Healthy Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Healthy Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers are one of my favorite recipes to make lately! I love prepping all the ingredients ahead of time for a quick and easy Mexican style dinner during the week.

These vegetarian Mexican stuffed peppers are filled with hearty veggies and seasoned with homemade taco seasoning, then topped with melted cheese and fresh cilantro.

If you’re going meat free for Meatless Monday, this is a tasty gluten free and vegetarian recipe that your whole family will love. It’s also very easy to make vegan–I actually prefer it that way!

Where’s the recipe?

I get a lot of questions about my recipes. In an effort to help all of my readers, I like to provide a bunch of information in my posts.

In this article you’ll find ingredient information, detailed cooking instructions, recipe tips, and healthy eating plan calculations. If you’d like to skip past all of that, you can scroll to the bottom of the page where you’ll find the printable easy Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers with rice recipe.

Ingredients in Healthy Veggie Stuffed Peppers

• Bell peppers: choose your favorite colored bell peppers. I always like picking a variety of colors to brighten up the dish, but red peppers are my favorite!
• Mushrooms: mushrooms contain vitamins, minerals, protein, and antioxidants. They’re a wonderful meat replacement and work great in these vegan stuffed peppers.
• Zucchini: zucchini is another vegetable that’s rich in vitamins and minerals. I love this veggie because they are so versatile!
• Onion: sautéed onions add such a depth of flavor in this recipe. I used yellow onion for this recipe.
• Corn: frozen or canned corn works fine here.
• Garlic: I like mincing fresh garlic cloves for this recipe but you can use garlic powder if that’s all you have.
• Chili powder: chili powder is part of the base of our homemade taco seasoning.
• Cayenne pepper: this is optional. Cayenne really adds heat, so if you’re sensitive to spicy foods you can omit it. If you don’t have cayenne pepper, you can also use red pepper flakes.
• Smoked paprika: using smoked paprika adds a woodsy smoked flavor that I love!
• Cumin: cumin is a a must in taco seasoning!
• Oregano: dried oregano is what I use.
• Black pepper & salt: to taste
• Black beans: I like to use canned black beans but others, like kidney beans or pinto beans would work too.
• Brown rice: you will want cooked rice to add to the peppers. I like making a big batch of meal prep brown rice in the Instant Pot and then freezing it to have on hand for recipes like this one, but any leftover rice will do.
• Cheddar Jack cheese: you can buy pre-shredded, or shred your own. Or omit the cheese entirely or use a vegan cheese if you want to make this a vegan recipe.  

How to make this Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Chop the mushrooms, zucchini, and onion into 1/4 inch pieces and set aside.
2. Cut the tops off of the bell peppers and remove any seeds from the bottom. Then place the bell pepper bottoms in a baking dish, cut side up.
3. Place pepper bottoms in the oven and allow to bake for 15 minutes while you’re preparing the veggie filling.
4. Dice the pepper tops and set aside with the mushrooms, zucchini, and onion. You’ll be using these for the filling.
5. Place the frozen or canned corn into a large skillet (spray the skillet with oil or use a tbsp of olive oil to coat) and cook on low for 5 minutes. 
6. Add the garlic, chili powder, and optional cayenne pepper if you like spice, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper to your skillet and stir. 
7. Next, add the diced zucchini, mushrooms, bell pepper tops, and onions to the skillet and allow to cook for 5 minutes at medium heat to medium-high heat.
8. Finally, add in the cooked brown rice and black beans, then stir it all together. Remove your rice mixture from the heat.
9. Add 1/2 of the cheese to the top of the rice/veggie mix in the pan.
10. When the cook time is complete, remove the pepper bottoms from the oven. Carefully dump out the liquid (if there is any) and fill your peppers with the veggie/rice/cheese mix.
11. Divide the rest of the cheese between the six peppers by placing it right on top of the veggie mix.
12. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and beginning to bubble and brown.
13. Remove the stuffed peppers from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Allowing them to cool helps them not fall apart when you put them on a plate. Serve on plates or in bowls (peppers will most likely tip to the side when placed on individual plates).

Recipe Tips

• I love this recipe because it is easily adaptable and very forgiving! I like making it vegan or vegetarian but if you’re not a fan of meatless meals, you can add cooked ground beef or turkey to the cooked veggie mixture as well. More tasty additions to the filling are fire roasted tomatoes, freshly chopped jalapeños, or diced and cooked tofu.
• There are also a lot of different toppings you can use on these peppers after they’re cooked like fresh chopped cilantro, diced green onions, diced tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes, sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, pickled jalapeños, or cotija cheese.
• This is a great recipe for meal prep! On your prepping day, wash and chop all of the veggies, cook the rice, and mix together the taco seasonings. Then, when you’re ready to make the healthy vegetarian stuffed peppers, it all comes together super fast! It’s a fresh and filling meal that tastes so good the next day too!
• This recipe doesn’t call for tomato sauce or soups to hold it together–I think the liquid that comes from the mushrooms and zucchini are perfect for making sure this doesn’t dry out.
• If you end up with leftover filling, go ahead and save it in an airtight container to use in quesadillas, tacos, or as a side dish. They’re all perfect quick recipes for busy days.
• Struggling to fill the whole peppers? No stress there–go ahead and slice them in half and place peppers on the bottom of a baking dish, then fill them.
• We have added cooked and diced sweet potatoes to this mixture and it’s delicious. I’d caution not to stir it too much, because the sweet potatoes fall apart easily, but I add them to the veggie and rice mixture right before I put it in the peppers.
• No brown rice in the house? You can use white rice, or any other type you have on hand!

Healthy Eating Plans

Portion Fix / 21 Day Fix

• For the regular plan:
  • Count each filled stuffed pepper as 1 1/3 green container, 1 yellow container, and 1/2 blue container.
• For the Vegan plan:
  • For this version, remove the cheese from the recipe and increase black beans to 1 1/2 cups. Need more protein? Swap brown rice with 1 1/2 cups quinoa (this will double the red containers).
  • Count each filled stuffed pepper as 1 1/3 green container, 2/3 yellow container A, and 1/3 red container.

Weight Watchers:

• Each serving is 2 points on the 2023 plan when using fat free cheese. If you skip the cheese the total is 1 point. 

2B Mindset:

This is one of my favorite vegetarian recipes that even the biggest meat lovers rave about! It’s definitely a veggies-most recipe, and an easy way to get all of your vegetables in. While this is a pretty balanced meal it might need a bit of protein added to make this a complete 2B Mindset lunch. I’d add in some cooked tofu for protein. One half cup of tofu adds about 10 grams of protein to your plate.

Need a side dish?

• Spanish Cauliflower Rice
• Healthy Elote Dip I love serving this as a side dish with raw vegetables!
• Healthy Polenta Side Dish Recipe

More Healthy Mexican Recipes

• 30 Minute Vegetarian Mexican Casserole
• Carne Asada Burrito Bowl with Creamy Chili Lime Dressing
• Carne Asada Enchiladas
• Healthy Green Chili Chicken Recipe
• Instant Pot Burrito Bowl

5 from 3 ratings

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Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Created by: Becca Ludlum

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Approximate Serving Size: 1 pepper and filling

Servings 6

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These Veggie Stuffed Peppers are a delicious and filling meal! Filled with brown rice, black beans, and vegetables, this is a vegan dinner recipe with a Mexican flavor.

Equipment

• Baking Dish
• Kitchen Knife
• Cutting Board

Ingredients 

• ▢ 2 cup mushrooms chopped
• ▢ 1.5 cup zucchini chopped
• ▢ 1/2 cup onion chopped
• ▢ 6 medium bell peppers color doesn't matter, choose your favorite. 3 for dicing, three for stuffing.
• ▢ 1 cup corn frozen or canned
• ▢ 1 tsp garlic minced
• ▢ 2 tsp chili powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper optional
• ▢ 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• ▢ 1/2 tsp cumin
• ▢ 1/2 tsp oregano
• ▢ 1/4 tsp black pepper
• ▢ 1 cup black beans drained and rinsed
• ▢ 1 cup cooked brown rice
• ▢ 1 cup Cheddar Jack cheese shredded, divided into two bowls

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350º. Chop mushrooms, zucchini, and onion into 1/4 inch pieces. 2 cup mushrooms 1.5 cup zucchini 1/2 cup onion
• Cut the tops off of the bell peppers and place the bottoms in a baking dish. 6 medium bell peppers
• Place pepper bottoms in the oven and allow to bake for 15 minutes while you're preparing the veggie filling.
• Dice the pepper tops, set aside.
• Add frozen corn to a skillet and cook on low for 5 minutes. 1 cup corn
• Add garlic, chili powder, optional cayenne pepper if you like spice, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper to skillet, stir. 1 tsp garlic 2 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp smoked paprika 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp oregano 1/4 tsp black pepper
• Add zucchini, mushrooms, bell pepper tops, and onions to skillet and allow to cook for 5 minutes. 
• Add black beans and cooked brown rice, remove from heat. 1 cup black beans 1 cup cooked brown rice
• Add 1/2 of cheese to the top of the veggie mix in the pan. 1 cup Cheddar Jack cheese
• Place the pepper bottoms in a baking dish. Fill peppers with veggie and cheese mix.
• Divide the rest of the cheese between the six peppers, topping the veggie mix.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is melted and beginning to brown.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Serve on plates or in bowls (peppers will most likely tip to the side when placed on individual plates).

Notes

Portion Fix/21 Day Fix

• For the regular plan:
  • For each filled stuffed pepper, count 1 1/3 green container, 1 yellow container, and 1/2 blue container.
• For the Vegan plan:
  • For this version, remove the cheese from the recipe and increase black beans to 1 1/2 cups. For even more protein, swap brown rice with 1 1/2 cups quinoa (this will double the red containers).
  • For each filled stuffed pepper, count 1 1/3 green container, 2/3 yellow container A, and 1/3 red container.

Weight Watchers: 

• Each serving is 2 points on the 2023 plan when using fat free cheese. If you skip the cheese the total is 1 point. 

2B Mindset:

This is one of my favorite vegetarian recipes that even the biggest meat lovers rave about! It’s definitely a veggies-most recipe, and an easy way to get all of your vegetables in. While this is a pretty balanced meal it might need a bit of protein added to make this a complete 2B Mindset lunch. I’d add in some cooked tofu for protein. One half cup of tofu adds about 10 grams of protein to your plate.

Recipe Tips

• I love this recipe because it is easily adaptable and very forgiving! I like making it vegan or vegetarian but if you’re not a fan of meatless meals, you can add cooked ground beef or turkey to the cooked veggie mixture as well. More tasty additions to the filling are fire roasted tomatoes, freshly chopped jalapeños, or diced and cooked tofu.
• There are also a lot of different toppings you can use on these peppers after they’re cooked like fresh chopped cilantro, diced green onions, diced tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes, sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, pickled jalapeños, or cotija cheese.
• This is a great recipe for meal prep! On your prepping day, wash and chop all of the veggies, cook the rice, and mix together the taco seasonings. Then, when you’re ready to make the healthy vegetarian stuffed peppers, it all comes together super fast! It’s a fresh and filling meal that tastes so good the next day too!
• This recipe doesn’t call for tomato sauce or soups to hold it together–I think the liquid that comes from the mushrooms and zucchini are perfect for making sure this doesn’t dry out.
• If you end up with leftover filling, go ahead and save it in an airtight container to use in quesadillas, tacos, or as a side dish. They’re all perfect quick recipes for busy days.
• Struggling to fill the whole peppers? No stress there–go ahead and slice them in half and place peppers on the bottom of a baking dish, then fill them.
• We have added cooked and diced sweet potatoes to this mixture and it’s delicious. I’d caution not to stir it too much, because the sweet potatoes fall apart easily, but I add them to the veggie and rice mixture right before I put it in the peppers.
• No brown rice in the house? You can use white rice, or any other type you have on hand!

Nutrition

Calories: 196kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 245mg | Potassium: 521mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 2482IU | Vitamin C: 85mg | Calcium: 169mg | Iron: 2mg

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