Cauliflower Stuffed Peppers
By Bianca Dottin
Growing up cauliflower wasn’t my coveted vegetable choice. In fact, it wasn’t served to me very often so I really only saw it on the dinner table when we were having mixed vegetables. As I get older, I find myself reaching for it more and more. I love to experiment with foods and flavors and cauliflower is a vegetable that allows you to stretch every flavor boundary there is. There are so many new recipes that you can create with cauliflower and so many dishes where you can use it as a substitute. The wonderful thing about cauliflower is that it can absorb virtually any flavor to make a vegan-friendly dish. The possibilities of what you can make are literally endless.
This recipe for cauliflower stuffed peppers is everything you could want in a meal. The cauliflower by itself is so filling but the sweet potato I couple it with adds an extra layer of flavor that will keep you coming back for more. This recipe is flavorful, savory, and simple to make with only a few ingredients. It’s a warm dish that can serve as a pick-me-up when you need to power through. You can make this dish for lunch or even dinner. The best thing about it is that you can make it ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze them for later.
If you’re wanting to make this ahead of time, I highly suggest baking it in a freezer-safe dish. It’s simple to cover and place in the refrigerator or freezer to serve later. You can pop it in the oven to reheat at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Note that if you’re doing it this way, you’ll want to add the cheese halfway through the reheating process.
This recipe makes about five to six peppers. You can easily double or triple it if you’re cooking for a large crowd or dinner party. If you want to stretch the rice filling even more, you can add beans to the recipe. I love adding seasoned black or pinto beans to the stuffed peppers to create an even heartier filling. To do this, simply just cook the beans as you would normally and place them into the peppers before the rice filling. I love a cheesy topping with a little salsa or guacamole on top.
Enjoy!
Cauliflower Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
Bell peppers (I use red and orange - yellow works too)
1 head of cauliflower (grated into “rice”)
1 large sweet potato (grated into “rice”
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp cumin
4 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
Optional Toppings
Vegan cheese shreds (Daiya or Violife work great)
Olive oil dressing or creamy cilantro dressing
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
While the oven is preheating, heat a large skillet over medium heat.
Once it’s hot, add oil to the pot. Next, add the riced cauliflower and sweet potato along with the seasonings.
Stir to coat. Saute for 1 minute then cover with a lid and allow to steam for another minute.
Once it’s cooked through, remove from heat.
Cut your peppers in half. Vertically or horizontally will work. Place them into a baking dish.
Scoop the rice filling into the peppers.
Cook in the oven, covered, for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.
After 35 minutes is up, remove the foil and top with vegan cheese shreds. Cook for another 15 minutes until peppers are soft and golden brown.
