Bell peppers are one of my favorite foods so it’s no surprise I love stuffed peppers! In my quest to eat less meat I decided to put together a vegetarian version of this dish, with a little bit of a Mexican twist. These vegetarian Mexican stuffed peppers are delicious you’ll want to eat the whole thing yourself. They’re spicy, tangy and oh so good.
Vegetarian Mexican Stuffed Peppers Ingredients
- Bell Peppers: This is the most important part of the dish! I personally like to use red bell peppers since they’re my favorite, but you could use whatever you prefer or have on hand.
- Rice: The rice is what makes this dish filling and also makes it feel a bit more like comfort food as well.
- Onion: It sort of goes without saying I’m probably going to put an onion or two in every dish I make.
- Black Beans: Without meat, the black beans are the perfect protein substitute for these Mexican-style stuffed peppers.
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce: I love these peppers. They are so delicious and spicy. I use three, finely chopped, but you could use one or two if you don’t like spice. If you really hate spice, you could omit them, but you would be missing a bold flavor base.
- Grape Tomatoes: I know you’re probably wondering why there are grape tomatoes in this recipe. I know it sounds crazy, but trust me, they really work!
- Lime Juice: The lime juice really brings out all the other flavors in this dish and trust me you’d be missing something without it.
- Garlic: Garlic is just so good. I could happily add 8 cloves to something and still be happy. Don’t worry, I didn’t add 8 cloves to this recipe.
- Seasoning: Cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper are what make up the delicious Mexican flavors of this dish.
How to Make Vegetarian Mexican Stuffed Peppers
Honestly, making these stuffed peppers is pretty straight forward. First, you’ll want to roast your bell peppers. It gives them a delicious roasted taste and also will ensure they’re cooked enough by the end.
After those go in the oven, you’ll want to cook your rice. I like to use a rice cooker, but you can easily do it on the stove. While those two things are cooking you can get started on the rest of the stuffing mixture. Combine the onion, grape tomatoes, chipotle peppers, black beans and garlic in a skillet and cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat until the grape tomatoes are breaking down.
Add your rice, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper to the skillet and mix well to combine.
Carefully spoon the mixture into each bell pepper and then top with cheese and bake for 11-13 minutes until the cheese has begun to leopard. (Leopard means it’s got some brown spots and some gooey spots.)
Top with guacamole, sour cream or eat them just as they are!
Storage
I usually either wrap these vegetarian Mexican stuffed peppers in foil and store in the fridge for up for 4 days or, if I have a container big enough, store them in an airtight food container.
Reheating
I like to pop the bell pepper in the foil in a preheated 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 15-20 minutes until heated through. If you have a microwave, wet a paper towel and put it over the the top and cook for a few minutes.
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Vegetarian Mexican Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 5 red bell peppers or any other color
- 1/2 cup uncooked, white rice
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 15 oz can black beans
- 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped
- 1 pint grape tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cracks pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 3 teaspoons cumin
- 1/2 lime juiced, about 1 tablespoon
- 1 cup cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Then cut the top off the bell peppers, remove the seeds and veins and then bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until just blackening around the edges.
- While that's cooking, get your rice started. Then add the onion, garlic, black beans, chipotle peppers and grape tomatoes to a skillet and cook on medium heat until the tomatoes are starting to break down, about 10 minutes.
- Add the rice, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and lime juice and stir well to combine.
- Spoon the mixture into the bell peppers and then top each with a hefty amount of cheese. Then bake for 11-13 minutes.