Stuffed Peppers with Beef & Quinoa

The theme for Monday posts in October is Stuffed Vegetables.

We love stuffing all kinds of vegetables: summer and winter squashes, peppers, pumpkins, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms….

When we lived in the U.S. I had an annual ‘Stuffed Vegetable Party’. It was an active cooking party (I had a big kitchen). I invited 10 people & divided them into 5 pairs. Each pair was given 1 kind of vegetable to stuff for the group. We had 5 courses of a variety of stuffed vegetables.

There was much wine consumed and much critiquing of cooking techniques.

A good time was had by all… (I think).

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Stuffed Peppers with Beef & Quinoa

Print Recipe

My favorite thing about stuffing vegetables is that almost anything (almost) works.
These are made with quinoa- a bit more interesting and adds a meatier texture to the finished peppers.

• Author: Kate
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings 1x
• Category: One Dish Dinners

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1/3 cup (2.5oz, 75gr) quinoa
• 2/3 cup (5oz, 150ml) beef broth
• 3 nicely shaped medium bell peppers, any color
• 8oz (240gr) ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2oz (60gr) mushrooms, trimmed, chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2/3 cup (5oz, 150ml) beef broth
• 2 tbs tomato paste
• 2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbs water
• 1 cup (8oz, 240ml) tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup (2oz, 60gr) shredded cheese
• 2 – 4 drops hot pepper sauce or more…  optional

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Instructions

• Cook quinoa in broth until done. 
• Put a large pot of water on high heat and bring to a boil. 
• Cut peppers in half the long way (try to find the best flat sides before cutting so that they will lie nicely) and remove stem end and seeds. 
• When water is boiling drop peppers in and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Remove (use tongs) and put into a baking dish that will just hold them (if possible). 
• Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. 
• Sauté chili powder and paprika for 1 minute.
• Add celery and onion, sauté until tender, 5 minutes. 
• Add garlic and mushrooms, sauté 3 minutes longer.
• Add beef and sauté until cooked through, breaking it up as it cooks.
• Add broth, tomato paste, oregano, 1/4 cup tomato sauce and hot pepper sauce if using. 
• Dissolve cornstarch in water.
• When broth mixture is simmering, stir cornstarch in to thicken.
• Remove from heat, add quinoa and stir well to combine.
• Spoon mixture into the pepper halves. 
• Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes at 400F (200C). 
• Remove foil, spoon the remaining tomato sauce on top of each pepper and sprinkle with shredded cheese. 
• Bake, uncovered until cheese melts. 
• Serve. 

Notes

Keep any extra stuffing warm and serve on the side.
Substitute rice or orzo for the quinoa.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/2 recipe
• Calories: 602
• Sugar: 19.6 g
• Sodium: 713.8 mg
• Fat: 24.9 g
• Saturated Fat: 9.4 g
• Trans Fat: 0.4 g
• Carbohydrates: 52.5 g
• Fiber: 11.9 g
• Protein: 44.7 g
• Cholesterol: 100.5 mg

Keywords: stuffed peppers, stuffed vegetables, peppers

For a different type of pepper: Stuffed Peppers, Asian Style.

That’s it!