Spicy Quinoa Stuffed Peppers (easy + vegan)

Name: Spicy Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 1.5 cups quinoa (cooked); 3 bell peppers (large); 3 button mushrooms (chopped); 1 zucchini (quartered); 7 stalks asparagus (diced); 2 cloves garlic (minced); 1/4 cup olive oil; 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1/4 cup olive oil

Fire up your taste buds with these easy quinoa stuffed peppers! Made with only eight ingredients these vegan stuffed peppers pack quite a punch! Perfect for a meatless Monday meal, lunch with a kick, or as a side dish to something bigger. These vegan, quinoa stuffed peppers are a delicious and simple meal prep idea!

While I am not a vegan, it doesn't mean I don't appreciate a plant-based meal! Moreover, these quinoa stuffed peppers are loaded with plants. Lots of veggies, plant-based protein, and a spicy kick. These stuffed bell peppers are a tasty switch up from your normal lunch.

Likewise, while we use these peppers as a full-on lunch, every so often the hubby and I enjoy them as a dinner side also (we scale back the spice for the kids).

Plus, whipping up a batch of the quinoa mixture ahead of time makes for crazy simple assembly on a busy weeknight. Or, fully make them and use them for lunches all week- they reheat well!

There are literally endless ways to rock these spicy vegan stuffed peppers.

Don't want to read? JUMP to the recipe!

How To Serve Them

This may seem like a no-brainer but it totally threw me for a loop at first! You can easily make this into three servings (instead of six) and stuff the peppers standing up and uncut.

However, my issue with this was that unless you make sure your bell peppers are kind of flat on the bottom, they tend to fall over- a lot. It's eye twitchy to say the least. Plus, once you place them on your plate to cut they topple anyways!

So, while you can stuff these peppers in their natural form. I personally cut them in half, remove seeds and stem and stuff them on their side. This makes the process SO much easier.

As I mentioned, you can use these vegan stuffed peppers as a lunch or as a side dish. However, if you want to kick them up a notch, we love adding any of the following ingredients on top:

salsa
kimchi (my personal favorite!)
avocado
homemade guacamole or avocado drizzle like in this Vegan Burrito Bowl

But What About The Protein?

One of the wicked benefits of quinoa is that it is high in all essential amino acids! Thus, from a vegan perspective, it makes a killer protein.

That said, if you feel the need to step up your protein, you can easily serve these vegan stuffed peppers on the side of something larger, or top them with maple tempeh or tofu. Quinoa also pairs well with eggs (like in this savory quinoa breakfast bowl), so egg scrambled in would be delicious also!

Considering I'm not vegan, I personally like to chop up sausage and toss that into the mix.

How To Make Them Paleo Or Whole30

While I adore quinoa, sometimes it does get a bit heavy. Similarly, if you're following along a paleo or whoel30 diet, quinoa isn't part of that.

Not to worry though because these spicy quinoa stuffed peppers can easily accommodate both diets!

Instead of the quinoa, simply use homemade cauliflower rice! Cauliflower rice gives you an extra vegetable in this stuffed pepper recipe and it removes the carbohydrate or dietary restriction.

Plus, it still holds the wicked flavor of these spicy stuffed peppers so win!

How To Meal Prep Stuffed Peppers

If you're a meal prepper, first learn more about how to make meal prepping easier. Next, know that there are two ways you can use these vegan stuffed peppers for a great meal prep session:

Fully make the peppers and store in air-tight containers in the fridge. They tend to last 3-4 days in the fridge and still taste great re-heated in the microwave or oven.
Whip up the quinoa mixture so it's ready in the fridge. Then, when you need to assemble the vegan stuffed peppers all you have to do is cut and stuff the peppers and bake. Thus, this makes for a crazy simple weeknight dinner!

Easy, Healthy Dinner Recipes In Under 30 Minutes

If you’re looking for even easier, healthy dinner recipes, check out The Busy Moms E-Cookbook,- simple dinners for busy moms where I’ve gathered 30 healthy dinner recipes that can be made in thirty minutes or less.

From easy vegan tacos to beef and quinoa chili, simple chicken pasta to a bok choy and mushroom bowl. Likewise, These dinner recipes share a few things in common:

They are healthy and simple to make
All of the recipes are dairy-free or could easily be made dairy-free
The majority of the recipes are gluten-free
All of the recipes are real-food based and focus on nutrients not fillers
They’re all tasty!

To make dinner-time even LESS stressful, I’ve also included several bonus tips on food prep, pantry staples and how to make healthy eating simple. Grab your copy of The Busy Mom’s E-Cookbook

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Ingredients

1.5 cups cooked quinoa
3 large bell peppers
3 large button mushrooms, chopped
1 zucchini, quartered
7 stalks asparagus, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Kitchen Tools You May Find Useful

How To Make Stuffed Pepper Recipe

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a pan with tinfoil.

In a large pan, heat the olive oil slightly over medium heat.

Once the oil is heated, add the garlic and pepper flakes

Let the mixture begin to sizzle (about two minutes) then add the vegetables.

Cover with a lid and let cook for two minutes.

Add in the quinoa and mix well making sure everything is coated.

Cover with a lid and cook for five-six minutes or until vegetables are almost tender.

Remove lid and cook an additional three minutes to firm everything up. If adding in any extra protein to the dish (cooked sausage, tofu etc now).

Finally, prep the peppers by cutting them in half, removing the seeds, and any extra skin.

Carefully divide the vegetable mixture into the peppers and place them on the baking tray.

Bake for 25 minutes and let cool slightly before eating. Top the vegan stuffed peppers with any additional fixings.

Note: these peppers come out spicy from the chili flakes. If spice isn't your thing, cut the flakes down.

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