Black Bean, Corn, and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Recipe adapted from TheGardenGrazer.com

Stuffed peppers are a personal favorite because they look cool but are surprisingly easy to make and incredibly versatile. While this recipe is a vegetarian version with quinoa, you could easily sub in ground beef or turkey for the beans, and any grain you have for the quinoa.  

Black Bean, Corn, and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

• 4 Bell peppers (large)

• 3/4 cup Quinoa (dry)

• 15 oz can Black beans

• 1 cup Corn (I use frozen, thawed)

• 2 Green onions

• 2/3 cup Salsa

• 2 Tbsp Nutritional yeast

• 1 1/2 tsp Cumin

• 1 tsp Smoked paprika

• 1 tsp Chili powder

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Cook the quinoa in 1.5 cups of water. This takes 15-20 minutes. By starting it first, it’s ready by the time the rest of the filling is ready.

3. Next, prep the peppers. There are two main ways to cut the peppers: either chop off the top, remove the seeds, and use the top as a lid OR slice them in half, remove the seeds, and stuff the halves. (I generally go for the first option, but if you have peppers that don’t want to stand up, or want to make smaller portions, slicing them in half is probably the way to go.)

4. Pre-bake the peppers for about 10 minutes.

5. Sauté the onions and peppers in a little olive oil until they’re starting to soften. Next, add in the corn and beans and wait for it all to heat through.

6. Add in the cooked quinoa, the salsa, and the spices (add the nutritional yeast now if you’re using it). Once everything is mixed, give the filling a taste and make any adjustments.

7. Now, grab the peppers from the oven (they should have softened a bit but take them out before the tops start to brown) and pile in the filling. (My family loves cheese, so I put a little bit in the bottom, add the filling, top with a little more cheese and then put the lid on.)

8. Once your peppers are stuffed, put them back in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Notes from my family:

These are one of my brother’s favorites, and that’s saying something because there's no meat in them!  Everyone likes the salsa because it prevents the filling from drying out, and this recipe is a great way to use up a half empty jar you’ve had in the fridge for a while. Another thing is that if you have extra filling, just save it and you can either make more stuffed peppers later on in the week, or repurpose it to stuff other veggies you may have.