These vegan stuffed peppers are filled with an Italian-spiced mix of lentils and rice, and topped with zesty marinara sauce. The perfect meal when you're looking for some healthy comfort food!
Stuffed peppers were a regular when I was growing up. They were usually filled with ground meat and rice, and served with tomato sauce. I'm guessing a lot of you guys ate pretty much the same thing when you were kids!
One thing I noticed recently is that even though there are tons of vegan stuffed pepper recipes out there on the interwebs, most have a twist. There are lots of recipes Tex-Mex stuffed peppers and stuff like that. Even on this site, I have falafel stuffed peppers, risotto stuffed peppers, and vegan jalapeño poppers, but nothing like the classic stuffed peppers that mom used to make.
I decided it was time for a recipe for some good old classic stuffed peppers, and these did not disappoint! They satisfied all of my comfort food cravings in the best way.
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Olive oil. You can substitute another type of high-heat oil, but olive oil will give your peppers the best flavor.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Vegetable broth. I'm a big fan of Better Than Bouillon in seasoned vegetable flavor.
- Rice. The recipe calls for long grain brown rice. You can substitute another variety, but you might need to adjust the amount of broth and cook time.
- Vegan Worcestershire sauce. Most brands of Worcestershire sauce contain anchovies, so look out! Annie's, Edward & Sons, and Whole Foods brands are all vegan. Homemade vegan Worcestershire sauce is also really easy to make.
- Spices. You'll need dried basil, dried oregano, dried thyme, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes.
- Lentils. We're using dried brown lentils. You could also use precooked lentils, in which case you'll need 2 cups.
- Diced tomatoes. Use canned tomatoes packed in juice, which we'll be draining.
- Salt & pepper.
- Bell peppers. Any color! Green, red, yellow, or orange!
- Marinara sauce. Feel free to use homemade marinara sauce or store-bought.
- Fresh herbs. Optionally, you can sprinkle your finished peppers with some basil or parsley.
- Vegan Parmesan cheese. This is also optional, for topping our vegan stuffed peppers. You can use store-bought or homemade vegan Parmesan.
How They're Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
The Filling
- Heat up some olive oil in a pot, then add diced onion. Cook it until it begins to soften up, for about 5 minutes, then add the garlic and cook it with the onion until it becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in your broth, rice, Worcestershire sauce, and spices. Crank up the the heat and bring your broth to a boil.
- Lower the heat and cover the pot. Let the rice simmer for a while. No peeking! Rice cooks best when it's undisturbed.
- Cook your lentils while the rice boils.
Tip: Use a pot with a clear lid so you can keep an eye on your rice without removing the lid.
- Let your pot sit with the lid on for 5 minutes after removing it from the burner.
- Drain the tomatoes and stir them into the cooked rice, along with the lentils. Season your stuffed pepper filling with some salt and pepper.
The Peppers
- While the rice and lentils cook, start roasting your peppers. Cut each pepper in half, scoop out the insides, and rub the outside with a bit of olive oil.
- Place your pepper halves on a baking sheet, cut sides down, and roast them just until the flesh starts to blister. Briefly roasting the peppers like this begins softening them up so they're easier to stuff!
Variation: For larger servings, you can cut the tops off of your peppers instead of cutting them in half.
Assemble & Bake
- Pour some marinara sauce into a baking dish, then fill each of the pepper halves with your filling and place them into the sauce. You might need to pile some of the filling on top to get it all to fit!
- Pop the dish into the oven and bake your peppers until the sauce is bubbly.
- Let the peppers sit for a few minutes when they come out of the oven, then spoon some of the sauce from the dish over each pepper.
- Top your vegan stuffed peppers with fresh parsley or basil and vegan Parmesan, then serve!
Variation: You could optionally sprinkle your peppers with some shredded vegan cheese during the last few minutes of baking. Try using a mozzarella-style variety!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover stuffed peppers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
They are, as long as your Worcestershire sauce is gluten-free (Edward & Sons brand is).
You can! Green lentils would work great, though they will take a bit longer to cook. Red lentils fall apart and get super mushy when you cook them, so your filling will have a totally different texture, but I think it would still be good!
They'd go great with mashed potatoes or vegan scalloped potatoes, balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts, or a green salad!
More Bell Pepper Recipes
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Italian Vegan Stuffed Peppers
These vegan stuffed peppers are filled with an Italian-spiced mix of lentils and rice, and topped with zesty marinara sauce. The perfect meal when you're looking for some healthy comfort food!
Ingredients
For the Filling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth
- ¾ cup long grain brown rice
- 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
- ¾ cups dried brown lentils (Note 1)
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can diced tomatoes in juice, drained
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For the Peppers
- 4 large bell peppers, any color
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 ½ cups marinara sauce (homemade or jarred), plus more if desired
- Fresh parsley or basil, for serving, optional
- Vegan Parmesan cheese, for serving, optional
Instructions
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Begin by making the filling. Coat the bottom of a medium pot with olive oil and place it over medium heat.
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When the oil is hot, add the onion and cook it, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, until soft and translucent.
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Add the garlic and cook it for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
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Stir in the broth, rice, Worcestershire sauce, basil, thyme, oregano, fennel, and red pepper flakes. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil.
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Lower the heat until the liquid is just simmering. Cover the pot and allow the rice to simmer for about 40 minutes, until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed.
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While the rice cooks, place the lentils in a small saucepan and cover them with a few inches of water.
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Place the pot over high heat and bring the water to a boil.
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Lower the heat and allow the water to boil until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. You can add more water during cooking if too much of it dries up.
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While the rice and lentils simmer, begin preparing the peppers. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
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Cut each pepper in half, then scoop out the seeds and core. (Note 2)
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Rub the outside of each pepper with olive oil, then place the peppers, cut side down, on a baking sheet.
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Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake the peppers until the skin just starts to blister, about 15 minutes.
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When the lentils are done cooking, drain them in a colander and return them to the pot.
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When the rice has finished cooking, allow the pot to sit with the lid on for 5 minutes.
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Remove the lid from the rice and stir in the lentils and tomatoes. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
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When the peppers have finished baking, remove the dish from the oven, but leave the oven on.
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Spoon the marinara sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
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Spoon the filling into the pepper halves, mounding some on top if necessary, then arrange the stuffed pepper halves in the baking dish.
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Place the dish to the oven and bake the peppers for about 15 minutes more, until the sauce is bubbly.
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Remove the dish from the oven and let the peppers sit for a few minutes.
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Sprinkle with fresh basil, parsley and/or vegan Parmesan cheese. Divide the peppers onto plates. Serve.
Recipe Notes
- If you're substituting canned or precooked lentils, you'll need 2 cups.
- For larger servings you could cut the top off of each pepper instead of cutting it in half. If you've got a big appetite and/or aren't making any side dishes, this might be the way to go. You may also be able to use smaller peppers and get 6 medium-ish servings (1 pepper each).
You used to have a link where we could save your wonderful recipes to Pinterest...but I do not see that anymore??
Any reaso??
Thanks,
Molly Culver
Hi Molly! Are you looking for the buttons below the recipe? If so, sorry! I was making some changes and accidentally removed them. I've added them back now -right below the nutrition info! If you're on desktop you can also hover your mouse over an image and a pin-it button will pop up. I hope that helps, and let me know if you have any more trouble.
Hi- are the calories right? 534 calories per pepper seems like a lot. I cant picture myself eating half a stuffed pepper for dinner.
534 is correct, but if you're using large peppers the servings are very generous. My husband and I actually usually each eat a half of a pepper with salad on the side. You could also use peppers that are a bit smaller and get 6 more moderate portions with fewer calories.
I made these with chickpeas and left off the oil. Really good!
I made this for my family tonight. These peppers were so delicious. They certainly live up to the "peppers my Mom used to make" goal. I was similarly taken down memory lane. They are so flavorful. Thanks so much!
would love if this could be more of a 1 pot filling made in the instant pot?
Possibly, but I haven't tried so I can't give exact instructions. I'll update the post if I can get it to work!
I made this recipe and it was delicious! I skipped the oil and used instant brown rice.