Most week night meals from my kitchen don’t wind up on the blog because they are lame. The interesting, successful dishes are the only ones worth remembering (and some poignant fails for good measure). I’ve made stuffed bell peppers a dozen times at home, but you wouldn’t know because they came and went without a photograph. Finally, I made a batch that was beautiful and delicious enough to share with y’all.
I love dishes like this where the concept is solid, but the parts are flexible. Bell pepper shell + filling + sauce can be made up a hundred different ways. Once I have a meal idea in mind, I just try to use up fresh produce or whatever I have on hand. Sometimes we eat meat, sometimes we don’t. This stuffed bell pepper would turn out just as well if you used ground meat or beans in the filling.
If you want my opinion though, I adored how the cannellini beans burst as they cooked in the hot oven, almost like popcorn. I will use beans over meat in this filling from now on.
Above Average Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced tomato
- 1/2 cup white onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 2 servings cooked brown rice (1/2 cup)
- 1 can beans, drained and rinsed (cannellini, butter, navy, chickpea, black)
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 3 or 4 bell peppers with sturdy bottoms
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Slice the tops off the bell peppers. Clean out the seeds and ribs.
- Place on a baking sheet in a low oven (250°F) for 10-15 minutes.
- Finely chop onion and garlic, dice tomatoes.
- Simmer in olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Sweat the onions for a few minutes, then add the sauce, beans, and cooked rice.
- Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper.
- Simmer filling over medium-low heat for 5 minutes before transferring to peppers.
- Remove bell peppers from oven, drop spoonfuls of filling inside. Pack down as necessary.
- Turn up oven to 350ºF.
- Place baking sheet back into hot oven. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Slice and serve!
I want to dig right into the photo! I wish I still had some leftovers hanging around.
Other ideas for Stuffed Bell Peppers:
- Quinoa + sautéed mushrooms and onions + cream of mushroom soup
- Brown rice + black beans + onions + salsa + topped with cheese
- Brown rice + ground turkey meat + onions + marinara + topped with cheese
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