Vegan Stuffed Peppers

These hearty, delicious vegan stuffed peppers have a flavorful Italian-seasoned risotto rice, vegetable and tofu crumble filling that resembles meat. They make for a balanced meal, with plenty of vegetables, plant-based protein and carbs. We're pretty sure you'll go back for seconds!

Why we love this recipe

• Hearty and filling, but healthy: with rice, tofu and plenty of vegetables, these vegan stuffed peppers with fill you up and help you get in a few extra servings of veggies.
• Packed with flavor: I'm going to be honest, I've never been psyched about the concept of stuffed peppers before trying this recipe. It's so flavorful and delicious!
• Plant-based protein: Not sure about you, but I'm always looking for more ways to add vegan protein to my diet. These stuffed peppers may look carbohydrate-laden, but we also snuck in plenty of crumbled tofu for a meaty texture and a decent punch of protein.
• Versatile: the filling is easy to change up with different kinds of vegetables, greens, and grains. We love swapping arborio with quinoa or mushrooms with lentils!

Ingredients

Here are the key ingredients you'll need to make these vegan stuffed peppers:

Ingredient Notes

• Bell peppers: you can use orange, yellow or red bell peppers in this recipe. You could also use green, but neither of us really like the taste, so we don't suggest it. Opt for medium-large bell peppers that have plenty of space for filling.
• Rice: arborio rice is an Italian short-grain rice that's used to make risotto. It's very starchy, so it gets super creamy. We cook ours in vegetable broth for added flavor. It makes these stuffed peppers so filling and delicious!
  • If you don't have any arborio rice, you can sub with regular long or short-grain white rice, brown rice or even quinoa.
• Tofu: extra firm tofu works best for this recipe. Be sure to drain it well and pat dry/press to remove moisture.
• Italian seasoning: this dried herb blend makes it easy to add flavor to these vegan stuffed peppers without having to open and measure several different dried herbs. If you don't have any of the blend, you can also use 1 teaspoon total of a mixture of dried basil, parsley and oregano instead.

Step-by-step instructions

Preheat oven to 350˚F. 

(1) Cook arborio rice according to package directions, using vegetable broth instead of water to add more flavor. If using water, season with salt and 1-2 tablespoon olive oil. 

Remove tofu from packaging, drain well and pat dry with a paper towel. Wrap in another dry paper towel and set something heavy on top while you prep the rest of the ingredients (this helps remove as much moisture as possible). 

(2) Slice red peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds. 

(3) Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. 

(4) Use your hands to crumble tofu into small pieces directly into the pan (see below for visual guide). Add tomato paste, water, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir well and cook on medium-high for 7-8 minutes, stirring often. 

(5) Add mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes and parsley and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Stir in ¼ cup of mozzarella, parmesan and the cooked arborio rice. 

(6) Brush each red pepper half with a small amount of olive oil and season with salt and pepper and place in a deep baking dish. Fill each half with the rice/vegetable mixture and top with remaining cheese.

(7) Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil (this helps vegan cheese melt) and bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for additional 5-10 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating. 

Expert Tips and FAQs

• Make this ahead of time: you can prep the entire filling up to a few days ahead of time and place in the pepper cavities. When ready to eat, cover with cheese and bake as instructed below.
• Adaptations: if you have family members that prefer to eat meat, you can add sausage or ground meat in place of tofu in half of the recipe.
• Don't forget to brush the peppers with olive oil before stuffing: this prevents them from drying out in the oven and also helps season the peppers.
• Many stuffed pepper recipes call for leaving the pepper intact and slicing off the top instead of slicing in half. We find it can be a bit hard to eat them this way, which is why we slice in half lengthwise instead. It also cooks more evenly and prevents the filling from drying out!
• Storage: store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5-6 days. Reheat in a microwave or if reheating the whole baking dish, heat in a 350˚F oven until warmed through.
• Freezer storage: You can freeze the cooked stuffed peppers whole! Store in an airtight container (or freeze on a tray and then wrap in aluminum foil) for up to 6 months. Reheat in a 350˚ F oven until warmed through.

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