Vegetarian stuffed (can be vegan!) Bell Peppers. I like how this recipe uses pantry staples like canned beans and pasta sauce. It's so easy, and it can be done all in the crockpot. :-)
Look! It's another vegetarian (could easily be vegan) main course! Woo hoo!
and just to be inclusive the carnivores could easily throw in some meat when no one's looking...
The Ingredients.
serves 6
6 bell peppers (your choice of colors)
1/2 cup prepared or premade pasta sauce
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8-ounce ) can corn (there's a picture of a 16-ounce can; I only used half)
1 small onion, diced
2 cups cooked long grain rice
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup water
The Directions.
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Cut the tops off of the peppers and remove the seeds and membranes from the inside of each.
In a mixing bowl, combine the pasta sauce, beans, corn, onion, rice, spices, and cheese. Mix well to combine----it will be quite gloppy.
Shove as much of this concoction as you can into each of your cored peppers. Carefully nestle the peppers into the pot. Pour 1/3 cup water around the pepper bases.
Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4. The pepper will wilt a bit, but still be intact.
Carefully remove them with serving spoons.
The Verdict.
They're delicious! My kids were cranky from soccer practice (it's been super hot lately) and each ate a few bites just to be polite, but mostly filled up on quesadillas while we watched last week's Project Runway.
Adam ate leftover sausage. My mom, grandma, and I all loved them though!
Are you looking for more Vegetarian Options?
you're in luck, I have a WHOLE BUNCH OF THEM!!! :-)
Posted by: Stephanie O'Dea | A Year of Slow Cooking at June 16, 2017
Labels: budget friendly, crockpot, gluten free, light and healthy, main course, Mexican food, slow cooker, Stephanie O'Dea, vegetarian,
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What they say about this article
Amie10/13/2010
congrats to you!! and I love bell peppers, growing them in my garden as we speak. (grow little seedlings, grow!)
Natasha10/13/2010
What a great picture, these look so good we're going to have them for dinner tonight!
p.s. I made your stuffed artichokes last night, thank you for teaching me the real way to cook artichokes: in the slow cooker! They are no longer a vegetable I love at restaurants but never get right at home! Thank you!
SaraK10/13/2010
Mmmm....this looks and sounds super yummy! I may add some soy crumbles to the stuffing, as well. Thank you!
Anonymous10/13/2010
I realize you will probably delete this comment, but I respect you as a writer and wanted to comment about Smithfield. Are you aware that this company has a long and documented history of animal abuse and very poor employee work conditions? Oh, my dear - rethink this avenue of income and take the higher ground!
Stephanie ODea10/13/2010
Mrs Brewer, there is a 'subscribe' button in yellow under the header that should help you!
anon, no, I don't delete comments unless they are blatantly self-promoting or mean (so far not many of those, knock-wood!).
I haven't looked into the politics surrounding this particular company, and thanks to your comments, I now will. Thank you! I have a signed contract, though, and will fulfill my duties.
I don't know much about food/meat manufacturing, and would like to learn more.
My curiosity was piqued a year ago when I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and then I kind of dropped the whole thing due to life and being pregnant and tired.
It sounds like a cop-out, I know, but that's truly what happened.thank you for the food for thought!
Lindsey10/13/2010
I live very close to Smithfield. Yes, THAT Smithfield, home of pork. Nice little town. Unfortunate when you get stuck behind a pig truck on the road- not so good smelling- and we once made the mistake of trying to take the kids to a playground near the plant. Not a nice smelling part of town. (No clue why there's a playground there).
It's a nice town though with nice people. I don't know much about the plant, etc. itself. But good luck!
Youthful One10/13/2010
This is almost identical to my recipe for the same! I've made it for years, and my family loves it.
The first time I made it though, I had to do a few substitutions. These I recommend to you now:
For a "Mexi" version -
Sub salsa for the pasta sauce and pepper-jack cheese for the cheddar. You could also throw in a can of green chilies instead of the salsa/pasta sauce.Somehow I *always* end up with extra filling which makes a great burrito stuffing the next day. :)
Anonymous10/14/2010
These sound so super tasty.... this would make a great lunch to bring to work!
Debbi Does Dinner Healthy10/14/2010
I love stuffed peppers! My family are freaks though and always just tell me, "why do you go through the work of putting all the stuff IN the peppers, just chuck it all in a casserole". Ugh! Apparenly, they aren't into appearance! I LOVE them!
Laura10/15/2010
One way to learn more about agriculture is to check out choose2choose. Its from Iowa and has farmers, nutritionists, and researchers. You can learn about the farmers and ask questions. There are also a number of farmers blogging on blogger.
~Alissa10/17/2010
I too always sign the Announcements song to myself when someone says they have an announcements. Girls Scout to the death!! Too bad I had all boys...
Amber10/18/2010
Yum! Stuffed peppers are one of my favorites. I look forward to trying this version. At our farmers' market, a few farmers will bag up whatever they haven't sold at the end of the market and sell the whole bag for just $3. That's when I make stuffed peppers. Great idea!
9kids10/22/2010
These are great! I am vegetarian, hubby not, and 6yo son is a picky eater. My son asked me to leave the rice out of his, which was very easy to do :) Everyone liked these, and we plan to put them on our regular menu rotation.
As Good As Gluten12/03/2010
I had this for dinner tonight! It is SO good, I scarfed down 2 myself! http://asgoodasgluten.blogspot.com/2010/12/slow-cooker-vegetarian-stuffed-bell.html
Stephanie3/06/2012
These are soooo delicious! I prepped them on Sunday night and cooked them yesterday, and my apartment smelled incredible when I got home. They're so tasty :) Thanks for a great recipe!
Jeri7/03/2012
It's just so hot in NY, I am trying to cook as much as possible in slow cooker, rice cooker and micro. I would never have thought of stuffed peppers. I made some substitutions: didn't have corn, but I had some zucchini and chopped tomatoes, plus I had a little end of turkey meatloaf, so why not? And some basil that was getting a little tired. I threw a dried chipotle and some garlic cloves in the water...the aroma was amazine. I see a lot of variations on this recipe coming this summer. Thanks.
HollyMeri3/29/2013
I've had this on a pinterest for a while then decided to do it today with company coming. My stuffed peppers are cooking away in the pot now - looking forward to dinner. :)
