I love this meal. It’s got lots of veggies, it makes me feel good when I eat it, and it’s delicious. I cooked the veggies extra long for this dish so that they really develop a nice savory flavor. That in combination with the spices and olives, allots for a really nice flavor. This dish definitely has an Italian influence, yet has a bit of a modern twist on it.

Before I ever made these, I had heard of quinoa stuffed peppers and even tried some at a little cafe in Santa Barbara. That’s actually what sparked my inspiration for this recipe. However once I decided to make them, I got all these ideas for different veggies that would go good well in it and other things that would complement the veggies like spices, olives, and pine nuts. Anyways after making and adjusting the recipe a few times, this is what I came up with, an Italian influenced quinoa stuffed peppers.

Now I must talk about the sauce as well. This cheesy cashew tahini recipe is adapted from ohsheglow’s roasted buddha bowl dressing. Its hardly different than hers because she just nailed it so perfectly. I did add a little more tahini though. This sauce really adds a nice flavor to the dish and gets a little hard on the outside when you broil it, it’s quite tasty. Overall, this meal is a great lunch or dinner that I enjoy very much and I hope you and your family do too!

With love from my kitchen to yours,

Kayley

P.S. If you would like to make homemade bone broth for this, I have a recipe for bone broth that you can check out here.

Quinoa and Veggie Stuffed Peppers

AuthorKayley Lynch

Yields3 ServingsServingsQuarter (0.75 Servings)Half (1.5 Serving)Default (3 Servings)Double (6 Servings)Triple (9 Servings)

Total Time55 mins

Ingredients-

Peppers:

 3 bell peppers (342g)

 ½ cup quinoa (I recommend sprouted quinoa)

 ¾ cup vegetable broth or broth of choice

 ¼ cup water

 1 tbsp olive oil

 ½ onion, diced (65g)

 ¾ zucchini, diced (164g)

 1 ½ cup eggplant, diced (75g)

 4 crimini mushrooms, sliced (84g)

 1 large garlic clove, minced

 ¾ tomato, diced (69g)

 6 tbsp cup fresh basil, minced or 1 1/2 tsp dried basil

 4.50 tbsp italian parsley, minced

 ¾ cup nicoise coquillo and green olives, sliced (171g)

 ¾ tsp onion powder

 salt to taste

 pepper to taste

 3 tbsp toasted pine nuts (26g)

Cheesy Cashew Tahini Sauce:

 ½ cup cashews (65g)

 2 tbsp tahini (30g)

 7 tbsp water

 2 tbsp lemon juice

 1 garlic clove, pealed

 ¼ cup nutritional yeast (34g)

 salt (depending on your preference)

 pepper to taste

Recipe-

1

Start by preheating your oven to broil. Then cut your bell peppers in half and core them. Place the peppers face down on a baking sheet and coat with a 1/2 tsp olive oil and salt. Broil for about 15 minutes or till the outer skins are lightly browned and the peppers are fork tender.

2

Meanwhile prepare your quinoa. Heat 1 tsp of olive oil over medium heat. Once hot add quinoa. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally to pearl the quinoa. Then add vegetable broth and water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover with a lid, and cook for 20 minutes.

3

Now on to the veggies. Heat 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add onion. Cook for a few minutes, then add zucchini, eggplant, and mushrooms. Stir occasionally. After about 8 minutes or so add the garlic. When the veggies are soft and almost done, add tomato and cook till all the veggies are well done.

4

Meanwhile prepare the sauce. Boil the cashews for 10 minutes to soften. Then drain water and add the boiled cashews to a blender along with the remains ingredients. Blend till smooth and creamy. Set aside for later.

5

Once quinoa and veggies are done, add the quinoa to the veggies. Add the basil, Italian parsley, olives, onion powder, salt, pepper, and pine nuts and mix well. Now its time to assemble the peppers. Turn the peppers open side up and fill them with the quinoa veggie mix. Really pack it in there and use a spoon to shove it in all the corners and cracks. Then top with some of the Cheesy Cashew Tahini Sauce and broil for 5-7 minutes. Top with some Italian parsley, serve with extra cashew tahini sauce, and enjoy!

Ingredients

Ingredients-

Peppers:

 3 bell peppers (342g)

 ½ cup quinoa (I recommend sprouted quinoa)

 ¾ cup vegetable broth or broth of choice

 ¼ cup water

 1 tbsp olive oil

 ½ onion, diced (65g)

 ¾ zucchini, diced (164g)

 1 ½ cup eggplant, diced (75g)

 4 crimini mushrooms, sliced (84g)

 1 large garlic clove, minced

 ¾ tomato, diced (69g)

 6 tbsp cup fresh basil, minced or 1 1/2 tsp dried basil

 4.50 tbsp italian parsley, minced

 ¾ cup nicoise coquillo and green olives, sliced (171g)

 ¾ tsp onion powder

 salt to taste

 pepper to taste

 3 tbsp toasted pine nuts (26g)

Cheesy Cashew Tahini Sauce:

 ½ cup cashews (65g)

 2 tbsp tahini (30g)

 7 tbsp water

 2 tbsp lemon juice

 1 garlic clove, pealed

 ¼ cup nutritional yeast (34g)

 salt (depending on your preference)

 pepper to taste

Directions

Recipe-

1

Start by preheating your oven to broil. Then cut your bell peppers in half and core them. Place the peppers face down on a baking sheet and coat with a 1/2 tsp olive oil and salt. Broil for about 15 minutes or till the outer skins are lightly browned and the peppers are fork tender.

2

Meanwhile prepare your quinoa. Heat 1 tsp of olive oil over medium heat. Once hot add quinoa. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally to pearl the quinoa. Then add vegetable broth and water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover with a lid, and cook for 20 minutes.

3

Now on to the veggies. Heat 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add onion. Cook for a few minutes, then add zucchini, eggplant, and mushrooms. Stir occasionally. After about 8 minutes or so add the garlic. When the veggies are soft and almost done, add tomato and cook till all the veggies are well done.

4

Meanwhile prepare the sauce. Boil the cashews for 10 minutes to soften. Then drain water and add the boiled cashews to a blender along with the remains ingredients. Blend till smooth and creamy. Set aside for later.

5

Once quinoa and veggies are done, add the quinoa to the veggies. Add the basil, Italian parsley, olives, onion powder, salt, pepper, and pine nuts and mix well. Now its time to assemble the peppers. Turn the peppers open side up and fill them with the quinoa veggie mix. Really pack it in there and use a spoon to shove it in all the corners and cracks. Then top with some of the Cheesy Cashew Tahini Sauce and broil for 5-7 minutes. Top with some Italian parsley, serve with extra cashew tahini sauce, and enjoy!

Notes

Quinoa and Veggie Stuffed Peppers

IngredientsDirections

Nutrition:

(1)

Notes:

• Nutrition is based on the products I use. I provide a nutrition table so that you can quickly check to see if your food products match or so that you can easily calculate the nutrition for any changes you want to make to the recipe. I think this helps if you have very specific diet goals and/or fitness and/or health goals. I also wanted you to be able to see exactly where I get the numbers for my nutrition facts so that you can see that they are reliable and learn more about macro breakdowns of food.
• I only calculate half the oil because a lot of it sticks to the pan so you don’t consume all of it.
• I don’t calculate macros for herbs, spices, and garlic because have practically no calories

Works Cited

1. Nutritionix. Gladson. https://www.nutritionix.com/ Accessed 21 January 2019.