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Best Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers Recipe

July 20, 2016 by Florentina 34 Comments

Hands down the best vegetarian stuffed peppers recipe ever, easy, hearty and healthy made with wild mushrooms and arborio risotto rice Italian style. Cooked in a San Marzano tomato sauce, can be finished on the stove top, in the oven or even your crock pot.

Best Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe

You guys, I’m just here to talk about what is the best stuffed peppers recipe of all time! I swear on my saffron, they are irresistible!

I totally realize the thermometer shows like 95”F outside, but seriously, who doesn’t love good comfort food regardless of the weather ? And is there anything out there that even comes close to a home cooked meal like this?  Me thinks not!

Best Stuffed Peppers in Tomato Sauce, Vegetarian Italian Style

What makes this the Best Stuffed Peppers ?

  • the different color bell peppers are loaded with sweet flavors and nutrition.
  • can be made 100% plant based, vegan, stuffed with flavorful wild mushrooms. instead of the more traditional ground chicken, beef, sausage or pork filling I used to make for the BatMan before.
  • they are cooked in the tastiest broth/ sauce, made with San Marzano tomatoes and organic vegetable stock. The best way to cook stuffed peppers truly is in all that flavorful tomato sauce.
  • they are super easy to make, gluten free and can be prepared a couple of days in advance.
  • a pot of these peppers will feed and satisfy the hunger of 7 or 8 adults. Depending on how many you can really fit in your pot of course. You have a big dutch oven right ?
  • swap the risotto rice for quinoa, couscous, barley or quick cook brown rice.

Easy Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers

I could try and describe more in depth the magical combination of flavors going on in these peppers, but honestly i wouldn’t do it any justice. You’ll just have to make them yourself!

 This is the best and only vegetarian stuffed peppers recipe you need! Make it your own!

Best Stuffed Peppers Recipe

If you like lots of sauce in your bowl, just add more liquid and cook this recipe more like a tomato stuffed pepper soup.

What to serve with stuffed peppers?

  • a nice drizzle of organic sour cream or creamy greek yogurt.
  • lots of Italian ciabatta or homemade crusty bread. Bread is everything!
  • mushroom bruschetta!

Best Italian Stuffed Peppers Recipe made with Wild Mushrooms and Arborio Risotto Rice

Best Stuffed Peppers Recipe
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Best Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Hands down the best stuffed peppers recipe, easy and healthy made with mushrooms and risotto rice instead of ground chicken or meat, cooked Italian style in a San Marzano tomato sauce.
Course Main
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 226kcal
Author Florentina

Ingredients

  • 7-8 medium size bell peppers mixed colors
  • 3/4 cup risotto rice
  • 1 lb wild mushrooms
  • 1 medium onion -diced
  • 4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
  • 8 sprigs thyme -leaves only
  • 8 sprigs thyme -whole
  • 1/2 cup Italian flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp sea salt + more to taste
  • black pepper -to taste
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika
  • 28 oz canned San Marzano tomatoes -whole in tomato puree
  • 1/2 qt vegetable stock -seasoned to taste
  • 3 leaves bay
  • 1/2 cup sour cream or greek yogurt (optional)
  • Optional: thyme blossoms for garnish

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 375" F.
  • Rinse the peppers and cut the tops and empty the seeds and membrane. Reserve the clean tops also, you’ll need to place them back on top after you fill the peppers.
  • Crush the tomatoes with your hands and add a layer with juices to the bottom of a large enameled cast iron pan.
  • In a large saute pan heat up the olive oil and saute the onion with a pinch of sea salt until softened and translucent. Add the rice, stir and let cook together for about 5 min. Mix in the mushrooms ( or ground chicken If using meat)  and stir with a wooden spoon. Add the thyme leaves, parsley, 1 tsp sea salt, pepper and paprika and mix well together. Cook for a few minutes until the mushrooms start to soften a bit and remove from heat.
  • Stuff each pepper with the rice mixture ¾ of the way up (very important not to over stuff them). Put the tops back on, just to make sure the stuffing will stay inside..
  • Arrange the peppers in the heavy bottom sauce pan on top of the tomato layer. Pour in the stock and the remaining crushed tomatoes making sure it comes all the way up the sides of the peppers.
  • Add the bay leaves and thyme sprigs and transfer the pot to the preheated 375 degrees oven for 50 minutes.
  • Remove from the lid and allow the peppers to cook uncovered for another 10 minutes.
  • Remove the pot of stuffed peppers from the oven very carefully and allow it to sit covered for 10 min before serving.
  • Serve with a drizzle of sour cream and garnished with fresh parsley and thyme.

Crock Pot / Slow Cooker Method

  • Follow the recipe above and add the peppers to a large slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 -8 hours or until tender and the rice is cooked through.

Notes

1. Serve the stuffed peppers warm surrounded by the broth they were cooked in and drizzled with sour cream or greek yogurt.
2. If you happen to have any chicken and rice mixture leftover, just spoon it in the pot around the peppers to cook together.

Nutrition

Calories: 226kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 670mg | Potassium: 755mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 4155IU | Vitamin C: 151.5mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 3.6mg

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Filed Under: Chicken and Beef, Gluten Free, Main Courses, Top Recipes Tagged With: Best Chicken Recipes, Best Italian recipes, Best Rice Recipes, Best Risotto Recipes, Easy Chicken Recipes, Easy Italian Recipes, Italian Chicken Dishes, Italian Chicken Recipes, Italian Dinner Recipes, Italian Meals, Italian Recipes, Rice Dishes, Simple Chicken Recipes

About Florentina

Hi, I'm Florentina, the voice behind the wholesome recipes you find in this journal. But I'm not alone, I'm really just channeling the Man in the Photo, one recipe at a time! Thank you for joining me in my quest for the art of simple, rustic living, trying to capture the raw beauty of organic food & life through the lens of my Iphone and camera.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nancy | The Bitter Side of Sweet

    July 21, 2016 at 6:23 am

    I love how you used risotto in these stuffed peppers! Looks delicious!

    Reply
  2. Meg @ With Salt and Wit

    July 21, 2016 at 7:01 am

    Wow! These look amazing! I want them for dinner today!

    Reply
  3. Amanda | The Chunky Chef

    July 21, 2016 at 9:22 am

    I love how easy and yummy these peppers look!!

    Reply
  4. Igor @ Cooking The Globe

    July 21, 2016 at 2:43 pm

    5 stars
    I grew up with stuffed peppers, so they bring back many amazing memories. Yours look fantastic!

    Reply
  5. Neli @ Delicious Meets Healthy

    July 21, 2016 at 6:11 pm

    5 stars
    There is no doubt that this is a great recipe! Looks so flavorful and delicious, my mouth is watering just looking at the pictures.

    Reply
    • Florentina

      July 22, 2016 at 11:12 am

      Thanks Neli, hope you try them. I’m about to make a vegetarian batch of peppers just stuffed with wild mushrooms and rice. i’m so excited! ~ Florentina

      Reply
  6. Katerina @ Diethood

    July 22, 2016 at 12:16 pm

    I love stuffed peppers, and these are fab!! I have yet to use ground chicken in peppers, but now I’m definitely going to give that a try.

    Reply
    • Florentina

      July 22, 2016 at 8:02 pm

      Oh yes, ground chicken in stuffed peppers is the best. Just make sure to use ground dark meat so it doesn’t dry out.

      Reply
  7. Cathy Trochelman

    July 22, 2016 at 1:39 pm

    I never liked stuffed peppers as a kid, but as an adult I LOVE them! These look awesome!

    Reply
    • Florentina

      July 22, 2016 at 8:01 pm

      I know what you mean, I used to not like the green peppers, so I’d always beg to get a red one at the dinner table or I wouldn’t eat. I know, I was trouble hehe

      Reply
  8. Kate

    July 22, 2016 at 1:49 pm

    5 stars
    These stuffed peppers look lovely. And it’s great that you can make them in advance.

    Reply
  9. Amanda

    July 22, 2016 at 6:03 pm

    5 stars
    Love everything about this recipe, but my heart skipped a beat at risotto rice cooked in San Marzano tomato broth. Sounds wonderful!

    Reply
    • Florentina

      July 22, 2016 at 8:00 pm

      Oh yes you know it! That’s where the magic is 😉 ~Florentina

      Reply
  10. Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy

    July 22, 2016 at 8:20 pm

    5 stars
    Totally love stuffed peppers. They are such a great one dish meal, and you can stuff them so many ways. They make awesome leftovers too. I love to make lots and freeze them. Perfect to take out on busy days and still have a great meal.

    Reply
  11. Melanie | Melanie Makes

    July 23, 2016 at 8:53 pm

    Love that you used ground chicken in this recipe!

    Reply
  12. ricco

    July 24, 2016 at 1:16 pm

    5 stars
    every Italian cell in my old body expands when I read a recipe such as you just shared with us. we buy our organic fruits, vegies and chickens, from our Mennonite family friends, all colored sweet peppers included, and we have our own gigantic herb garden, crowded with lovely herbs. we use herbs in most of what we eat, including oatmeal in the morning. will definitely have stuffed CF peppers in the coming days.

    ciao

    Reply
    • Florentina

      July 24, 2016 at 6:12 pm

      Hi Ricco, I just pictured everything you just described and it sounds like heaven! That is living right. Please report back on the peppers, hope everyone loves them as much as we do!

      Reply
  13. GiGi Eats

    July 26, 2016 at 8:42 pm

    Stuffed bell peppers are so great- and great for people who have portion control problems!

    Reply
    • Florentina

      July 26, 2016 at 9:11 pm

      hahaha I really know what you mean. One stuffed pepper for you, two for me lol

      Reply
  14. Sheena

    September 1, 2016 at 7:41 am

    I love that you used a combination of bell peppers! These look amazing and I know my family would love them!

    Reply
  15. Brandy | Nutmeg Nanny

    September 1, 2016 at 2:00 pm

    LOVE stuffed peppers! These look amazing!

    Reply
  16. Annie

    September 1, 2016 at 4:06 pm

    Stuffed peppers are one of my favorite things! I can’t wait to try this version!

    Reply
  17. Sharon @ What The Fork

    September 1, 2016 at 5:34 pm

    I have a bunch of peppers from my CSA box, I’ll have to try this!

    Reply
  18. Amanda | The Chunky Chef

    September 1, 2016 at 5:46 pm

    I love stuffed peppers and these definitely look like the best 🙂

    Reply
    • Florentina

      September 1, 2016 at 6:53 pm

      I swear on my Saffron, they really are lol Report back to mama 🙂

      Reply
      • Jusy

        November 3, 2018 at 9:16 am

        5 stars
        What a wonderful recipe they are everything you have described. This is a forever recipe. Thank you for sharing.

        Reply
  19. Scott

    September 1, 2016 at 7:35 pm

    We made these stuffed peppers and they truly are the best. I combined chicken and wild mushrooms in the filing and the favors were amazing. A keeper for sure.

    Reply
  20. Renee - Kudos Kitchen

    September 2, 2016 at 5:27 am

    I would be so proud to serve this dish. It’s not only delicious looking, the colors are stunning! I honestly cannot take my eyes off it! PINNING!

    Reply
  21. Dee

    September 2, 2016 at 7:29 am

    I hate to say it, but this looks so much better than the green stuffed peppers I grew up with. I need to try this one soon! 🙂

    Reply
  22. Jenny

    January 13, 2017 at 6:31 pm

    5 stars
    Hi! I made these tonight for dinner and the flavour was incredible. However, I live in a very small town that doesn’t sell risotto rice. I used basmati rice instead. In your directions it didn’t state to cook it first, and mine came out crunchy. Do you think that’s because I used a different rice?

    Reply
    • Florentina

      January 14, 2017 at 7:43 pm

      Hi Jenny, all rice cooks a little bit different so It might be that It needed to cook a little longer. Also, make sure you start timing it only after it reaches a nice simmer and not before. Hope that helps for the future 🙂 ~Florentina

      Reply
  23. Amanda

    December 3, 2017 at 7:20 pm

    It needs more cooking time and/or higher heat. The peppers weren’t quite cooked enough and the risotto was definitely not cooked enough. The flavors were good. I used dried seasonings instead of fresh and added garlic powder.

    Reply
    • Florentina

      December 8, 2017 at 1:38 pm

      Try using higher heat Amanda. What is to my stove medium heat could mean low heat on other stoves. Same goes for ovens, I have made recipes in different ovens and I had to adjust timing almost every time. But once you got it down you’ll be a pro every time. 🙂

      Reply
  24. sl5k

    September 23, 2018 at 4:28 pm

    4 stars
    Made these tonight! I added cannellini beans and spinach to the rice mushroom mixture to add protein. I had to put it back in because the peppers were still crunchy. Overall great flavor!

    Reply

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Ciao Florentina Channeling the Man in the Photo, one recipe at a time, mostly Italian and Vegetarian lifestyle! Please join my quest for the art of simple, rustic living, trying to capture the raw beauty of food & life through the lens of my Iphone - Florentina L.

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