Italian-Style Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers Recipe

mozzarella cheese

🥗Healthier: part-skim mozzarella

💰Cheaper: provolone cheese

Part-skim mozzarella reduces calories while maintaining creaminess.

quinoa

🥗Healthier: cauliflower rice

💰Cheaper: brown rice

Brown rice is more economical while providing a similar texture.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Follow the package directions to cook the farro.

Cut the top ¼ inch off of each pepper. Remove the inner core and seeds.

Place the peppers on a baking sheet and put them into the oven for 25 minutes. Work around the stem on the top piece of each red pepper and dice.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large frying pan. Add the fennel seeds and stir to toast them for one minute. Then add the diced red pepper, shallots, mushrooms, 3 cloves of garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, ½ teaspoon salt, pepper, and broth. Sauté for 10 minutes on medium heat. Add the garbanzo beans, and cooked farro and warm through for about 5 minutes then fill each of the peppers with the mixture.

To make the pesto, add the remaining garlic clove, basil, sunflower seeds, lemon zest, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and ½ teaspoon salt to a blender. Blend until smooth.

Top the peppers with dollops of pesto and garnish with fresh basil Parmesan if desired. The stuffed peppers are ready to serve.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Dietary

Allergens