Stuffed Peppers with Beef & Quinoa
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.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: One Dish Dinners
Ingredients
Scale
- 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
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
