Black bean and quinoa stuffed peppers
65 min · 25 g protein · 419 cals / serving
Sweet roasted bell pepper halves heaped with a smoky, cumin-spiced filling of black beans, quinoa, zucchini, corn and salsa, baked under melted cheese and topped with lime yogurt and fresh coriander. Tex-Mex comfort food that holds its shape on the fork.
Ingredients
- 4 large red bell peppers, halved through the stem, seeds removed
- 1 tsp olive oil
Filling
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeño, finely chopped
- 2 medium (1 lb) zucchini, in small dice
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika, smoked if you have it
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp quinoa, rinsed
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2/3 cup frozen corn
- 1 cup salsa
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1/2 cup shredded reduced fat Mexican cheese blend
To serve
- 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt, stirred with a squeeze of lime
- a handful fresh cilantro
Steps
- Heat the oven to 400°F. Put the pepper halves cut side up in a large baking dish and roast them empty for 10 minutes to soften while you make the filling.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion and zucchini for 6–7 minutes until soft and lightly browned, then add the garlic, jalapeño, cumin, chili powder, paprika and oregano and stir for 1 minute.
- Add the quinoa and water, bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low for 12 minutes. Stir in the black beans, corn, salsa and salt and cook uncovered for 3–4 minutes, until the quinoa is tender and the mixture is thick and not soupy. Stir in the lime juice and taste for salt.
- Pack the filling into the pepper halves, mounding it high, and scatter over the cheese. Pour 1/4 cup of water into the bottom of the dish, cover with foil and bake 15 minutes, then uncover and bake 10 minutes more, until the peppers are tender and the cheese is bubbling and browned.
- Serve two halves each, with a spoonful of lime yogurt and coriander leaves.
Good to know
Make it vegan?
Leave off the cheese or use a plant-based one, and top with avocado or a salsa verde instead of the yogurt. With no cheese and avocado on top it's about the same score.
Already have cooked quinoa?
Use 3/4 cup cooked quinoa, skip the water and simmer, and just heat everything together for 5 minutes.
Make ahead?
Fill the peppers, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days, then bake with 10 extra minutes under foil. Leftover filling is a great burrito bowl.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 69
- Protein
- (25%)
- 4 g
- Fat
- (17%)
- 1 g
- Carbohydrates
- (59%)
- 11 g
- of which sugar
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sodium
- 189 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 1676 kcal goes into the pot and 2736 g of ingredients comes out as about 2440 g of food: 69 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.