Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Name: Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 20 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 4 large red bell peppers; 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil; ½ medium yellow onion, diced; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 cup uncooked white rice; 1 ⅔ cups vegetable broth; 1 (13.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes; 3 to 4 green onions, chopped; 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (homemade or store bought); 1 (13.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed; 1 cup frozen corn; 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese; Minced fresh cilantro (optional)

Vegetarian stuffed peppers—baked until tender and brimming with a taco-seasoned, cheesy bean-and-rice filling—are an easy, healthy dinner that’s sure to spice up your week.

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vegetarian stuffed bell peppers topped with cilantro and melted cheese in a casserole

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Surprise! The Best Stuffed Peppers Just Happen to Be Vegetarian.

Cooking one food—in this case, a beany rice-and-cheese filling—inside of another food (red bell peppers) looks fiddly, but making stuffed peppers is really easy. Bell peppers are already basically hollow, so being a delicious, edible bowl for a cheesy, tomato-y filling is a role they were born to play!

These vegetarian stuffed peppers are (duh) meat-free. But, what they lack in beefiness, they more than make up for in flavor. A healthy way to indulge your craving for Mexican food, they’re taco-seasoned and loaded with black beans and pepper jack cheese for a satisfying kick.

vegetarian stuffed peppers topped with cheese and cilantro

4 Reasons to Try Our Healthy Stuffed Peppers Recipe TONIGHT.

Just in case you need a nudge, we can think of at least four terrific reasons to make these cheesy stuffed peppers ASAP.

They’re really healthy. These bell peppers are essentially veggies cooked in veggies—so you could probably already tell this recipe was a healthy one, right? Rice, black beans, peppers and tomatoes conspire to make these stuffed peppers an excellent source of fiber, and the beans and cheese mean that they have plenty of protein, too.
They’re SO easy. Although they take about an hour to make, this certainly qualifies as an easy stuffed peppers recipe because most of that hour is oven time.
They’re good for the planet! We all know that one of the biggest, easiest steps we can take towards taking better care of the planet is eating a little less meat. Delicious vegetarian recipes like this prove that eating less meat is actually pretty painless.
Our vegetarian stuffed peppers are also gluten-free, without even trying! We didn’t set out to make these gluten-free, but isn’t it nice when it just works out that way? Major bonus!

ingredients for vegetarian stuffed bell peppers in small bowls

cast iron skillet of rice, tomatoes, broth, bell peppers, onions and green onions

mexican rice with beans and corn in a cast iron skillet

red bell peppers cut in half stuffed with mexican rice in a casserole dish

How to Make Stuffed Peppers

Our oven-baked, easy stuffed peppers are quick, healthy and pretty darn crowd-pleasing. They’re kind of fun to make, too, which isn’t the only reason to make them but it sure helps, doesn’t it? Anyway, here’s how easy these are:

Cook the bean and Mexican rice pepper filling in a skillet to meld the flavors. Note: this stuffed pepper filling is also great on it's own!
Prep the red peppers! Slice them in half, and scoop out the membranes and seeds so you’ve got sweet little red bell pepper “bowls”, ready to hold that hearty filling.
Fill! Mound big spoonfuls of that tomatoey, bean-speckled rice mixture into the peppers, and top with cheese. OR, to make these vegan stuffed peppers, just leave the cheese off, or use a vegan cheese alternative.
Bake! Just long enough to really soften the peppers and for the cheese to melt into the filling—about 30 minutes.

Tools You’ll Need.

Four More Easy Vegetarian Recipes:

Meat-free doesn’t have to mean missing out. Here are four vegetarian recipes that prove it:

vegetarian stuffed peppers topped with cilantro

Gluten-Free, Healthy, Vegetarian (Nearly Vegan!) Stuffed Peppers that Taste Good, Too?

Yes! Crazy, right? We hope you’re as sold on this super easy, delicious bell pepper recipe as we are. Tell us how yours turned out! Snap a photo of your stuffed peppers, and maybe even a video of the beautiful people you share them with. Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!