These vegetarian quinoa stuffed peppers are filled with gluten-free quinoa tricolore, chickpeas, dill, carrots and turmeric. They are cooked in a delicious tomato sauce and served with creamy mashed potatoes.
Stuffed peppers are hollowed or sometimes also halved peppers filled with any filling of your choice. Most often you’ll see meat (beef, chicken, sausage), vegetables, rice or a combination of those. But you can customize the filling to fit your taste.
When I was little, stuffed peppers were a classic in our house. My mom made them once a month. She used minced meat and rice as stuffing. And, we always stored some in our freezer. The great thing about stuffed peppers is, that you can stuff them with just about anything.
The combination that I used is quinoa tricolore (cos I find it so cute), onion, carrot, coriander seeds and turmeric. Besides tasting delicious, this stuffing is also healthy and gorgeous. Turmeric and carrots give a light yellow colour to quinoa, and coriander seeds and chickpeas add a new texture. At the same time, it has plenty of health benefits, for instance, high in fiber, and rich in minerals and vitamins.
For more healthy quinoa recipes, you might like these: healthy quinoa-leek bowl, this gorgeous spinach-quinoa stuffed butternut squash, this light quinoa crust pizza or this savoury quinoa bean patties.
More, besides being very versatile, they are great as leftovers, they can be made ahead and they freeze well, too. Well stored in an airtight container, they can last 3-4 days in the fridge or wrapped in foil in a freezer bag, they can be frozen for up to 6 months.
What is your favourite side dish? Because my mom always made mashed potatoes, I call them a classic. Therefore, I made them too. These creamy mashed potatoes are just divine and they pair very well with stuffed peppers and tomato sauce. However, you can serve vegetables or any salad as a side, as well.
When stuffing the peppers, make sure you really press the filling in the pepper, in order to reach every corner.
Look for peppers that can “stand” and hold a lot of filling, such as bell peppers. And, bell peppers hold their shape also after baking in the sauce and their mild flavour goes with just about anything. But, any other type of pepper will work just as well. Maybe it won’t stay up, but it will taste just as good. Wink.
Additionally, some recipes say to precook the peppers before stuffing them. I like them to be tender but not overcooked and mushy. Therefore, I prefer to fill them when still raw, because like that they keep a bit of texture after being baked.
Ingredients for 4 quinoa stuffed peppers:
- 4 bell peppers
- 200 g quinoa tricolore
- 1 Tbsp of olive oil
- 1 Tbsp of coriander seeds
- 2 tsp of turmeric powder
- 1 large red onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 carrots (diced)
- sea salt
- 300 g chickpeas (canned)
- 20 g fresh dill
- 400 ml tomato puree
- 40 g fresh chives
- 5 medium potatoes
- 50-70 ml milk
- 15 g butter
To begin, cook the quinoa. In a pot add the quinoa, cover it with water and cook until the water evaporates. Meanwhile, peel and chop the onion and peel and slice the garlic.
In a pan, add the olive oil, coriander seeds, Curcuma and onion. Saute until softened and then stir in the garlic, carrots and chickpeas. Season with salt, pour in a splash of water and cook, on medium heat, for 10 minutes.
At this point, combine the quinoa and the carrot-chickpea mixture in a bowl. Stir in the chopped dill, season to taste and set aside.
Once the stuffing is ready set it aside. In the meantime, wash and prepare the peppers. Using a carving knife, cut the top off and keep it next to the corresponding pepper. Remove the seeds and any white parts. Using a spoon, fill up each pepper with quinoa by pressing the filling lightly into the pepper.
Place the quinoa stuffed peppers (cut side up) into an oven-proof pot and place the corresponding top part on each of them. Add the tomato sauce to the pot, so that it covers all of the empty spaces between the peppers.
Preheat the oven to 180° C. Initially cook the peppers on the stove for 15 minutes. Then, cover it with tin foil and put it in the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until tender.
In the meantime, prepare the mashed potatoes. In a pot, cook the potatoes until tender. Afterwards, drain them, smash them with a fork and add the butter, milk and salt. Mash and mix until creamy. Chop some fresh chives and stir it into the potatoes.
After the peppers get tender, remove the tin foil and bake for 10 more minutes until the sauce is bubbly and the peppers are a bit wrinkled and charred.
Finally, arrange the mashed potatoes onto a plate and top it with one quinoa stuffed pepper and some lovely tomato sauce. Sprinkle with some more fresh chives.
Enjoy.
