Quinoa and Garbanzo Bean Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers are delicious and simple. Use any color of bell peppers to make a beautiful dish that’s worthy of company, but nutritious and fast enough for a family weeknight dinner. Instead of using fatty ground turkey, these peppers depend on hearty quinoa, earthy garbanzo beans, and bright tomatoes for a plant-based, gluten-free, and high-fiber dish. Additional flavors from nutty tahini, zesty lemon and red onion, and herby oregano.

Variations and Serving Suggestions

• For a festive party dish, stuff mini bell peppers instead of large bell pepper halves.
• For variety, try stuffing portobello mushrooms, zucchini halved lengthwise, or poblano peppers instead of bell peppers. 
• For a low-carb, high-protein version, use canned tuna or cooked salmon, tofu, chicken, or lean ground turkey instead of quinoa. 
• Turn your stuffed peppers into a vegetarian breakfast with a cooked egg or egg whites.
• If you prefer to use cooked vegetables, cook the onion with the tomatoes and zucchini, or use any other type of chopped vegetables of your choice like eggplant, broccoli, green beans, cabbage, or spinach. You can even use large cabbage leaves to roll around the filling.
• For a shortcut, use tahini from a jar or can instead of tahini sauce. 
• For a different flavor, omit the tahini. Instead, top your peppers with hummus, guacamole, or shredded cheese.
• For more of a Mediterranean twist, distribute ½ cup (4 ounces) of crumbled feta cheese over the peppers before baking. 

Recipe for Plant-Based Quinoa and Garbanzo Bean Stuffed Peppers

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 large bell peppers

Filling

• 1 cup of cooked quinoa (⅓ cup of dry quinoa)
• 1 can (15 ounces), or about 1 ½ cups of canned garbanzos, drained
• ½ cup of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• (Optional) ½ cup of cucumber or zucchini, diced
• ¼ cup of diced red onion
• ¼ cup of kalamata olives, chopped
• 2-4 tablespoons of fresh mint and/or parsley, chopped
• ¼ cup of toasted slivered almonds
• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
• 3-4 tablespoons of low-sodium vegetable broth
• Salt and pepper to taste

Optional Sauce

• ¼ cup of tahini
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• (Optional) 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1-3 tablespoons of water, or as needed for consistency
• (Optional) dash of paprika or cumin

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Cut the tops off of the bell peppers and remove the seeds. Cut them in half lengthwise. Place the halves in the baking dish and spray them with cooking spray. Bake for 5-10 minutes, if desired, for a softer end product. 
3. While the peppers are baking, mix the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and paprika or cumin, if desired, in a small bowl. Thin with water if needed for consistency. Set aside. 
4. In a large bowl, mix together the cooked quinoa, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, cucumber or zucchini if using, red onion, olives, mint and parsley, oregano, and almonds.
5. Fill the pepper halves evenly with the quinoa mixture. Cover them with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake another 5-10 minutes. 
6. Serve with tahini sauce over them.

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Nutrition information per serving:  270 calories; 12 grams of fat; 2 grams of saturated fat; 0 mg of cholesterol; 400 mg of sodium; 35 grams of carbohydrates; 5 grams of sugar; 7 grams of fiber; 9 grams of protein

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