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For a relatively simple dish, nothing quite beats a stuffed pepper. They act as their own form of portion control, and can be filled with a variety of ingredients to fit the taste you want. Typically they are filled with ground beef, but what if you wanted to go for a meatless option? That’s where this recipe comes in!

Any good stuffed pepper should be filled to the brim with ingredients. We also wanted to stick to a Spanish theme for this recipe, so beans and rice were absolutely essential ingredients. In keeping with the vegetarian, healthier aspect of the dish, though, we stuck to brown rice. For some sweetness, we also included chopped tomatoes and corn kernels for a tex-mex feel. To fill out the rest of the dish, we included chopped olives, garlic, and some spaghetti sauce to provide some moisture to what would otherwise be a rather dry dish. Keep reading below for find out how we made this great dish…

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon salt plus 1 teaspoon, divided
  • 4 large bell peppers, seeds, membranes, and tops removed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 2 cups cooked brown rice
  • 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 3 small tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 cup corn kernels (if using frozen, thaw them out first)
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 3/4 cup shreddedMexican blend cheese.
  • 1 can chopped ripe olives
  • 4 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3/4 cup spaghetti sauce
  • 1/2 cup water

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F
  2. Bring a large pot of water an 1 tablespoon salt to a boil.
  3. Cook bell peppers in the boiling water until slightly softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain.
  4. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion to the oil, and stir until softened and transparent (5 to 10 minutes).
  5. Mix together rice, black beans, tomatoes, onion, cheese, and olives. Gently fold in chili powder, cumin, garlic, black pepper, and spaghetti sauce.
  6. Spoon the mixture into the bell peppers, and arrange them in a 9×9 baking dish.
  7. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.
  8. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home