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!
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.
📖 Recipe
Appetizer Stuffed Mini Peppers (vegan and gluten-free)
Ingredients
- 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
Nutrition
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.
Tracy
Sooo beautiful. And you’re right, I was SO proud to show up at a party with these beauties! And then to say that they’re vegan AND gluten free? They were the star of the party!
Tina
I always pick up these little sweet peppers when I see them in market. I love their peppery sweetness. This is a great idea! I lack imagination with these little guys and usally just eat them raw. I love what you did with these!
Debra Klein
Thank you. They are the perfect size to stuff. So fun.
Debra Klein
Awesome!! Thanks for that feedback.
Daniela
I’m always looking for creative ways to use lentils, and these stuffed mini peppers seem like a great idea! I love that they are vegan, gluten-free, AND packed with nutrients. I can’t wait to make them for my next party!
Jenni LeBaron
I love stuffed peppers and never though of lentils as a stuffing before- that’s brilliant! I love that these look flavorful and hearty so I wouldn’t even miss the traditional meat stuffing. Great dinner recipe and a perfect way to get some great veggies in your diet!
Debra Klein
This recipe is a great intro into the wonders of meatless meals. So delicious, you won’t miss the meat…or the grains.
Debra Klein
All that and tasty too!
Marisa F. Stewart
Those mini stuffed peppers are adorable!! What a great side to have especially if you can make them ahead. I can see this for a barbecue and popping the peppers in the oven briefly then serving them. I really like the addition of lentils instead of meat. GReat recipe.
Dana
I love love love lentil-stuffed peppers! I usually make big ones as sides or for a meal but I love the idea of turning them into a snack/appetizer. And the stuffing is so multi-purpose. Can throw it onto a salad, eat it with tortilla chips, or eat it with a spoon 😉
Sean@Diversivore
Love the choice of spices that you used for the stuffing. That combination is perfect with the distinctive sweetness of peppers. I love the tip about using the leftovers too, as I’m sure I’d want to stretch my work out into a couple of meals. Probably make a great vegan taco filling in a fresh corn tortilla. Yum.
Debra Klein
Thanks….and yes on the tacos….we have used the leftover stuffing with great success for tacos.
Debra Klein
Yes…so good, a spoon is just perfect.
Debra Klein
Thank you. BBQ here we come!
Trish Bozeman
These are absolutely genius! My mind always goes right to cheese when I think of stuffing mini peppers, but we adore lentils in our house. I can’t wait to give this a try and see if my toddler will try it!
Debra Klein
Oh, I bet your toddler will like them….which kid doesn’t love finger food?? Maybe alter the spices to be sure he will find them tasty.
Annabelle
This looks so delicious and healthy. Can’t wait to make it. I always thinknof lentils in soup so I’m looking forward to trying them in a new format. Thank you Debra for sharing your great recipes and health tips!
Debra Klein
You are welcome……this one is both nutritious and delicious…enjoy!
Sara
This recipe was so delicious! I used Trader Joe’s pre-cooked lentils which made it even easier to whip up, and filled large red peppers with the filling. It was so darn delicious – perfect flavors
Jodi Betancourt
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Not only were these delicious and healthy but my family loved them (shocker!). I sub’d quinoa for the rice and added the cayenne. This recipe is so great, I made the stuffed peppers and had enough stuffing left over to make burritos as well.
Debra Klein
Great idea…I bet this stuffing would be amazing in burritos…maybe a bit of enchilada sauce in there too!
dee
Hi – I am getting ready to make and was wondering if the cauliflower rice should be defrosted prior to adding in step 4, or does it go in frozen? Thanks so much!
Debra Klein
You can use cauliflower rice straight from the freezer in this recipe, it will thaw as it cooks. I will update the recipe card to reflect this.
Denise
This was delicious! I used the leftovers for tacos topped with vegan queso. Speaking of leftovers; I had enough to make this dish probably four more times, with some to spare. I will definitely adjust in the future. Thanks for the recipe!
Debra Klein
Those tacos sound delish!
Jocelyn
This is now one of our go to recipes!!!! It tastes great and no one even realized there was no meat because it was so good. Thank you so much for sharing.
Debra Klein
Super! Love to hear this.
Dee
This will definitely be a staple in my house!! Sooo good!
Debra Klein
Yay….we make them all the time too!
Joanne
Can you stuff the peppers the night before and then bake them the 20 minutes the next day?
Debra Klein
Absolutely! You can make the entire dish, right up until the part where you bake and then refrigerate overnight. Pull it out to come to room temperature before baking, or add an additional 5 minutes to make sure the entire dish is heated through before serving.
Tracey
Has anyone substituted brown rice for cauliflower rice?
Debra Klein
I have….use already cooked rice….and it worked well.
B Hayes
It looks like another site took your recipe, modified it using AI (forgetting to proofread, as they missed some steps) then posted it as their own.Please call them out! You deserve proper credit for your recipes!
Debra Klein
Thanks for letting me know.