Quinoa and Roasted Vegetable Stuffed Bell Peppers

Friends, I have very recently been introduced to the wonder grain that is quinoa. Now that I’m eating quinoa and kale, all I need is to start yoga again to complete this LA stereotype triad.

I had quinoa for the first time earlier this week in a curry dish my friend made in which the grain replaced steamed rice. It was soooo good that I decided to explore and see what else it can be used in. This recipe was inspired by a picture on Pinterest, but I decided to make up my own recipe instead of using theirs. The filling is super good stuffed in the peppers or even by itself (I have to admit, I ate a lot of it on its own because I got too lazy to fill up the peppers…).

I used a lot of vegetables that I personally like, but feel free to substitute them with those that you prefer. You can also top the peppers with cheese or other toppings, but I’m a not a big cheese fan so I opted not to. I made the stuffed peppers purely vegetarian because my mom doesn’t eat meat and I’m trying to do a test run of the recipe before making it for her, but you can always add some if you want that extra protein.

Give the recipe a try! It’s super versatile and super healthy 🙂

Quinoa and Roasted Vegetable Stuffed Bell Peppers
(serves 4-6)

¼ onion, roughly diced
1 package of mushrooms (any kind), quartered
½ cup of asparagus, cut into ½ inch chunks
1 small zucchini, diced
salt and pepper, to taste
¼ cup oil (I used canola, but you can use vegetable or olive oil as well)
½ cup cooked kale, chopped (I cooked it in chicken broth and with some salt and pepper)
1½ cups quinoa, cooked with chicken broth (I used whatever was left from cooking the kale plus some)
3 bell peppers (I chose red, but you can use any color), halved and hollowed out

Preheat the oven at 425 degrees while you prep the vegetables. Make sure that they are all cut approximately the same size so that they roast evenly.
On a baking sheet, toss the onion, mushrooms, asparagus, and zucchini with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, mixing them around every 10 minutes. When they’re done, take them out and reduce the heat to 350 degrees.
Combine the roasted veggies and kale with the quinoa. Spoon the mixture into each bell pepper half and arrange the peppers into a baking dish.
Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes then uncover it and bake for another 10 minutes so the tops can crisp up.