Vegan Stuffed Peppers with Rice (Oil-Free)
So bright and colorful, these Vegan Stuffed Peppers have eye-appeal as well as tons of flavor. They are stuffed with a blend of wild rice that has been seasoned to perfection.
I don’t know about you, but my love affair with food begins with my eyes. I love bright colorful food that reminds me that my goal is to eat the rainbow. The more natural colors in our food, the more phytonutrients and antioxidants we are consuming which is great for our health. Colorful dishes like this one and my Simple Spring Garden Rolls.
Ingredients for stuffed peppers
- Bell Peppers– You really can use any color of peppers. My favorites are red and yellow because they make such a bright colorful dish. Mexican Stuffed Peppers also use beautifully colorful bell peppers.
- Rice- I like to use a blend of wild rice that also includes brown, red, and white rice. One reason is that a blend of rice makes a more colorful and beautiful display. Other types of rice could also be used.
- Vegetables- The rice stuffing begins by sauteing onions and garlic. Believe it or not, it’s easy to do without a drop of oil. Freshly chopped parsley makes a great topping as well.
- Spices- The warm spices used include curry, cinnamon, and sage.
Cutting the peppers
Cutting the bell peppers is really simple and only takes a few minutes. First, make sure that they are clean, and then slice them in half and remove the seeds.
There are three different ways you can slice the peppers that work well.
- Slice lengthwise through the middle of the stem and down through the pepper. Personally, I really like this option best because it looks neat having the stem still attached.
- Cut the top off of the bell pepper similar to cutting a pumpkin to be used as a jack-o’-lantern. This leaves lots of room for filling and stuffing and is a good option if you want to make a main dish out of them.
- Simply cut the pepper through the middle seperating the top of the pepper from the bottom. This creates two halves that will sit flat on the pan.
Roasting the peppers (pre-cooking)
To do this, preheat the oven to 400°F and place the halved peppers cut-side-up in a baking dish and add about 1/4 cup water to help prevent sticking. Bake for approximately 20 minutes to the point where the peppers begin to brown a little around the edges. While they are roasting is a good time to prepare the stuffing.
How to cook the perfect rice blend stuffing
The recipe card at the bottom of the page has the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions.
Begin by thoroughly rinsing the rice before cooking. I use a rice rinser bowl which is also great for washing other small grains such as quinoa. Set the clean rice to the side.
Next, dice up the onion and mince the garlic. Then gather the spices needed including curry powder, cinnamon, sage, and cloves.
Heat 3 Tbsp veggie broth or water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the diced onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Add more broth if necessary.
Add the rice, curry powder, cinnamon, sage, clove, and salt and stir for about 1 minute.
Next, add the rest of the veggie broth and bring it to a simmer. Cover and stir occasionally, until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed approximately 30-45 minutes. Plain wild rice will take the full 45 minutes whereas a blend of rice like I use will take less time. Different blends of rice may vary in cooking times and broth or water requirements.
Remove the lid and check to see if the rice is tender. I like to reduce the heat to low and allow any extra moisture to cook out for about 1-2 minutes. Then, remove the pan from the heat.
Once the baked peppers are cool enough to handle, it’s time to stuff them. You may notice that there is excess water in the pepper halves, and you’ll want to use a paper towel to soak up that moisture before adding the filling.
Fill each of the roasted bell pepper halves with the wild rice blend stuffing until they are heaped up. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley before serving.
Pro tips for making vegan stuffed peppers
- Precooking Peppers- Though some recipes don’t call for precooking the bell peppers and others suggest boiling them, I highly suggested pre-roasting them instead. Roasting brings out a robust flavor that can’t be achieved by boiling, and precooking the pepper makes for a much more tender dish.
- Watery Peppers- After roasting the peppers, you will likely notice a little water in each of the halves due to the pepper releasing some of its water content during the cooking process. Simply use a paper towel to blot them dry before stuffing them.
- Baking Twice- Some recipes call for returning the stuffed peppers to the oven to cook a second time after stuffing them, but I haven’t found this to be beneficial. The only reason I can see to cook them twice would be if you wanted to prepare them ahead of time and reheated them in the oven later.
- Variations- If you love peppers, you might also want to try my Mexican Stuffed Peppers which are topped with an easy vegan queso.
- Holiday & Entertaining- These healthy stuffed peppers make a beautiful and tasty addition to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter holiday meals. They are so colorful, they brighten up any table! These 21 Holiday Recipes have some more great options.
More great vegan holiday dishes
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Vegan Stuffed Peppers with Rice
Ingredients
- 2 large colorful bell peppers
- 1/2 cup rice blend
- 3/4 cup onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1.5 cups veggie broth
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon sage
- 2 whole cloves
- salt & pepper to taste preference
- fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
Preroasting the Peppers
- To do this, preheat the oven to 400°F and place the halved peppers cut-side-up in a baking dish and add about 1/4 cup water to help prevent sticking.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes to the point where the peppers begin to brown a little around the edges. While they are roasting is a good time to prepare the stuffing.
Making the Stuffing
- Begin by thoroughly rinsing the rice before cooking. I use a rice rinser bowl which is also great for washing other small grains such as quinoa. Set the clean rice to the side.
- Dice up the onion and mince the garlic. Then gather the spices needed that include curry powder, cinnamon, sage, and cloves.
- Heat 3 Tbsp veggie broth or water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the diced onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Add more broth if necessary.
- Add the rice, curry powder, cinnamon, sage, clove, and salt and stir for about 1 minute.
- Next, add the rest of the veggie broth and bring it to a simmer. Cover and stir occasionally, until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed approximately 30-45 minutes. Plain wild rice will take the full 45 minutes where a blend of rice like I use will take less time and less liquid. Different blends of rice may vary in cooking times and broth or water requirements.
- Remove lid and check to see if the rice is tender.
- I like to reduce the heat to low and allow any extra moisture to cook out for about 1-2 minutes. Then, remove the pan from the heat.
- Once the baked peppers are cool enough to handle, it’s time to stuff them. You may notice that there is excess water in the pepper halves, and you’ll want to use a paper towel to soak up that moisture before adding the filling.
- Fill each of the roasted bell pepper halves with the wild rice blend stuffing until they are heaped up. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley before serving.
Video
Notes
- Precooking Peppers- Though some recipes don’t call for precooking the bell peppers and others suggest boiling them, I highly suggested pre-roasting them instead. Roasting brings out a robust flavor that can’t be achieved by boiling, and precooking the pepper makes for a much more tender dish.
- Watery Peppers- After roasting the peppers, you will likely notice a little water in each of the halves due to the pepper releasing some of its water content during the cooking process. Simply use a paper towel to blot them dry before stuffing.
- Baking Twice- Some recipes call for returning the stuffed peppers to the oven to cook a second time after stuffing them, but I haven’t found this to be beneficial. The only reason I can see to cook them twice would be if you wanted to prepare them ahead of time and reheated in the oven later.
- Variations- If you love peppers, you might also want to try my Mexican Stuffed Peppers that are topped with an easy vegan queso.
- Holiday & Entertaining- These healthy stuffed peppers make a beautiful and tasty addition to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter holiday meals. They are so colorful, they brighten up any table!
Nutrition
Disclaimer
To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
About Terri Edwards
Hi guys! I am the content creator behind EatPlant-Based and a licensed Food for Life instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. I am passionate about sharing healthy recipes and tips to empower others to get healthy. I’m so glad you’re here! Read More…
how long to roast peppers ?
Hi Ruth- Good gracious! I had put the pepper roasting instruction in the article but not the recipe card. Thanks so much for letting me know. It’s fixed now. “To do this, preheat the oven to 400°F and place the halved peppers cut-side-up in a baking dish and add about 1/4 cup water to help prevent sticking. Bake for approximately 20 minutes to the point where the peppers begin to brown a little around the edges. While they are roasting is a good time to prepare the stuffing.”