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Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ah, real food. This is the kind of stuff that gets me excited. It’s so delicious, so fresh, so perfect for spring-time alfresco dining with lots of wine and great conversations.

These peppers aren’t exactly a Rachael Ray 30-minute meal; they will take some time to prep and you might have to get your hands dirty, but why not get the whole family involved and make a great weekend dinner out of it? The payoff of spending time together to make a fresh and delicious meal is absolutely worth the investment.

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1/2 cup parsley
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts
  • 1/3 cup Kalamata olives
  • 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1 lemon (juice + zest)
  • Sea salt & black pepper
  • 4 bell peppers
  • 1 red onion
  • 3 medium zucchini
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 10 oz. sliced mushrooms
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Handful of arugula, with balsamic and agave for dressing

Part One: The Quinoa

Quinoa Tabbouleh Stuffed Peppers

Before we can get started on the peppers, we need to make the quinoa stuffing. We’re basically making a tabbouleh, like this Quinoa Tabbouleh I posted earlier. This adds so much more flavor and depth than if we simply added plain quinoa to the peppers.

  • Begin cooking the quinoa. First, measure out 1 1/2 cups and rinse the grains well to remove the bitter coating (you’ll thank me later). Then, add to a pot with 3 cups water. Let this simmer (covered) for about 20-25 minutes until all the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy.
  • Meanwhile, chop the parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, and Kalamata olives. Toast the pine nuts in a skillet (it’s worth the extra step), and set aside the lemon.
  • When the quinoa is done cooking, add it to a large mixing bowl and fold in all the other ingredients (parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, pine nuts, lemon juice, lemon zest, sea salt, and pepper). Give this a taste and adjust any ingredients as needed.

This tabbouleh makes a wonderful meal all by itself. The good news? You should have plenty of leftovers after stuffing the peppers.

Part Two: The Veggies & Peppers

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers Cooking

  • Preheat the oven to about 375º F.
  • Cut the onion into small wedges, loosely chunk the garlic, chop the zucchini, and slice the mushrooms. Add all these veggies to a baking pan and toss with a small splash of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Set this aside.
  • Take the 4 bell peppers and carefully slice them in half. Remove the seeds and white pith. Then, pack in as much of the quinoa stuffing as each pepper will hold.
  • Set the peppers into the baking pan around the veggies (if you’re making 4 servings, you’ll probably need to use two pans). Cover with foil to lock in the flavors and moisture.
  • Bake for about 45 minutes until the veggies are fully cooked and the peppers are just starting to wilt.

Part Three: Serving

These peppers go great with bitter greens like arugula. Put a few handfuls of arugula into a bowl and drizzle a little balsamic, agave nectar, and black pepper for a delicious fat-free dressing. Use your hands to gently toss.

Place two stuffed peppers onto a plate, surrounded by some of the roasted veggies and the arugula salad. Grab a bottle of wine, go out to the patio, and enjoy eating a fresh home-cooked meal with the people you care about.

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

13 Comments

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    • Haha, no problem! I get that question a lot and I try to make it as clear as possible that the one ingredient diet only requires that each item starts out as one whole ingredient 🙂

      • You might want to check out the “one ingredient” idea in agave. I’ve heard and read it is extremely processed. Would be happy to learn otherwise. 🙂

        • Ah, I don’t disagree with you. No sweeteners are really unprocessed, except whole fruit. But this was 4 years ago when agave was very much in vogue, haha, and it’s really not much worse than maple syrup or whatever else you might use, especially if the flavor works well in the dressing, as it does here.

  1. Amazing!!!! What a great recipe even to make on the bbq can’t wait to make this. (I’m making the sesame rice bowl at the moment waiting impatiently for the rice to cook haha)

    • That’s great! I always do the same thing 🙂 I make a bunch of the quinoa and eat the leftovers for several days.

    • My process for using the leftover tabouleh is complicated: I take it out of the refrigerator, put it on a plate, and eat it 🙂 haha, seriously, the tabouleh works great as a completely balanced and nutritious meal by itself.

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