These classic vegan stuffed peppers are as delicious as they are pretty. Whether you are making a fancy dinner or prepping easy weeknight meals these stuffed peppers are the answer! This recipe is super versatile and will work with any protein like vegan beef crumbles, vegan sausage, lentils, or beans. Use any grain that you wish like quinoa, rice, or couscous! So you can make them different every time!
They are naturally gluten-free and packed with healthy grains and veggies. They freeze well and work great for meal prep!
Jump to:
- ❤️ This recipe is
- 🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- 🥄 Instructions
- 🍲 How to make in a slow cooker
- 🍞 How to make them low-carb
- 🌶️ Mini stuffed pepper bites
- 🌽 Mexican-style
- 🥘 Unstuffed pepper casserole
- 🎃 Pepper jack-o-lanterns...
- 🥡 Storage, freezing, and reheating
- 🍴 Meal prep
- 🌟 More vegan Italian style dishes
❤️ This recipe is
- easy to make!
- easily made free of dairy, gluten, soy, and nuts.
- super versatile so you can substitute whatever you have.
- great for meal prep!
- easy to turn into an easy kid-friendly casserole
- able to be cooked in your slow cooker.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Bell Peppers - any color you like will work.
- A Vegan Protein - I like to use my vegan sausage crumbles recipe made with TVP (triple the recipe to equal 2 cups), but it's also delicious with vegan ground beef, Beyond Beef crumbles, vegan Soyrizo, vegan Italian sausage cut into small pieces, cooked lentils, or beans.
- A Grain - I usually use cooked short grain brown rice or quinoa, but you can also use any type of rice, millet, or small pasta like orzo or couscous.
- Onion - for flavor. (optional, but recommended).
- Italian Herbs - for flavor. You can also omit the Italian Herbs and replace it with taco seasoning to make Mexican-style stuffed peppers.
- Olive Oil - to saute the onion and veggies in.
- Veggies - you can add about 1 cup of finely chopped veggies to the pepper stuffing. (optional) Peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, and carrots all work well to give it more flavor and nutrients.
- Tomato Sauce - for moisture and flavor. You can use your favorite spaghetti sauce from a jar or make your own with my roasted tomato sauce recipe.
- Vegan Cheese - to mix in with the filling and to sprinkle on top. You can use your favorite vegan cheese or try the melty version of my homemade vegan mozzarella.
- Salt - for flavor.
🥄 Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° F.
- Wash the peppers and cut off the top inch of the pepper and stem and clean out the seeds and white membrane left inside the pepper.
- Dice the cut tops of the peppers into small pieces.
- Dice onion and fry it in some olive oil and a sprinkle of salt for about 3-5 minutes over low heat.
- Turn up the heat to medium and add the diced pepper tops and Italian herb seasoning then cook for about 3 more minutes.
- Add the protein of choice, like "beef" crumbles, vegan Italian sausage, beans, or cooked lentils, and saute for a few more minutes.
- Add a grain of choice like rice, quinoa, or couscous and stir well.
- Pour in a jar of spaghetti sauce to the cooked veggies and protein.
- Add 1 cup vegan cheese and stir well.
- Arrange your peppers in a baking dish and fill with the mixture.
- Top with remaining vegan cheese.
- Cover your dish with foil or a lid and bake covered for 35 minutes.
- Take out of the oven and take off the foil, then put back in the oven for 10 more minutes.
🍲 How to make in a slow cooker
- Follow steps 1 -9 the same as you did for a traditional stuffed pepper.
- Pour 1 cup of vegetable broth in the slow cooker.
- Arrange your peppers in your crock-pot/slow cooker and fill peppers with the stuffed pepper mixture.
- Top with vegan cheese and set to low and cook for 4 1/2 - 5 1/2 hours until peppers are soft.
🍞 How to make them low-carb
A simple swap out the grain for riced cauliflower for a delicious low-carb, low-calorie, healthy alternative.
🌶️ Mini stuffed pepper bites
This recipe works great for an appetizer too! To make a mini version of this recipe, cut the recipe in half (you will not need nearly as much filling) and use the mini multi-colored peppers.
- Cut the tops off of these small peppers then cut them in half and remove any seeds and white membrane.
- Place on a cookie sheet and spoon on the pepper filling and top with vegan cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake again for about 8 minutes.
- Allow cooling for about 15 minutes before serving as finger food.
🌽 Mexican-style
You can easily change this dish from an Italian style dish to a spicy Mexican style dish by swapping out a few ingredients. Simply use taco seasoning or a combo of chili powder and cumin in place of the Italian seasoning. You can also use 3 cups of salsa, or diced tomatoes instead of the jar of spaghetti sauce. Mexican stuffed peppers are also delicious with Soyrizo or beans and added corn or zucchini squash (about 1 cup). You can also use my homemade vegan cheddar cheese in place of vegan mozzarella!
🥘 Unstuffed pepper casserole
My kids don't like the big whole pepper very much. It's just a little too much pepper at once I think. They do, however, love stuffed pepper casserole. To make it into a casserole, chop up 2 whole bell peppers into tiny pieces and toss them into the stuffed pepper mixture. Then pour the stuffing mixture into a casserole dish, top with vegan cheese, and bake the whole thing for 45 minutes at 375° F until bubbly. My kids devour it and never even notice the peppers in it! (It tastes a lot like lasagna, but much faster and easier to make)!
🎃 Pepper jack-o-lanterns...
Make these for a fun Halloween dish or even Thanksgiving! Simply use orange peppers then cut the tops like you would the top of a jack-o-lantern. Then take a little knife and clean out the seeds and membrane, then carve out a face on the pepper. Fill with the stuffing and place the stem back on top and bake. For Thanksgiving pumpkin peppers, do the same thing, just don't carve a face in it.
🥡 Storage, freezing, and reheating
Refrigerator: These vegan stuffed peppers will keep well in the fridge for 3 - 5 days in a sealed container.
Freezing: You can either freeze them before or after baking. If you are prepping a whole meal to pop in the oven, I find it easier to freeze them before baking and then bake the whole dish. However, If you want them for quick lunches that you can pop in the microwave, cook them first and wrap them individually for a quicker meal. Either way, be sure to keep them in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to 2 months until you are ready to use them. If you want more information about this, check out this article about freezing stuffed peppers.
Defrosting: Allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating to heat quickly. You can also put frozen stuffed peppers directly into the microwave, but it will take about 5-6 minutes to heat.
Reheating: Reheat the stuffed peppers one at a time in the microwave for about 3-4 minutes each. To reheat large amounts, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of water and bake in a covered dish at 350° F for about 20-25 minutes until hot.
🍴 Meal prep
Stuff peppers freeze very well and make a great meal prep food!
Leave them in the baking dish or place them on a cookie sheet and freeze solid. Then wrap in plastic wrap or place in a small freezer bag and squeeze out all the air. (Two peppers fit perfectly in a quart freezer bag and make the perfect lunch for my husband to bring to work).
🌟 More vegan Italian style dishes
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
A classic stuffed pepper recipe made vegan.
- 8 medium bell peppers
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 cup diced veggies of choice like mushrooms, carrots, or broccoli. (Optional for extra nutrients).
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 cup vegan Italian sausage or any other vegan protein you choose like crumbles or cooked beans or lentils.
- 2 cups cooked short-grain brown rice or quinoa, couscous, millet, or any other grain of choice.
- 1 24 oz jar of spaghetti sauce or 3 cups of crushed tomatoes.
- 1 1/2 cup vegan cheese
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
-
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
-
Wash the peppers and cut off the top inch of the pepper and stem. Clean out the seeds and white membrane from the inside of the pepper.
-
Dice the cut tops of the peppers into small pieces.
-
Dice onion and fry it in some olive oil and a sprinkle of salt for about 3-5 minutes over low heat.
-
Turn up the heat to medium and add the diced pepper tops and Italian herb seasoning. Cook for about 3 more minutes.
-
Add the protein of choice, like "beef" crumbles, vegan Italian sausage, beans, or cooked lentils and saute for a few more minutes.
-
Add a grain of choice like rice, quinoa, or couscous and stir well.
-
Pour in a jar of spaghetti sauce to the cooked veggies and protein.
-
Add 1 cup of vegan cheese and stir well.
-
Arrange your peppers in a baking dish and fill with the mixture.
-
Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of vegan cheese.
-
Cover your dish with foil or a lid and bake covered for 35 minutes.
-
Take out of the oven and remove the foil. Return to the oven for 10 more minutes.
Slow cooker method
- Follow steps 1 -9 the same as you would for a traditional stuffed pepper.
- Pour 1 cup of vegetable broth into the slow cooker.
- Arrange your peppers in your crock-pot/slow cooker and fill peppers with the stuffed pepper mixture.
- Top with vegan cheese and set to low and cook for 4 1/2 - 5 1/2 hours until peppers are soft.
How to make mini stuffed peppers
This recipe works great for an appetizer too! To make a mini version of this recipe, cut the recipe in half (you will not need nearly as much filling) and use mini multi-colored peppers.
- Cut the tops off of these small peppers then cut them in half and remove any seeds and white membrane.
- Place on a cookie sheet and spoon on the pepper filling. Top with vegan cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake again for about 8 minutes.
- Allow cooling for about 15 minutes before serving as finger food.
Mexican style stuffed peppers
Swap the Italian seasoning for taco seasoning and the spaghetti sauce for 3 cups of salsa. You can also add corn, beans, and squash to the stuffing mix.
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