Appetizer Stuffed Mini Peppers (vegan and gluten-free)

These plant-based stuffed mini peppers make the perfect vegan and gluten-free appetizer. They’re easy to make with lentils, cauliflower rice, corn and a savory cozy spice mixture. You can eat the baked stuffed mini peppers cold or hot, making them an awesome choice for parties and pot-lucks.

Use my vegan stuffed peppers recipe for a plant-based main dish, or use the delicious stuffing described below with full sized peppers instead of the minis.

Mini sweet peppers are easy to use for stuffing and serving as an appetizer or side dish. Wash, trim, parbake, stuff and bake some more.

Cut peppers through the center and remove internal ribs and seeds. I like to use a grapefruit spoon to simply scoop out everything in the center.

Lay them onto a parchment lined baking tray, sprinkle with salt and pepper and then bake, cut side up, in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Mix together cumin, paprika, chili powder, oregano and salt. Plus a pinch of cayenne if you like a more spicy stuffing.

While the unstuffed peppers get a head start baking, make the stuffing. Saute onions until translucent. Grate garlic over the pan and then stir in spices, cauliflower rice, cooked lentils and corn. Pour in a jar of salsa and cook, stirring until everything is heated through and well mixed.

Spoon the filling into the par-baked mini peppers and then bake for 20 minutes, until the stuffing is golden and the peppers are soft.

Sprinkle with fresh cilantro, hemp seeds and/or nutritional yeast.

If you have any leftover stuffing, store in an airtight container in the fridge…it makes a great plant-based salad topping!

📖 Recipe

Appetizer Stuffed Mini Peppers (vegan and gluten-free)

Author: Debra Klein

Sweet mini peppers are filled with a lentil and cauliflower stuffing that's loaded with savory spices and baked for a delicious vegan and gluten-free appetizer.

4.70 from 30 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Calories 114 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup dry lentils
• ▢ 3 cups water
• ▢ 1 lb. mini sweet peppers
• ▢ 1 medium yellow onion small dice
• ▢ 12 oz. package frozen cauli rice approx. 3 cups fresh
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic pressed
• ▢ 1 cup frozen corn
• ▢ 2 teaspoons cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon paprika
• ▢ 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon oregano
• ▢ 1 teaspoon coarse ground sea salt
• ▢ 16 oz. jar prepared salsa.

OPTIONAL GARNISH:

• ▢ ¼ cup fresh cilantro
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons hemp seeds

Instructions

 

HOW TO COOK DRIED LENTILS

• Before cooking lentils, rinse in cold water, pick over to remove debris and drain.
• It is not necessary to soak lentils before cooking, but you can to reduce cooking time by about half if you do.
• Combine lentils and 3x their volume in water in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and adjust heat to maintain a low simmer.
• Cook until lentils are tender, approx. 15 minutes. Drain any liquid that wasn’t absorbed during cooking.

TO MAKE STUFFED PEPPERS:

• Preheat oven to 400. Line baking tray with unbleached parchment paper.
• Make the lentils. See above for directions. This can be done up to several days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
• Prepare peppers: cut in half, through the stem. Remove seeds and ribs. Removing stems is optional: I like to leave the stems on for presentation. Sprinkle with S+P and place cut side up on prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes until beginning to soften.
• Meanwhile, prepare the stuffing: heat heavy bottom skillet over medium heat. Swirl in a bit of broth, water or olive oil and then add onion. Cook until it starts to soften, approx. 3 minutes. Add the spices, garlic and cook, stirring for 30 seconds, so garlic is fragrant but doesn’t burn. Then stir in the lentils, cauli-rice and corn. If you're using frozen cauliflower rice, It's ok to add that straight from the freezer. Add the salsa and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 2-3 minutes as flavors begin to marinate.
• Scoop stuffing into each pepper, fill to heaping. The easiest way to do this with the mini peppers is to use two teaspoons (the way you would for dropping chocolate chip cookies) and scoop with one and use the back of the other to push what's in the first spoon into the mini pepper. Sprinkle with cilantro and hemp seeds if desired. Turn heat down to 350 and bake for 20 minutes until lightly browned and filling is hot.

Notes

To use this stuffing in full sized bell peppers, add 10 minutes to the par baking time, add 10 minutes to the stuffed baking time. Check to see if peppers are tender by piercing with a fork. Put back into the oven for another 10 minutes if needed. 

Meal Prep as a Freezer Meal

• Prepare the filling. Stuff the peppers, but don’t bake.
• Make sure peppers have completely cooled. Place in a glass dish with air tight seal  and then cover tightly. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely when ready to use and then bake as directed above in step 5.
• If you’ve already cooked the peppers and realize you have too many and want to freeze, no problem. Follow the notes from the step above, reducing the cooking time slightly, making sure they are fully heated through.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 114kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 7gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.3gSodium: 461mgPotassium: 336mgFiber: 6gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1541IUVitamin C: 65mgCalcium: 46mgIron: 3mg

Note

The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag me @dkhealthcoach or use hashtag #dkhealtcoach on Instagram so I can see it!!