Vegan Stuffed Bell Pepper Rings
By the Gracious Vegan
Many people seem to agree with me that stuffed bell peppers are tasty, but the ratio of filling to pepper isn’t optimal. Too much pepper! So I experimented to find a solution. I cut the pepper into rings and stuffed those, roasting them on parchment paper or a silicone mat on a half-sheet pan. Topped with a sauce, these beauties are delicious. If you use red bell peppers and a green sauce, they’re a perfect entree for Christmas!
Makes 6 servings (3-4 rings each)
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Thick white sauce. Put the following ingredients in a blender (“bullet” blender is fine) and blend them until completely smooth.
1.25 cup water
1 cup any kind of tofu
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast (What is Nutritional Yeast?)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt (less if the rice you are using is salted)
1/2 teaspoon paprika (smoked or regular)
Freshly ground black pepper
Cook the mixture over the stove in a saucepan over medium heat, uncovered and stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened, about 3 minutes. It will be very thick.
Stir together the following ingredients.
The thick white sauce
3.5 cups brown rice
Your choice of 1.5 cup cooked vegetables (e.g., mushrooms, broccoli); 1 cup thawed peas or corn; 1 cup sliced olives; or 2/3 cup toasted chopped nuts (e.g., almonds, pecans)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, well chopped
Peppers. Cut the top off each pepper and carefully remove the seeds without slicing the pepper in half. Then slice the pepper into 1/2” rings horizontally (a typical pepper makes 4-5 rings). If the bottom one doesn’t sit flat, cut off a little on the underside. Lay the rings flat on two sheet pans lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
4 bell peppers, any color
Spoon some of the mixture into each pepper ring, pushing it all the way into the sides of the pepper ring and then mounding a bit on top. Cover with foil (no need to tuck in the foil on the sides). Bake at 400°F for 35-40 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the filling is just golden.
They are ready to serve. I recommend serving them with a sauce or gravy, such as:
Gracious Vegan Marinara Sauce or other marinara sauce
Timing: about 70 minutes
Gluten-free