Stuffed vegetables are a quintessential summer dish and I’ve been craving them lately. Although I have a lot of stuffed vegetable dishes on my blog including my favorite with Greek Stuffed Peppers, I thought of making them a little differently this time. These vegan stuffed peppers feature a flavorful filling with aromatic tomatoes, basil, parsley, and smoked tofu for some meatiness and substance. They are easy to make and feed a crowd. They also make delicious leftovers.
More about ingredients
Bell Peppers: Choose fresh, wide bell peppers for this dish, any color you like—though I personally steer clear of green ones because I find them often bitter.
Rice: Rice is the main filling ingredient for this vegan stuffed chili. I used long grain white rice and while you can use a different variety, other grains will cook at different rates so you may want to experiment with cooking time and/or the amount of liquid you add to the dish. If using brown rice – which takes much longer to cook – I recommend pre-cooking it and letting it finish in the oven until almost done.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes: I used umami-rich sun-dried tomatoes to flavor the rice and oil.
Tofu: I used shredded smoked tofu to add flavor and body to the filling. Tofu makes the filling more satisfying and rich in plant protein, which is especially important if you work out a lot.
Today: I used a combination of my freeze dried oregano and fresh herbs – basil and parsley – for a burst of flavor, but feel free to improvise with whatever you like.
Aromatics: I used shallots and garlic as the base for the filling, but onions and garlic would work just as well. Be sure to finely chop them both as you don’t want large chunks of onion in your filling.
MISO I used red miso to add extra flavor to the filling. If you only have white miso, add this instead. Umami aside, miso also contributes a punch of saltiness so if you’re sensitive to salt, you might want to hold off on some of it. Personally, a teaspoon of salt on top of the miso hits the spot in terms of spice.
alcohol I used white wine to pre-cook the rice, but if you don’t consume alcohol, feel free to replace it with some veggie stock, for example. Just remember that if your stock contains salt, your filling may not need as much as listed on the ingredients list.
To make the filling, start frying the aromatics in some oil until translucent and fragrant. Once done, add the rice and all the remaining filling ingredients except the liquid. Give everything a good stir.
Add the liquid and simmer the filling over low heat until most of the moisture is absorbed.
Fill the stuffed and pre-baked peppers, cover with a kitchen tray and bake for 1 hour. Top with vegan cheese and continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes. Serve hot with a drizzle of pesto dressing.
If you enjoy stuffed vegetable dishes in general, you might want to try some of my previous recipes:
- 6 chilies
- 45-60 ml / 3-4 tbsp sun-dried tomato oil (or any oil)
- 3 shallots, finely chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 150 g / 5.25 oz smoked tofu*
- 75 g / 2.6 oz sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- A handful of basil and parsley, finely chopped
- 15 g / 1 tablespoon red miso paste*
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 180 g / 1 cup long grain rice
- 1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1½ teaspoons dried oregano
- A good pinch of sugar
- 240 ml/1 cup vegan white wine (or stock)
Optional extras
- Vegan pesto*, store-bought or homemade
- Vegan soft cheese, store bought or homemade
method
- Set the oven to 200° C / 392° F and cut the peppers in half, hollow them out and brush the skins with a little oil.
- Place the peppers, cut side up, on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan, add the shallots and garlic and fry over low heat until translucent and fragrant.
- Add finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, hand-crushed tofu, herbs, miso paste, nutritional yeast, rice, spices, wine and 500 ml / 2 cups water.
- Let everything simmer gently until almost all the moisture is absorbed by the rice (see photo in post).
- Spoon the mixture into the peppers and arrange on a large baking tray (or two if necessary).
- Cover the tray tightly with a piece of kitchen foil and bake for 1 hour.
- Top with soft vegan cheese (I used my regular ricotta) if using and return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes.
- Serve with pesto drizzled on top and a simple side salad, if desired.
Comment
*Miso Paste: Be sure to use gluten-free miso if making this dish for gluten-free diners. Gluten-free miso pastes are based on rice, chickpeas, quinoa instead of wheat.
*Pesto: I enjoyed these with a light pesto dressing, but you can also make a simple sauce while roasting the peppers – see the sauce below Yemista – Greek Style Stuffed Peppers recipe for details.