Stuffed Peppers with Butternut Squash and Quinoa
These Italian-style stuffed peppers with butternut squash, Great Northern beans, quinoa, and herbs are a great vegan meal for everyday, holidays, and entertaining. They freeze well, too.
Equipment
- Large baking pan
- Nonstick skillet
- Cutting board
- Chef's knife
- paring knife
Ingredients
- 3 bell peppers
- 1 teaspoon light olive oil
- ½ cup chopped onions
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
- ¼ cup tricolor quinoa
- ¾ cup vegetable broth or water
- ¾ cup cooked, chopped, and peeled butternut squash
- 1 ⅓ cup cooked Great Northern beans
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- few turns fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ⅛ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 3 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, basil, or both
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F. Spray a 9' x 13" baking pan with non-stick spray or spread with a little olive oil.
- Slice the peppers in half lengthwise. Cut out the core and stem, and remove the seeds.
- Arrange the peppers cut side up in the baking pan. Bake the peppers for 10 minutes.
- While the peppers are baking, add the olive oil to a large non-stick skillet and place over medium heat. Cook the onions for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute. Watch closely and stir if needed to prevent browning.
- Rinse the quinoa well in a fine sieve and add it to the pan. Add the vegetable broth or water and stir. Cover the pan with a lid and turn the heat down to low. Cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the lid on for another 10 minutes. The quinoa should now be fluffy and have little spirals visible. If not, add a little more liquid, cover, and cook on low for a few more minutes.
- Add the cooked butternut squash, beans, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, rosemary, and crushed tomatoes to the pan. Mix well.
- Scoop about ½ cup of the mixture into each pepper half (an ice cream scoop makes this easy). Bake the stuffed peppers for 20 minutes. The peppers should be soft.
- Remove the pan of peppers from the oven and top with chopped parsley and/or basil.
Notes
The nutrition estimate is from Spoonacular, which is based mainly on USDA data. Parsley was used for the fresh herbs.
Poblano peppers may be used instead of bell peppers.
Other types of winter squash like acorn or kabocha could be used instead of butternut.
You can use white or red quinoa too.
Feel free to substitute garbanzo bean, into beans, or other beans in this recipe.
Nutrition
Serving: 1half pepperCalories: 114kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 5gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 190mgPotassium: 450mgFiber: 5gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 3876IUVitamin C: 84mgCalcium: 55mgIron: 2mg
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