Juicy, colorful, and good for you. These stuffed bell peppers are a favorite here at home. They can be a meal on their own, but they go well with rice, potatoes, or a fresh green salad.
These stuffed bell peppers make for a great meal in so many ways. I love to see good color combinations on my plate and these orange, red, and yellow bell peppers are so pretty. If I was an artist doing still life paintings, I think I would skip grapes and paint bell peppers – but that’s just me.
Jump to RecipeThis recipe is nutritionally complete so it can be a one-bowl meal, or you can pair the peppers with rice or potatoes. Another big plus is that you can make them ahead and stick them in the oven later or even the next day. These stuffed bell peppers also freeze well, so you can stuff a few extra ones, wrap them in foil, and freeze them for those evenings when “What’s for dinner?” is the last thing you want to hear after a busy day.
Ingredients
You’ll need three large colorful bell peppers or four medium-sized ones. The red,
Lots of grocery stores combine this red, orange, and yellow bell pepper trio in one package. If your local grocer does that, then you can grab one of those bags. If you prefer one color over another, you can buy them individually. I’m partial to the orange ones, but all bell peppers have good for you stuff like vitamin C and antioxidants. Read all about that here.
The stuffing is a combination of black beans, golden yellow corn kernels, feta cheese, and seasoned croutons. A little salt and cumin round out the flavors.
Making Stuffed Bell Peppers
The first thing you have to do is remove the stem and scoop out the insides, including all the seeds. This isn’t hard but be careful not to slice down the sides of the bell peppers. Once that’s done get a big pot of water boiling because you need to put them in boiling water for five minutes. This softens them up and shortens the baking time. Have a colander ready in the sink and transfer the bell peppers to the colander. Use some tongs to turn them upside down to drain and let them cool for five to ten minutes.
While the peppers are cooling, mix the stuffing ingredients. Crush the croutons before mixing them in with the other ingredients. I put them in a plastic bag and roll over them a few times with a rolling pin. Add the crushed croutons to the beans, corn, and feta cheese mix. The seasoned croutons add flavor and they absorb some of the bell pepper’s moisture. They keep the stuffing firm and flavorful.
After you’ve mixed the stuffing, fill the cooled bell peppers using a spoon to get the stuffing into each pepper. Pack them down pretty tight so you use up all the stuffing mixture.
Then put the stuffed bell peppers in a baking dish with a little bit of water in the bottom to keep them moist. Bake them at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. I put them in my toaster oven, and that way I didn’t have to heat up the kitchen.
When you take them out of the oven they’re kind of wrinkly on top, but that skin has sealed in the moisture. The bell peppers are ready to eat!
Serving Stuffed Bell Peppers
We sometimes eat our stuffed peppers with baked potatoes, but they’re good with brown rice too. A dollop of yogurt or sour cream is a nice addition. One half bell pepper is enough for us, but a whole pepper is a typical serving size. Serve them hot and watch them disappear.
Wrap-up
If you have about an hour total time from start to finish, this recipe falls into the quick and easy category. Or plan ahead and add these stuffed bell peppers to your list of make-ahead weekend meals. You can stuff them on a Sunday night and transfer them to the oven about thirty minutes before Monday mealtime. Don’t keep them in the fridge more than one day though. The bell peppers taste better when they’re fresh.
If you like black beans and corn try our black bean salad.
Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 3 large or 4 medium colorful bell peppers
- 1 can or 1.5 cups of black beans
- 1.5 cups of whole kernel corn – either canned drained or frozen thawed
- 1/2 cup of seasoned croutons
- 1/3 cup of feta cheese crumbles
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wash and core the bell peppers, removing the seeds
- Put the bell peppers in boiling water for five minutes.
- Transfer the parboiled bell peppers to a colander and let them cool for five to ten minutes.
- Crush the croutons in a plastic bag.
- Drain and rinse the black beans.
- If you use canned corn, drain it. If you use frozen corn, thaw it under running water.
- Mix the beans, corn, cumin, feta cheese, croutons, and salt and pepper in a mixing bowl.
- Use a spoon to add the stuffing to the cooled parboiled bell peppers.
- Put them in a baking dish with a little bit of water in the bottom of the dish.
- Bake the bell peppers at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
- (Optional) Serve with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream.
Notes
- If you make them ahead and refrigerate them, increase the cooking time to 30 minutes.
- If you use large bell peppers, one half a stuffed bell pepper with a side dish of rice or potatoes will probably be plenty, meaning that you can stretch this meal to serve six or more.
Products used in this recipe
Great recipe! Easy and flavorful. It would also go really well with a Spanish rice recipe. What sets Spanish rice apart (at least in my mind) is that you brown your rice kernels in oil before cooking the rice. And the recipe includes diced tomatoes; browned onions, garlic, and bell peppers; and some sort of broth, and I put a bit of vinegar. Maybe you all could include your recipe for that on your website if you haven’t already. I make mine “by guess and by golly” or I’d offer mine!
Thank you for all your good recipes!
Thanks, Kathleen! Now I want some Spanish rice. I’ll get to work on that. ?