This lentil stuffed peppers recipe is an easy and delicious main dish that the entire family will love. They take about an hour to cook, but they're simple to put together and perfect for meal prep for the week. If you like spicy food, don't miss The Best Vegan Stuffed Peppers Recipe on the blog.
Stuffed peppers is one of our favorite vegan comfort foods.
We love using the bell pepper as a vessel for various fillings, such as, rice, quinoa, lentils, vegetables, beans, and cheese.
They're easy to put together and keep well in the refrigerator for several days, so you can make them ahead of time for a busy weeknight dinner.
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Ingredients You'll Need
Here's a visual cue of the ingredients you'll need to make this vegetarian stuffed peppers recipe.
See the recipe card for the exact measurements.
Bell Pepper - We prefer red, orange, or yellow bell peppers because of their sweet flavor. You can use green bell peppers, but please note that they will add a different flavor to the dish.
Cooked Green or Brown Lentils - You can make the lentils from scratch or to save time, buy frozen or canned lentils. If you buy them canned, pour them into a strainer and rinse the liquid off of them.
Cooked Brown or White Rice - Like the lentils, you can cook the rice yourself, or buy cooked frozen rice. We prefer brown rice because of its nutty flavor and chewy texture. If you want stuffed peppers without rice, use quinoa or barley.
Diced Tomatoes - Canned diced or crushed tomatoes give the dish acidity and a great flavor. You could dice fresh tomatoes, but we like the juice in the canned tomatoes.
Bread Crumbs - We sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of the stuffed peppers to add a crispy texture. Feel free to use gluten-free breadcrumbs if needed.
Garlic, Lemon, Cilantro - These three ingredients add a wonderful Mediterranean flavor to the recipe.
Vegan Mozzarella Shreds - A sprinkle of vegan cheese adds so much to the stuffed peppers. Feel free to skip it if you don't want the extra calories.
Instructions
Here's a visual step-by-step to help you make our lentil stuffed peppers.
Step 1
Mince the garlic and cilantro and set aside.
Step 2
Add the lentils, rice, tomatoes, cheese, bread crumbs, garlic, cilantro, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste to a large mixing bowl.
Step 3
Stir the ingredients together until they're fully combined. It should look like the picture above.
Step 4
Cut the tops off of the bell peppers and remove the seeds and core. Brush with olive oil and place upright in a deep baking dish. Add water to the bottom of the pan to help the peppers soften while they cook.
Step 5
Fill the cored bell peppers with the filling and use the back of the wooden spoon to press the filling down into the peppers.
Step 6
Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the top of the peppers.
Step 7
Bake the peppers in a 375°F (190°C) for about an hour, or until the peppers are soft and the bread crumbs are golden brown. If the bread crumbs brown before the peppers are fork tender, cover with foil.
How to Meal Prep Stuffed Peppers
Make the rice and lentils.
Prepare the peppers and store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Stir all of the filling ingredients together and store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
When you're ready to bake the stuffed peppers with lentils, fill the peppers with the filling, cover with the bread crumbs, and bake as instructed.
Stuffed Pepper FAQs
You can parboil or bake the pepper separately to soften them before stuffing them, however, we found it wasn't necessary.
Peppers can get soggy if they're baked too long or the filling has too much liquid.
You must cook the rice before you add it to the peppers. Uncooked rice will not cook properly if added to the stuffed pepper mixture.
More Vegan Lentil Recipes
Vegetarian Lentil Stuffed Peppers
Equipment
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 stove
- 1 Oven
- 1 baking dish
Ingredients
- 4 bell peppers – cut the tops off and remove the seeds save the tops
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil oil
- 1 cup cooked brown or green lentils You can use canned or frozen lentils. Drain and rinse if canned.
- 3 cloves garlic – minced
- 15 ounces diced tomatoes
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 cup vegan mozzarella shreds
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup minced cilantro - minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- ¾ cup water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F°F (190°C)
- Rub a light coat of oil on the peppers and place upright in a baking dish.
- Cook the rice according to the instructions on the package.
- Cook the lentils according to the instructions on the package.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir the rice, lentils, tomatoes, vegan cheese, garlic, lemon juice, cilantro, and salt and pepper until fully combined.
- Stuff the peppers with the filling.
- Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the top of the peppers.
- Add the water to the bottom of the baking dish and bake for approximately 1 hour, or until the pepper is fork tender. Cover with foil if the bread crumbs become too brown.
esther says
can you use red lentils
Linda Meyer says
Hi Esther! Yes, you can, just cook them according to the instructions on the package before adding them to the peppers. Enjoy!
lucy ann edwards says
you wouldnt happen to know the nutritional content?
Linda Meyer says
Hi Lucy Ann! We just updated the recipe card which shows the estimated nutrition values. Please keep in mind that when we plug in the ingredients the card doesn't take into consideration that we use low sodium broth, and every brand of ingredients varies, which it doesn't consider. We try and keep our recipes as healthy as possible, and encourage our readers to alter certain ingredients, (such as salt and oil) to suit their dietary requirements.