Stuffed Peppers Two Ways

Stuffed Peppers with Rice is a gorgeous, colourful side dish that's perfect for fall. The second filling I made was spicy Italian Sausage and Quinoa that I stuffed into peppers, zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes.

Fall vegetables can be stuffed with a variety of fillings and even topped with sauce if you like. Try a velvety white sauce, tomato sauce or even a rose sauce.

Consider this recipe a starting point for stuffing fall vegetables.

Cooking with a Seasonal Strategy

What I mean by a seasonal strategy is to intentionally cook with fruits and vegetables when they are at their best. Plan meals that use produce in season and that will automatically add variety to the meals you serve.

Sure, I buy tomatoes in winter and lemons whenever I want them but as a general rule I chose recipes that use produce at its’ peak. Peppers, zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes are available in abundance in late summer and fall. 

With so much choice at the grocery store it's hard to know what's in season. The most obvious sign is what looks like it was just picked.

The displays are often large and prominent, plus they might include varieties you’ve never seen before. In autumn there are peppers every colour of the rainbow in many shapes and sizes.

Filling For Peppers, Zucchini or Eggplant

The first filling in this recipe is simply made by cooking rice in a pan after sautéing a bit of onion, carrot and celery. For something a little fancier one of my favourites is this recipe for Fragrant Saffron Rice.

For the quinoa filling recipe I sautéed the same vegetables and simply folded in some cooked quinoa. Stuffing vegetables can also be a way to use up leftover rice or quinoa.

Adding any ground meat will turn stuffed peppers into a main course or more hearty side dish for a potluck. In this recipe I chose Italian sausage, inspired by some leftover pasta sauce I had in my fridge.

Sauce For Stuffed Vegetables

No sauce is needed but it adds another element to the dish. I’m a sauce person so I made a basic white sauce to add some richness to the dish. In your kitchen you make what your family loves.

KITCHEN TIP: Attach the recipe below right to your container of cornstarch or tape it inside a cupboard door near the stove. I've got a cryptic version of this recipe handwritten on my cornstarch container. I've memorized it now but I still refer to it when I'm doubling or tripling the recipe.

Get The Tools

When I prep and hollow out vegetables I use a good Chef’s knife and a sturdy cutting board. But two tools I often use for hollowing out squash, including a Halloween pumpkin, are my grapefruit knife and grapefruit spoon. They both have a serrated edge that catches the sides of the squash a little better than anything else.

Whether you find your vegetables at a Farmer’s Market, the grocery store or a friends’ garden, fall is the time to experiment. Let me know in the comments below what vegetables and stuffing you tried.

Stuffed Peppers Two Ways

Stuffed Peppers with Rice, or quinoa, is one way to use the gorgeous, colourful peppers available in autumn. Use your imagination!

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Canadian

Keyword: stuffed bell peppers

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 people

Author: Cinde Little

Ingredients

VEGETABLES

• ▢ 6 bell peppers, halved and seeded
• ▢ OPTIONAL: zucchini, eggplant or tomatoes, hollowed out*

RICE FILLING

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon butter
• ▢ ¼ cup finely chopped onion
• ▢ ¼ cup finely chopped celery
• ▢ ¼ cup finely chopped carrot
• ▢ 1 cup uncooked rice
• ▢ 2 cups gluten free chicken stock
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pepper

QUINOA ITALIAN SAUSAGE FILLING

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon butter
• ▢ ¼ cup finely chopped celery
• ▢ ¼ cup finely chopped onion
• ▢ ¼ cup finely chopped carrot
• ▢ 1 hot Italian sausage, casing removed (4 oz)
• ▢ 2 cups cooked quinoa
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ OPTIONAL – white sauce, tomato sauce or rose sauce

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Instructions

RICE FILLING

• Heat oil and butter in saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion, celery and carrot. Cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add rice and stir until grains are coated with oil.
• Add chicken stock and bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Prepare vegetables while rice is cooking.

QUINOA ITALIAN SAUSAGE FILLING

• Heat oil and butter in saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion, celery and carrot. Cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add Italian sausage and any filling removed from zucchini, eggplant or tomatoes. Stir breaking up meat until fully cooked, about 5 minutes.
• When sausage is cooked remove from heat. Stir in cooked quinoa.
• Spoon mixture into prepared vegetables.

BAKING

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil a baking dish large enough to hold the peppers/vegetables.
• Place peppers/vegetables in baking dish cut side up. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Bake empty for 15 minutes.
• Remove from oven and spoon filling into vegetables. Cover with foil.
• Return to oven and bake for 30-45 minutes until vegetables are soft.

SERVING

• Top with white sauce, tomato sauce or rose sauce if desired.

Notes

Fill zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers or tomatoes with either of these fillings as a guide.

*Finely chop the inside of any vegetables you hollow out and cook it along with the filling.