Here’s a meatless, healthy dinner recipe for you: Quinoa Stuffed Peppers.
There are so many reasons to love today’s post. It’s Monday, and everyone is happy on Monday, right? Monday is known as “meatless Monday,” which is a nice stray away from your family’s usual meat-focused dinner, so I’ve got some beautiful quinoa stuffed peppers for you. And we’re celebrating the new Skinnytaste Cookbook by my sweet and talented friend Gina Homolka.
Listen to me now and trust what I’m going to say next. The Skinnytaste Cookbook is officially being released tomorrow, and it’s going to be HUGE. It’s already been selling well for weeks before the official release, but I’m telling you that this one is going to be a New York Times Best Seller. Plan to buy it or put it on your wish list because you’re going to want this one on your bookshelf FOR SURE.
Gina is so super talented at making skinny versions of delicious recipes. The book is very well written, and it’s filled with all kinds of “skinny” recipes you’re going to want to try.
I’m excited to try the following: Coconut Chicken Salad with Warm Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette, Pear and Brie Grilled Cheese, Baked Zucchini Sticks, Chicken Pot Pie Soup, Guiltless Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Mongolian Beef and Broccoli, Kiss My Shrimp and Grits, Vegetable Fried Brown Rice, Quinoa Tabbouleh and Silky Chocolate Cream Pie. There are so many good ideas in this book! All recipes contain nutritional information too!
These quinoa stuffed peppers are stuffed with a tomato-based, cheesy quinoa filling. They’re a delicious and filling main dish, and you can feel good that you’re not eating too much for dinner. My husband and I loved them. My kiddo happily ate the filling, but he pushed away the peppers (ignore him though… he’s a picky and opinionated 13-year old who is set in his ways, for the time being!)
Give these quinoa stuffed peppers a try for a meatless family dinner! And be sure to check out The Skinnytaste Cookbook. I think you’ll be very happy to have it in your collection!
Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Recipe Details
Ingredients
FILLING
- ½ cup quinoa, rinsed thoroughly
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium garlic cloves, chopped
- ¾ cup canned crushed tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- ½ cup chopped baby spinach
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- ¼ cup (1 ounce) shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese
PEPPERS
- 2 large bell peppers (I used yellow and red)
- 4 tablespoons canned crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- ¼ cup (1 ounce) shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese
- ⅓ cup vegetable broth
Instructions
FILLING
- Place rinsed quinoa in a medium saucepan. Add the broth and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
- Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil and garlic and cook, stirring, until golden, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper to taste, and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes to develop the flavors. Remove the pan from heat, add the cooked quinoa, Romano, spinach, basil and mozzarella.
PEPPERS
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Halve the peppers lengthwise and remove the core and seeds.
- Place the peppers cut-side-up in a baking dish. Fill each pepper with ½ cup of the filling. Top each with 1 tablespoon crushed tomatoes, ½ teaspoon Romano and 1 tablespoon mozzarella. Pour the broth into the bottom of the dish. Cover tightly with foil.
- Bake until the peppers are soft, about 50 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- If you are sharing this recipe as GLUTEN-FREE, just be sure to use brands of vegetable broth and tomatoes that are known to be GF.
Nutrition
Here are a few more stuffed peppers recipes you might enjoy:
- Stuffed Green Peppers with Brown Rice, Italian Sausage and Parmesan by Kalyn’s Kitchen
- Turkey and Feta Stuffed Peppers by Eat, Live, Run
- Stuffed Peppers with Beef and Bulgur Wheat by The Lemon Bowl
- Stuffed Pepper Soup by Skinnytaste
- Cream Cheese Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Peppers by Cinnamon-Spice and Everything Nice
This is a really good recipe — nice flavors and you can tweak to make it suit your tastes (or what’s in you pantry!). I’m a vegetarian and I live with meat eaters. This one is nice because I can add ground beef to their peppers.
I bought this cookbook a couple of months ago, and this was the first recipe I tried. We have made it 3 or 4 times since. SO good. I will say that you end up with extra filling – so I’d suggest buying one extra pepper. There are only 2 of us, so I save the filling and just fill 2 new pepper halves the next night and bake it all again. I have lots of post-it flags on other pages in the book – I look forward to trying more of the recipes – if they are all as good as this one, I’ll be thrilled !
I agree, Gina’s book is great!
Love the idea of using quinoa in stuffed peppers; that was brilliant. And thanks for the shout-out for my stuffed peppers recipe.
Lori, thanks for the awesome review!!!! BIG HUGS!!!! So glad you and your husband liked the peppers, and I know what you mean about picky kids, I have them too : )
Love Gina and can’t wait to get the cookbook. I am a big fan of stuffed peppers and this one looks amazing with the quinoa and spinach. Can’t wait to try this, thanks for sharing, Lori 🙂
I love stuffed peppers, Lori, and they’re so great with quinoa and cheese! These look amazing, and I need to grab a copy of that cookbook!
Love this, Lori. We eat quinoa on a regular basis. I can’t wait to try ALL of Gin’s recipes! Pinned! 🙂
Gina’s book is absolutely fantastic in every way. This is one of the recipes that I had my eye on, so it’s great to hear you enjoyed them.
This cookbook, this dish – LOVE it all!
My kids actually love quinoa, so I definitely need to give these a try!
This cookbook is definitely on my wish list. I’ve followed Gina’s blog for a while now and love her healthy recipes. The colorful peppers look so delicious and quinoa is such a smart addition.
Gina’s was one of the first blogs I ever followed, and she is a fantastic resource for healthy recipes that don’t skimp on taste. I can’t wait to see the book!
It sounds delicious and I will certainly put the cookbook on my wish list.
I love stuffed peppers – colourful, healthy, and so tasty! Thanks for sharing this recipe from the book Lori!