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Chorizo-Quinoa Stuffed Peppers (Vegan)

February 15, 2013


I know it’s no where near bell pepper season, but I crave stuffed peppers all year round.  I like them a few different ways: fake meat and rice, chili and cornbread, full of veggies and tomato sauce– all are good choices!  My sister and dad mentioned last week that they were going to make chicken chorizo stuffed peppers, so I just had to figure out a way to do that vegetarian.

vegan stuffed peppers

I’ve never had “real” chorizo, so I bought a package of tempeh chorizo to try and match the flavors.  I’ve seen lots of recipes for chorizo and quinoa stuffed peppers floating around, so I figured I’d cut out the middle man and make chorizo flavored quinoa.  Though I’m not normally a spicy person, I added a good amount of hot sauce  to keep me warm in this snowy weather.  Each pepper is very filling– check out all that fiber!

vegan stuffed peppers

I topped mine with vegan cheese sauce and a little taco sauce (because frankly, I’m a little obsessed with it), but I think once you slice it open, any Mexican toppings would work.  I let my avocados go bad and was so disappointed I didn’t have those to put on top– I think those would be amazing!  I used white quinoa to make my chorizo filling, but the red color might help reinforce the look of chorizo.

vegan stuffed peppers

Chorizo-Quinoa Stuffed Peppers (Vegan)
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 4
 

Ingredients
  • 4 bell peppers, tops cut off and seeded
  • 2 c water
  • ¼ c red wine (or red wine vinegar)
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • ¼ tsp liquid smoke
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce (or GF alternative)
  • 1 tsp marjoram
  • dash cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp beef broth concentrate or beef seasoning
  • hot sauce to taste
  • salt to taste
  • 1 large tomato, chopped
  • 15 oz can no salt added black beans

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Combine water though beef broth concentrate in a medium sized sauce pan. Bring to boil and cook quinoa according to package instructions (approximately 12-14 minutes, covered). There will be a little bit of liquid left when it’s done, this will help keep it moist when baking the peppers.
  3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and boil peppers for 5-10 minutes, remove to cool.
  4. Rinse canned beans and add to the quinoa along with the tomato. Add hot sauce and salt to taste. Mix thoroughly.
  5. Fill peppers with quinoa mixture, pressing down to make sure you fill completely. Spray deep casserole dish with nonstick spay and carefully place peppers so they wont tip over. I had to use 2 smaller dishes to accomplish this.
  6. Cover with tinfoil and bake for 30 minutes. Bake for longer or shorter depending on your desired level of pepper softness.
  7. Top with vegan cheese sauce, avocado, salsa, sour cream, etc.

Nutrition Information
Calories: 360 Fat: 4g Carbohydrates: 62g Fiber: 16g Protein: 17g

 

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15 Comments
    stephanie May 09, 2013

    How much quinoa did you use? I couldn’t find the amount in the recipe, but I’d love to try these tonight.

      Kelly May 09, 2013

      1 c of quinoa. looks like I missed that! Thanks for pointing it out 🙂 let me know how it turns out.

    Reeni Feb 17, 2013

    I like stuffed bell peppers all year around too! These look hearty and delicious!

    atasteofmadess Feb 16, 2013

    Oh wow, this looks fantastic! I have always wanted to try quinoa, I can’t believe I haven’t yet! On my shopping list!

      Kelly Feb 16, 2013

      Thanks and yay for trying new things! 🙂

    Joanne Feb 16, 2013

    Stuffed peppers are so hearty that it’s almost hard to eat them in the summer! A much better winter food for sure. These sound great!

    Liz Feb 15, 2013

    The idea of spicy stuffed peppers is perfect for this cold weather! Love the gooey topping!

      Kelly Feb 15, 2013

      It’s vegan cheese, posted yesterday. SO tasty!

    Marcie@flavorthemoments Feb 15, 2013

    I love stuffed peppers and I’m always looking for ways to jazz up quinoa. Your quinoa is very jazzed up!

      Kelly Feb 15, 2013

      This sounds like just the recipe for you then! Hope you try it out 🙂

    Sally Feb 15, 2013

    I’ve never ever thought to stuff peppers with quinoa before! I’m used to the rice stuffed version. This I’ve got to try! 🙂