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Best Stuffed Peppers Recipe
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Italian Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Hands down the best meatless stuffed bell peppers recipe. Pure vegetarian, easy and healthy made with mushrooms and risotto rice instead of ground chicken or meat, cooked Italian style in a San Marzano tomato sauce. Bring out your biggest dutch oven for this one!
Course Main
Cuisine Italian
Keyword stuffed peppers, vegetarian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 8 people
Calories 229kcal
Author Florentina

Ingredients

  • 7-8 medium size bell peppers mixed colors
  • 1 cup risotto rice (or quick cook brown rice)
  • 1 lb mushrooms (chopped)
  • 1 medium onion -diced
  • 3 tsp fennel seeds
  • 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 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 for serving)
  • 1 tsp sea salt + more to taste
  • black pepper -to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 375" F or just cook them all the way on the stovetop.
  • Rinse the peppers and cut the tops, empty the seeds and membrane. Reserve the clean tops as you’ll need to place them back on top after you fill the peppers.
    7-8 medium size bell peppers
  • Crush the tomatoes with your hands and add a layer with juices to the bottom of a large enameled cast iron pan.
    28 oz canned San Marzano tomatoes

Make the Filling

  • 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 fennel seeds + a pinch of chili flakes for heat if desired.
    1 medium onion, 4 tbs extra virgin olive oil, 3 tsp fennel seeds
  • Stir in the mushrooms and cook until wilted and almost all moisture has evaporated. Stir in risotto rice and let cook together for about 5 minutes stirring often with a wooden spoon. Add the thyme leaves, parsley, 1 teaspoon sea salt, pepper and paprika and mix well together. Remove from heat.
    1 cup risotto rice, 1 lb mushrooms, 8 sprigs thyme, 1 tsp sweet paprika, 1 tsp sea salt, black pepper, 1/2 cup Italian flat leaf parsley
  • 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 pot on top of the tomato layer. Pour in the vegetable stock and the remaining crushed tomatoes making sure it comes all the way up the sides of the peppers and slightly covers them. (Add some water if need be to barely cover the peppers)
    7-8 medium size bell peppers, 1/2 qt vegetable stock
  • Add the bay leaves and thyme sprigs and bring to a boil. Cover the pot with its lid and either finish cooking on the stove top or transfer the pot to a preheated 375"F degrees oven for 1 hour.
    8 sprigs thyme, 3 leaves bay
  • 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.
    1/2 cup sour cream or greek yogurt

Crock Pot / Slow Cooker Method

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

Notes

  • Serve the stuffed peppers warm surrounded by the broth they were cooked in and drizzled with dairy-free sour cream or greek yogurt.
  •  If you happen to have any rice mixture leftover after stuffing the peppers, just spoon it in the pot around the peppers to cook together.
  • storage - the cooked bell peppers can be frozen in individual freezer proof lidded containers surrounded by the broth. Remember to thaw them out in the refrigerator the night before reheating. 

Nutrition

Calories: 229kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 672mg | Potassium: 771mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 4158IU | Vitamin C: 152mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 4mg