Peppers Stuffed with Italian Lentils and Rice

I created a stew made of lentils, brown rice, carrots, garlic, and onions. It’s been so cold here, and we wanted something comforting but different. I traditionally make lentils with Middle Eastern or Indian spices. I decided to switch it up. In comes Italian Lentils. I had never made stuffed peppers as a main meal. They were so beautiful and satisfying!

To make this dinner, I stuffed a hearty lentil stew into fresh bell peppers and baked them with some pasta sauce. So warm, so comforting. The peppers add a lot of extra Vitamin C and beautiful color to the dish, however you can just the stew and enjoy it as is. I did make some co-workers a little jealous today at lunch when eating left overs of the stew. Mix in some added greens and you’re ready to be superwoman or superman!

I wanted to make sure the filling was perfect for a stuffing so I used more brown rice than if I had made it as just a stew. The options for this dish are to make a pot of rice and serve the stew over it, or mix it all together until you have the right ratio. I used equal parts dry lentils to rice, but you could easily reduce the amount of rice. This recipe made a big batch, and was enough for 12 full peppers, or 2 full 9×13 pans. If you’d like to make less, simply cut the recipe in half. We loved it because we could serve it for a large dinner, plus leftovers throughout the week. The nutrition info below is calculated with 10 peppers and enough for 2 more servings of left over stew.

This will serve 12 people (2 peppers each): cut in half for 1 tray full.

Ingredients:

For the lentils:

• 1 1/2 cups brown or green lentils, rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups small diced onion
• 1 1/2 cup of small diced carrots
• 1 1/2 cup small diced celery
• 1 quart of canned tomatoes, or 28 oz can, separate out the liquid and set aside
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary, thyme, and oregano
• 1 tsp salt, reduce to 1/2 tsp if using salted broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

For the rice:

• 1 1/2 cups of brown rice
• 3 cups water
• 3 tsp freshly prepared bouillon or add additional salt and tomato paste to taste
• 2 tbsp tomato paste

For assembly:

• 10 mulit-colored peppers
• jarred or freshly prepared sauce, about 1/2 a jar
• freshly chopped parsley and crushed red pepper for garnish

Instructions:

1. To cook rice in a pressure cooker: place rice, tomato paste, water/broth, and bouillon into a pressure cooker, cover, bring to pressure, reduce heat to low and cook for 12 minutes. Turn stove off and let pressure drop. To cook in traditional pot: bring water/broth to a boil, add in bouillon if using, rice, and tomato paste. Reduce heat to low and cook until water has been absorbed and rice has softened, about 40 minutes.
2. While rice is cooking make the lentils: sauté onions, carrots, celery, herbs, and garlic in a good sized soup pot, along with a little of the reserved tomato juice to prevent sticking. Add bay leaves, and cook until vegetables have softened. Season with salt, peppers, and add in tomato paste.
3. To the reserved tomato juice, add enough water/broth to measure out 4 cups of liquid. Add to the pot along with tomatoes and lentils. Cover and cook until lentils have softened.
4. Once lentils and rice are finished cooking, add rice to lentils until desired consistency is found. We added almost all of the rice, leaving a little for a lunch the next day.
5. While lentils and rice cook, bring a pot of water to boil, along with a pinch of salt. Slice peppers in half and remove their seeds. Drop into boiling water and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from water.
6. Pour enough of the jarred tomato sauce into 2, 9×13″ pans to coat the bottom and prevent the peppers from sticking. Put the peppers into the sauce (we found 10 halves/5 peppers fit in each pan). Fill with lentil stew and top each pepper with 1-2 tbsp sauce.
7. Bake covered at 350 for 30 minutes, uncover and cook for 10 more minutes.
8. Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley and crushed red pepper if desired. Serve with a big salad and enjoy those colors!

Nutritional Benefits:

• Packed with antioxidants, especially Vitamin C to boost immunity and fight disease, almost 500% of your needs per serving!
• Packed with fiber: awesome for digestive health, regulating blood sugar, increasing satiety, reducing cholesterol
• Cholesterol and Virtually Fat Free: this recipe uses no added fats, is oil free, and by omitting animals products, is cholesterol free
• High in plant-based protein; lentils and brown rice provide a great source of protein for healing and repairing the body
• High in Vitamin A; tomatoes are a great source of Lycopene, a Vitamin A component; great for skin, eye, hair, and dental health; anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, 60% per serving
• Good source of potassium: 948 mg/serving! helps to regulate kidney and nervous system function, blood pressure, and heart rate
• Good source of plant-based iron (better for the body) 26% iron
• 8% calcium/serving

Peppers Stuffed with Italian Lentils and Rice

 

Print

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

 

Peppers Stuffed with Italian Lentils and Rice: Healthy plant-based and gluten free main meal

Author: www.gardenfreshfoodie.com

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 12 servings

Ingredients

For the lentils:

• 1½ cups brown or green lentils, rinsed
• 1½ cups small diced onion
• 1½ cup of small diced carrots
• 1½ cup small diced celery
• 1 quart of canned tomatoes, or 28 oz can, separate out the liquid and set aside
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary, thyme, and oregano
• 1 tsp salt, reduce to ½ tsp if using salted broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• ¼ tsp black pepper

For the rice:

• 1½ cups of brown rice
• 3 cups water
• 3 tsp freshly prepared bouillon or add additional salt and tomato paste to taste
• 2 tbsp tomato paste

For assembly:

• 10 mulit-colored peppers
• jarred or freshly prepared sauce, about ½ a jar
• freshly chopped parsley and crushed red pepper for garnish

Instructions

1. To cook rice in a pressure cooker: place rice, tomato paste, water/broth, and bouillon into a pressure cooker, cover, bring to pressure, reduce heat to low and cook for 12 minutes. Turn stove off and let pressure drop. To cook in traditional pot: bring water/broth to a boil, add in bouillon if using, rice, and tomato paste. Reduce heat to low and cook until water has been absorbed and rice has softened, about 40 minutes.
2. While rice is cooking make the lentils: sauté onions, carrots, celery, herbs, and garlic in a good sized soup pot, along with a little of the reserved tomato juice to prevent sticking. Add bay leaves, and cook until vegetables have softened. Season with salt, peppers, and add in tomato paste.
3. To the reserved tomato juice, add enough water/broth to measure out 4 cups of liquid. Add to the pot along with tomatoes and lentils. Cover and cook until lentils have softened.
4. Once lentils and rice are finished cooking, add rice to lentils until desired consistency is found. We added almost all of the rice, leaving a little for a lunch the next day.
5. While lentils and rice cook, bring a pot of water to boil, along with a pinch of salt. Slice peppers in half and remove their seeds. Drop into boiling water and cook for 1½ minutes. Remove from water.
6. Pour enough of the jarred tomato sauce into 2, 9x13" pans to coat the bottom and prevent the peppers from sticking. Put the peppers into the sauce (we found 10 halves/5 peppers fit in each pan). Fill with lentil stew and top each pepper with 1-2 tbsp sauce.
7. Bake covered at 350 for 30 minutes, uncover and cook for 10 more minutes.
8. Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley and crushed red pepper if desired. Serve with a big salad and enjoy those colors!

Notes

498% Vitamin C, 60% Vitamin A, 26% iron, 8% calcium, 948 mg potassium-nutrition calculate with 12 full peppers, with 2 servings of lentils left over, total 12 servings

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 2 pepper halves Calories: 261 Fat: 1.7 g Carbohydrates: 53 g Fiber: 12.3 g Protein: 12 g Cholesterol: 0 mg

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