Quick and Easy Quinoa Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Creating healthy dinners doesn’t have feel complicated or overwhelming, especially on a busy weeknight. One of my favourite pantry staples to incorporate in plant-based cooking is quinoa. This pseudo-grain (meaning it mimics a grain, but is in fact a seed!) is packed with nutrients including protein, fibre, magnesium, and iron!

Make a large batch on a Sunday and use it all through the week for various dishes, including these totally easy weeknight stuffed peppers. If you’ve got a super-busy week ahead, try prepping the stuffed peppers ahead of time, then pull them out of the fridge when you're ready to bake!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 4 bell peppers, halved and seeded
• 2 medium sized carrots, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• ½ white onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Portobello mushrooms, diced
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• 1 tsp each salt and pepper
• 1 Tbsp avocado oil or any neutral oil

From weeknight to weekend Make these peppers company-worthy by sprinkling the tops with some breadcrumbs or parmesan cheese, and up the flavour ante by spiking the water bath with a glug or two of white wine!

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a pan over medium-high heat, sauté onions with oil for about 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add garlic during the last minute or so of cooking and let cook until fragrant.
3. Add remaining veggies and sauté for 5-7 minutes, adding a sprinkle of salt midway through cooking to help the mushrooms release some water. Remove from heat.
4. In a large bowl, combine the quinoa and sautéed vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Arrange the pepper halves cut side up on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with a little oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Using a spoon, lightly pack each pepper with the quinoa mixture, making sure to fill them right to the rim.
6. Pour ¾ cup of water into the bottom of the baking sheet, being careful to avoid splashing the quinoa mixture. Cover with foil, and bake for about 40 minutes.
7. Remove foil. Turn oven to broil and crisp tops for about 5 minutes, or until golden brown.