Vegan Stuffed Red Peppers with Chickpeas and Rice

This is an easy vegan stuffed red bell peppers recipe with brown rice, chickpeas, turmeric, lemon juice, cilantro, mint and more. It’s partly inspired by UVK’s Golden Beet and Couscous Salad with Slivered Almonds and Currants and to some extent, it’s inspired by elements of Indian cuisine. This dish is easy to make, tastes amazing, and is completely gluten free.

This recipe makes ~6 medium stuffed peppers.

A few things…

• ・The size of your baking pan will depend on the shape of your red peppers. You may need a larger pan than an 8″ X 8″.

• ・Don’t skip the lemon juice at the end. It bring all the flavors together.

• ・Green peppers are more bitter than red peppers. If you substitute with green peppers, this may not taste as good.

Can you freeze vegan stuffed red bell peppers? Yes! After baking them, these froze very well. We enjoyed them a month later, and the flavor was still there.

Thanks for stopping by! And check out additional UVK recipes, like Vegan Stuffed Shells with Tofu Ricotta, Spinach and Fennel, Chickpea Curry, Slow Cooker Canned Kidney Beans and Coconut Brown Rice, Grilled Tofu Skewers, Roasted Sweet Potato Soup, Lemon Mint Potato Salad and more 💚

Vegan Stuffed Red Peppers with Chickpeas and Rice

½ cup chopped shallots

1 Tbsp vegan butter

½ tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp garlic powder

1 cup short grain brown rice

2 cup broth (I used fake chicken)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

6 medium whole red bell peppers, roughly the same size

15.5 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves

3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 Tbsp dried currants

¼ cup crumbled vegan feta – optional (I used Violife Just Like Feta)

Lemon wedges, to serve

Salt, to taste

1. First, you’ll get started on the rice filling for the vegan stuffed red peppers. In a medium saucepan, add shallots, vegan butter, and a dash of salt. Stirring around, sauté over medium-low heat for a minute. Then, add the turmeric and garlic powder. Stir around for another minute.

2. Add the short grain brown rice to the saucepan and stir. Then, add the broth. Cover with a lid, bring to a bowl, and then, lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 30-35 minutes or until the rice is soft.

3. Remove from the rice from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Put the lid back on, and let it sit for 15 minutes to allow it to soak up the lemon juice and any remaining broth.

4. Wash the red bell peppers. Pay close attention to the area around the stem (dirt likes to hide there). Trim the very end of the stem, but do not remove it. Then, run your knife around the top of the red bell pepper, twist the top, and remove the “lid” (see photo above).

5. Slice the core off the top of the pepper “lid” (see photo above). Then, pull out the the white spongy parts inside the main part of the pepper. Repeat this process until all the peppers have been cored.

6. In a large mixing bowl, add the rice, chickpeas, cilantro, mint, garlic, currants, and vegan feta (if using). Mix together, and taste the vegan stuffed red peppers filling. Adjust seasonings, if needed (more salt? more lemon juice? more mint or cilantro?).

7. Preheat the oven to 400º F. Line an 8″ X 8″ baking pan with parchment.

8. Stuff a pepper with the filling. Then, place it in the baking pan, and top with the pepper “lid”. Repeat this process until all the red peppers are stuffed.

9. Pour 2 Tbsp of water into the bottom of the pan, and then, cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Bake at 400º F for 35 minutes. Then, remove the foil, and bake for another 15 minutes or until the stuffed peppers are soft enough to enjoy eating.

10. Remove from oven, and serve the vegan stuffed red bell peppers with lemon wedges on the side. Enjoy as a main dish any time of year.