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This vegetarian quinoa stuffed peppers recipe is a colorful and delicious healthy dinner, full of Mediterranean flavors like lemon, parsley and feta.
When I was in kindergarten, I entered a coloring contest. It was about eating healthy foods. I drew a bunch of different “healthy” foods that I knew of from the food pyramid: little carrots, carrots of milk, pork chops, and so forth. My drawing ended up winning the kindergarten division, and it was displayed for all the school to see. But the thing was, I was totally uninspired with the whole thing. I drew it because it was an assignment. I did not feel creative about it in the least. The food pyramid seemed like a limiting set of rules set forth by the school and government. Cooking and eating healthy foods in my mind was B-O-R-I-N-G.
To this day, I have the same feeling about programs that try to tell me how to eat healthy. Lists and check boxes don’t work for me. What does work? Creative freedom. I love eating beautiful, colorful, delicious food. And that’s what this quinoa stuffed peppers recipe is all about. Keep reading for more about creativity, and the recipe.
A creative approach to the kitchen
To us, food is all about creativity and fun. That’s why Alex and I learned just enough about whole foods eating to inform ourselves. Then we put our main focus on making things fun and inspired. We cook together and try to find the tastiest things we can dream up, like colorful vegetarian quinoa stuffed peppers.
Our kitchen is our workshop. After a long day at work, making something beautiful to eat is personally satisfying. We don’t do it because we have to or an app on our phone tells us it’s important. We do it because we love it, and it’s endlessly joy-filled. Does taking a creative approach to food instead of a have-to approach speak to you? Let us know in the comments below.
How to make this quinoa stuffed peppers recipe
This quinoa stuffed peppers recipe is a spin on classic stuffed peppers we created as a creative way to eat your veggies. Multi-colored bell peppers are sliced open and roasted, then stuffed with the flavors of the Mediterranean. Roasting peppers is quite easy: it takes just 30 minutes and you can do it while preparing the remainder of the recipe.
To make the quinoa filling in this vegetarian stuffed peppers recipe, we sauteed shallot and garlic, then added the quinoa, chopped pistachios, parsley, paprika, oregano and lemon. We then stuffed the filling into the peppers and sprinkled everything with a healthy dose of feta cheese.
Related: Healthy Dinner Recipes | Easy Stuffed Peppers Recipe
Looking for more easy Mediterranean recipes?
Aside from this vegetarian quinoa stuffed peppers recipe, here are a few more of our favorite Mediterranean recipes and bell pepper recipes:
- Mediterranean Rice Bowl
- Mediterranean Bulgur Salad (Tabbouleh)
- Mediterranean Loaded Veggie Sandwich
- Greek Nachos with Cilantro Drizzle
- Easy Stuffed Peppers
- Rainbow Vegetable Sandwich
- Best Roasted Vegetables
- All our Quinoa Recipes!
This vegetarian quinoa stuffed peppers recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten-free. For plant-based, vegan, and dairy-free, omit the feta cheese.
Quinoa Stuffed Peppers Recipe
This vegetarian quinoa stuffed peppers recipe is a colorful and delicious healthy dinner, full of Mediterranean flavors like lemon, parsley and feta.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 4 to 6 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients
- 6 multi-colored bell peppers
- 1 cup dry quinoa
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3 medium shallots (1 cup chopped)
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- ¾ cup chopped pistachios
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice plus zest from ½ lemon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup feta cheese crumbles (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Wash the peppers and cut them in half lengthwise; remove the stems and seeds. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then place the peppers on top. Bake with the cut side down for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven, flip to cut side up, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Bake another 15 minutes until tender.
- Meanwhile, cook the quinoa (or use our Instant Pot quinoa method): Rinse the quinoa and drain it completely, then place it in a saucepan with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer where the water is just bubbling for 17 to 20 minutes until the water has been completely absorbed. (Check by pulling back the quinoa with a fork to see if water remains.) Turn off the heat and let sit with the lid on to steam for at least 5 minutes.
- Mince the garlic, shallot and parsley. Chop the pistachios. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the garlic, shallot and red pepper flakes and sauté 1 to 2 minutes until the shallot is translucent and the garlic is fragrant. Remove from the heat, then stir in the cooked quinoa, pistachios, ¼ cup parsley, paprika, oregano, lemon juice and zest, sea salt and black pepper. Taste and add another few pinches of salt to taste. Spoon the filling into the roasted pepper halves. Garnish with a small sprinkling of remaining parsley and feta cheese crumbles. Serve any additional filling on the side.
Making this right now!! Sounds delicious! Is this dish freezeable. I live alone so just asking…..
Yes, it should freeze fine.
Loved this, especially the filling. Because I made this earlier in the day, I cooked the peppers only for the first 15 min. I also added the feta to the mixture. Then I baked the stuffed peppers 350 degrees for about 10 min. to heat through. Thank you!!!
The “Cook Time” on this recipe needs to be adjusted. It says 35 minutes, but if you just add up the time in the instructions, it’s 30 minutes of baking + at least 25 minutes on the stove = at least 55 minutes cook time.
We are new to trying Mediterranean recipes, what are some other veggies that I can add in? Thank you!
I wouldn’t add anything else into the filling.
Can you please help me with this. Besides bell peppers I will soon use or loose I have a box of Seeds of Change organic quinoa and brown rice sold at Costco and they are precooked and ready to use. I believe they would be absolutely perfect in your recipe but the problem is when I googled the yield of cooked quinoa the answer was way out of whack from what I think your recipe makes. Would you please tell me the amount of cooked quinoa in your recipe. Thanks and I’m glad I found you guys.
Thanks for writing! The quinoa makes about 3 cups cooked — but it does make extra filling you can serve on the side. Looks like 1 Seeds of Change packet has 2 cups of rice, so you can go ahead and just use that one packet for the filling — it will work well! Adjust the salt to taste because sometimes the Seeds of Change is already seasoned. Let us know how it goes!
This is such a helpful Q&A! I was wondering how much filling would be necessary for 6 peppers and really appreciate both the question and the response. One more question: Could the filling be prepared in advance? I’m thinking about refrigerating overnight, warming the next day while the peppers are roasting and filling the peppers just before serving.
Hi there! You can definitely make the filling in advance and reheat before serving. I’m not sure I understand your first question: are you asking how much filling in volume of cups? Because it said there will be extra filling? Let me know — thank you!
Decent
I have made it, but don’t know how to eat it and with what :(
Eat it with a knife and fork! You can accessorize with any of our side dishes or salads here: https://www.acouplecooks.com/side-dishes-salad-recipes/