how to work a pot of leftover rice and a can of my beloved black beans into something resembling dinner–it was not the time to worry about picky eaters.
We’d already had spicy black bean tacos for dinner a few days prior. I certainly didn’t have the energy to whip up black bean cakes with chipotle cream sauce that night–although I’ll need to make those soon, because hello, delicious! Stuffed peppers were the next logical leap. To be honest, I was skeptical that my kids would even eat them, but I was I figured that as long as they ate the filling, they’d get a balanced meal and wouldn’t go hungry.
If they didn’t like them, then more peppers for me!
With a little teamwork, the filling took all of 10 minutes to throw together. I delegated the chopping and filling assembly to the older boys while I tackled hollowing out the sweet bell peppers.
Hollowing out a bell pepper takes mere seconds–just lop off the top, and scoop out the seeds and membranes. (This little trick also works well on large jalapenos for stuffing them with gooey cheese for bacon wrapped poppers.) Take another 5 minutes to stuff the peppers, and dinner was in the oven in under 15 minutes, and I was on my way to a much needed shower.
Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers add Tex-Mex flair to sweet bell peppers with a combination of chewy brown rice, tender black beans, garden fresh vegetables, tangy cheese, and blend of southwest seasonings that make these healthy little morsels anything but bland or ordinary. For heartier dinner, serve Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers with a soft fried egg or two and make it a meal that’ll satisfy even the most ravenous of appetites.
Enjoy the Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers!
Kirsten Kubert
Yields 6
Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers add Tex-Mex flair to sweet bell peppers filled with a combination of chewy brown rice, tender black beans, garden fresh vegetables, tangy cheese, and blend of southwest seasonings to make these healthy morsels anything but bland or ordinary.
15 minPrep Time
30 minCook Time
45 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 6 large sweet bell peppers
- 1/2 C. diced sweet onion
- 1 C. cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 C. frozen corn, thawed
- 1 1/2 C. cooked black beans, plain (drained and rinsed if using canned beans)
- 2 C. cooked brown rice
- 1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 1/2 C. shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed half sheet pan with non-stick aluminum foil.
- Slice the tops off of the sweet bell peppers. Use a spoon to scoop the seeds and white membranes from the insides of the peppers. Discard the pepper tops and seeds. Place the peppers onto the prepared half sheet pan; briefly set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the diced onion, cherry tomatoes, corn, black beans, and brown rice until combined. Sprinkle the chili powder, oregano, salt, and pepper over top before stirring to distribute the seasonings throughout. Fold 1 cup of the cheddar cheese into the filling, reserving the remaining cheese for later.
- Stuff the open cavities of the sweet bell peppers tightly with filling, mounding a bit of the filling over the top edge of the peppers. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese over top of the filling. Bake the stuffed peppers for 30 to 35 minutes or until filling is heated through, the peppers soften, and the exteriors begin to wrinkle. Serve immediately.
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