Walnut Quinoa Stuffed Peppers combines three nutritional superfoods: Bell Peppers, Quinoa and Walnuts. Stuffed peppers work great as a stand-alone lunch dish or as a side dish. The combination of textures – juicy pepper, soft quinoa, crunchy walnuts and gooey melted cheese really make for an enjoyable eating experience.
This stuffed pepper side dish contains all nine- of the essential amino-acids (protein blocks) that the body must get through diet. The protein in this recipe comes from the cheese, walnuts, black beans and the quinoa. Quinoa is unique because it is a complete vegetable source of protein. This is unusual because very few high quality, complete protein sources are derived from plants.
A single serving of this dish provides approximately 19g of protein. Bump up the meals protein count further by serving this recipe alongside lean meat, fish, tofu or quorn.
The Secret to Perfect Stuffed Peppers
I always loved stuffed peppers when someone else made them, but mine always turned out funny… my peppers were always too firm, or the tops burned. So, I did some experimenting and figured out that I was missing a key step in the process! Now, my stuffed peppers are even better than the rest and of course, now yours will be too because I’ll share my secret with you.
The secret to perfect stuffed peppers is to boil your peppers for 5 minutes before filling them, then carefully remove peppers, draining out any remaining water.
Classic Waldorf Salad
This classic Waldorf Salad is full of fresh, crispy, apples, celery, grapes and walnuts with a creamy mayonnaise dressing served over a bed of lettuce. Serve it as a side dish or appetizer at Christmas or Thanksgiving. You can easily add chicken or turkey to make it a complete meal!
Walnut Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Walnut Quinoa Stuffed Peppers combines three nutritional superfoods: Bell Peppers, Quinoa and Walnuts. Stuffed peppers work great as a stand-alone lunch dish or as a side dish. The combination of textures – juicy pepper, soft quinoa, crunchy walnuts and gooey melted cheese really make for an enjoyable eating experience.
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 tbs. olive oil
- 2 sticks celery, finely chopped
- 1 tbs. ground cumin
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 250 g frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
- 400 g can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 150 g quinoa
- 3 large carrots, grated
- 150 g grated Chedder cheese
- 70 g walnuts, lightly toasted
- 4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, deseeded
Instructions
- Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and celery, and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add cumin and garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in spinach and drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until most of liquid has evaporated.
- Stir in black beans, quinoa, carrots, and 500ml water. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Stir in the walnuts and 100g og the cheese. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180C. Pour liquid from tomatoes in bottom of baking dish.
- Fill each bell pepper half with 1/8th of the quinoa mixture, and place in baking dish. Cover with foil, and bake 1 hour. Uncover, and sprinkle each pepper with 1 tbs. remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes more, or until tops of stuffed peppers are browned. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer stuffed peppers to serving plates, and drizzle each with pan juices before serving.
Notes
This dish can be made in advance and frozen.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1/2 pepperAmount Per Serving: Calories: 287Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 474mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 9gSugar: 7gProtein: 12g
