July 6, 2016

Vegetarian Greek Stuffed Peppers

Jump to Recipe

Light, fresh and healthy, these vegetarian greek stuffed peppers make for the PERFECT easy summer meal. Filled with fresh veggies, couscous and chickpeas, they’ll have you coming back for more. Vegetarian with dairy free and vegan options.

A white plate filled with three Greek Stuffed Peppers with a fork to the side.

Stuffed peppers. One of those dishes that we ate all the time growing up. Except these are so not my mama’s stuffed peppers!

Terrible punch lines aside, I  kinda sorta wanted to title this recipe greek salad stuffed peppers. But that didn’t totally 100% make sense, so I just stuck with greek.

But! They are very much greek salad inspired.

We have a filling that is packed with classic greek salad ingredients – tomatoes, cucumber, red onion. And a jazzy and delicious dressing with red wine vinegar, honey and oregano.

To bulk it up just a tad and give it a bit of oomph, we mix those ingredients together with some whole wheat couscous and chickpeas.

And then pile it all on top of tender, slightly browned bell peppers. Dinner is served.

Crazy light, super fresh, so perfect for summer.

A glass bowl with vegetarian stuffed pepper filling with peppers to the side.

Tips & Tricks For These Greek Stuffed Peppers

  1. Here’s the deal with how I would encourage you to prep this recipe. Get the peppers going and pop them in the oven. While they are cooking, make the couscous and prep all the rest of the veggies and the dressing (you’ll have more than enough time). This way, the actual total time for the recipe is only 35 minutes. It’s longer as listed down below since I kept the prep and cook times separate and not overlapping, if you will.
  2. If you are feeling lazy and don’t want to brush the individual peppers with olive oil, you can just spray the baking sheet with nonstick or olive oil spray, and then spray the cut sides of the peppers. Makes it even easier.
  3. If your cherry tomatoes are really large, quarter them instead of halving (this will allow them to be more evenly distributed throughout the filling).
  4. I can never resist garnishing these peppers with some chopped parsley – but this is totally optional.
  5. A note on the recipe yield. We only get about 4 servings with these peppers since they are just so light (well, at least to us). If you want to stretch them to 6, I’d suggest serving with a more substantial side. But then again, maybe we just eat a lot?

Side angle view of a white plate with three Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers with a fork on the plate.

Additional Mediterranean Recipes You Might Enjoy:

Did you make this recipe? Rate and review it down below! I’d love to hear from you.

Easy and healthy vegetarian greek stuffed peppers! Filled with tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and feta! Light and packed with freshness!

Vegetarian Greek Stuffed Peppers

Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Light, fresh and healthy, these vegetarian greek stuffed peppers make for the PERFECT easy summer meal. Filled with fresh veggies, couscous and chickpeas, they’ll have you coming back for more. Vegetarian with dairy free and vegan options.

Ingredients

For the peppers:

  • 6 medium bell peppers
  • olive oil, for drizzling
  • salt and pepper, for sprinkling

For the filling:

  • ¾ cup low sodium vegetable broth
  • ¾ cup uncooked whole wheat couscous
  • 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
  • 1 cup peeled and chopped cucumber
  • ½ cup thinly sliced red onion
  • ½ cup crumbled feta cheese*

For the dressing:

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ tablespoon honey**
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • pinch of pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon dried oregano

Instructions

For the peppers:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
  2. Slice the peppers in half vertically and remove the seeds and ribs. Brush the peppers all over with olive oil, then arrange in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet with the cut sides facing up. Sprinkle the peppers lightly with some salt and pepper.
  3. Bake for about 30 minutes, until tender and starting to brown (the bottoms especially).

For the filling:

  1. Meanwhile, add the broth to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then stir in the couscous. Remove from the heat, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork, then add to a large bowl and let cool for about 5 to 10 minutes.
  2. To the large bowl, add in the chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and feta cheese. Toss to combine.

For the dressing:

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing.
  2. Pour the dressing into the bowl with the couscous and toss to combine. Taste and adjust any seasonings as needed. If the mixture seems too “dry,” drizzle in a little more olive oil.
  3. Scoop some of the filling into each of the bell pepper halves and serve!

Notes

*To keep these dairy free / vegan - omit the feta cheese and sub in pitted sliced olives to taste.

**To keep these vegan - use pure maple syrup instead of the honey.

Don’t want to turn on the oven? I think the peppers would be awesome grilled instead.

See the tips & tricks section above for how to prep the ingredients to keep the total recipe time at only 35 minutes.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 295Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 501mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 6gSugar: 10gProtein: 9g

Nutrition data shown is an estimate provided by an online calculator and is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered a substitute for a medical professional’s advice.

© Ashley / Cook Nourish Bliss
Cuisine: Mediterranean / Category: Main Dish
Dairy Free, Main Dish, Meatless, Nut Free, Recipes (ALL), Soy Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, Weeknight
34 Comments »