Quinoa and Zucchini Stuffed Peppers

08.21.14
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Quinoa and Zucchini Stuffed Peppers

As promised, a recipe. But before I dive into this post, I just wanted to say thank you for the outpouring of amazing emails/comments after yesterday's post. While the internet can be a place of chaos and angry people, it's also an amazing tool to bring people together. So thank you, so much.

Now, this recipe. I mentioned almost a year ago (where is time going!?!?) that I started writing an article for the San Jose Mercury news. The recipe is suppose to embody 'fast and furious' for those weeknight dinners that need to be on the table in less than 30 minutes. Stuffed peppers are one of my go-to fork/knife vegetarian meals because you can really stuff it full of anything and call it a meal. This particular pepper calls for a quick cooking grain (quinoa) and also pre-made tomato sauce (either store bought or homemade!) However, if you have any leftover grains sitting around- you can replace quinoa with anything you like (millet and barley are a couple of my favorites!)

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Quinoa and Zucchini Stuffed Peppers

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

3.7 from 3 reviews

  • Author: Erin Alderson
  • Yield: 3-4 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 red peppers
  • 1 cup quinoa, cooked
  • 1 cup shredded zucchini/summer squash
  • 2 tablespoons fresh minced basil
  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 ounces mozzarella, shredded, divided

Instructions

  1. Preheat broiler. Place peppers whole under the broiler and cook until soft and just starting to char, rotating as needed, for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove, let cool slightly, then slice in half from top to bottom. Lay pepper halves flat in a roasting pan.
  2. Preheat/lower oven to 425 degrees.
  3. In a bowl, combine quinoa, shredded squash, basil, tomato sauce, garlic, salt, pepper, and half the cheese.
  4. Divide the quinoa mixture among the four pepper halves. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until cheese has melted and is starting to lightly brown.

 

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28 comments on “Quinoa and Zucchini Stuffed Peppers”

  1. Oh man, I love stuffed peppers. My grandma told me a story about how when she first started dating my grandpa, she would cook him stuffed peppers in her tiny apartment, and he loved them. She would always try to make a few extra so she could have leftovers, but the more she made each time, the more my grandpa would eat! 😉 Every time I see stuffed peppers I smile thinking of them eating those stuffed peppers over 50 years ago!

  2. These look delicious. I've made a similar dish but added some corn and onion. These are so versatile which is one of the many reasons I love them!

  3. Just had these for dinner. They are delicious. My husband, Mr. I hate quinoa, has asked for an encore appearance. Definitely yummy and to be repeated. The only change was I added some parmesan cheese to the quinoa mix. This is an easy meal with a complex flavor.

  4. Yay! Not only do these look amazing, but I'm SO thrilled I've found your blog! For the past several months i've been desperate to find recipes that fit my criteria AND look delicious and these types of recipes are, sadly, lacking. I want fresh meals, whole grain and produce based, no (or very minimal) meat and using seasonal ingredients. Lo and behold! Your food looks perfect. Why is it that all the "whole foods" blogs are full of meat and the "vegetarian" blogs are full of over-processed tofu weirdness? I'm desperate to feed my 6(!) kids healthy stuff that they like and it's maddeningly difficult. Long story short: new reader here 🙂 Thanks again! I think we'll do african curry tonight...mmmm!

    1. YES! Thanks for stopping by and saying hi, Bonnie (and you won't find any tofu here- SO not my style 🙂

  5. So loved this recipe. Had a glut of both red peppers and zucchini. Made these for dinner and they went down a treat. Have also stuffed with red onion corn tomato spring onion and avocado added to the cooked pepper and quinoa. Served with salad made a very healthy lunch

  6. that looks great and sooo healthy. Looks like something i could add to my diet without any worry 😉 thanks for the recipe.

  7. question: did you remove the seeds from the pepper or no? I removed the seeds and LOVED the recipe but I'm just curious 🙂

    1. I rarely ever remove the seeds unless I'm working with a chile where the seeds add unwanted heat!

      1. thanks! love this recipe! have made it for myself & then for my family so that they could try some awesome vegetarian food. they approved 🙂

  8. These were disappointingly bland. Needs more oomf to be satisfying, add somekf your own spices if trying this recipe.






    1. So sorry to hear that (especially given quite a few people have made this without disappointment). I'd recommend upping the garlic/basil if you really feel it needs it though!

  9. this is one of my favorite go-to recipes. for easter, my grandmother asked me to bring a veggie as a side dish. I'm going to make these, but a mini pepper version! (so people don't need to take a full half pepper).

hi. 

Welcome to my little internet nook. On this site you'll find over a thousand vegetarian recipes, pantry knowledge, and more. I'm ever obsessed with food from gardening, cooking, and preserving. I hope you'll find endless inspiration on these pages and visit often. 

Virtual hugs, Erin (aka: e.l.l.a.)
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