Quinoa, Lentil & Sausage Stuffed Peppers

Quinoa, Lentil & Sausage Stuffed Peppers are colourful, flavourful and nutritious. I love stuffed peppers because this veggie offers the perfect vehicle for holding fillings. However, I’ve also stuffed Eggplant and made Zucchini Boats as well. Nevertheless, these Quinoa, Lentil & Sausage Stuffed Peppers can easily be fully made-ahead or assembled before dinner while heating the oven and then adding the filling and cheese on top. Additionally, my dietitian Meal Planning tip is to always Batch Cook, so you have leftovers portioned for freezer meals, which will come in handy for quick and easy lunches or dinners.

Do you Need to Boil Peppers Before Stuffing Them?

No, you do not need to boil peppers before stuffing them. However, I love roasting peppers ahead to speed up the oven time, especially when your filling is already cooked and you’re simply warming and melting cheese. Additionally, I prefer to cut my peppers in half lengthwise so they cook faster than being upright (plus they’re easier to eat). In a large fry pan, I prep my filling and fully cook my meat in advance. This way I can taste it and adjust seasoning before filling the peppers and baking in the oven. However, there are other methods. For example, my nonna put raw meat in her stuffed peppers and cooked them entirely in the oven in uncooked peppers.

Coat with oil and sprinkle Kosher salt. Roast peppers at 425F for 10 minutes before stuffing them!

What do you Serve with Stuffed Peppers?

These Quinoa, Lentil & Sausage Stuffed Peppers can be a complete and nutritionally balanced meal. After all, you’re covered for fibre (lentils, quinoa), protein (sausage, lentils, quinoa) and veggies (peppers, mushrooms, onions). However, if you want to boost your vegetable intake, which is a good idea for most of us who don’t meet the daily requirement (Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab Research), you could add a soup or salad on the side.

How to Prep Stuffed Peppers Ahead?

Yes, there are different ways you can prep these ahead to save time later. Simply decide on the tasks you have time to complete ahead. Conveniently, use your stovetop or Instant Pot to cook quinoa first. Then, if you have more prep time, you can assemble the stuffed pepper filling and store in the fridge to use later. I like to stir my filling all together to allow the flavours to marinate. If you can wait a day, having the filling sit overnight would be ideal. Additionally, you can pre-roast the peppers and fill them so they’re ready to pop in the oven when home from work. Finally, making the entire recipe ahead allows for a couple minutes of simply re-heating, which is also good.

Andrea, Registered Dietitian, cooking the Quinoa, Lentil & Sausage Stuffed Peppers

Quinoa, Lentil & Sausage Stuffed Peppers Recipe

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30-40 minutes
• Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 6 Coloured Peppers, halved and seeds removed
• 3 tbsp olive oil, divided (use throughout recipe)
• 1 cup dry quinoa, cooked according to package instructions
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 500 grams Spicy Italian sausages (or mild, if you prefer), casing removed
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 4 – 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 can (540mL)lentils, rinse and drained
• 1 tsp oregano
• Kosher salt & Pepper
• ½ cup Mozzarella cheese, grated
• Parmesan cheese, grated
• ¼ cup Fresh Italian Parsley, chopped

Garnish: Basil or Italian Parsley

Quinoa, Lentil & Sausage Stuffed Peppers Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place halved peppers skin side up. Drizzle oil on top of peppers and sprinkle of kosher salt. Bake for 10 minutes.
3. Remove peppers from the oven and flip them over so the open side is now facing upward.
4. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large sauce pan. Add onions and sauté for a couple of minutes until softened.
5. Next, add sausage meat with casing removed. Use a wooden spoon or flipper to break the meat apart. Cook for a couple of minutes until pink is mostly removed. Toss in your lentils to the meat mixture and stir to combine. Heat through for another couple minutes..
6. Then, add mushrooms and garlic to the filling mixture. Ensure there is adequate moisture by adding a little more oil or water to the saucepan. Add seasoning to mix.
7. Then add cooked quinoa to the filling mixture and stir to combine and heat through.
8. Taste the filling to adjust the flavours according to your preference. Remove filling mixture from the heat and set aside in a large bowl.
9. Fill half-peppers with the quinoa, lentil and sausage mixture. Sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan on top.
10. Place filled peppers back in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.
11. Finally, top with basil or Italian Parsley for garnish and enjoy!

Quinoa, Lentil & Sausage Stuffed Peppers

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Quinoa, Lentil & Sausage Stuffed Peppers are perfect crowd-pleasing dinner or batch-cook for freezer meals.

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Ingredients

• 6 Coloured Peppers, halved and seeds removed
• 3 tbsp olive oil, divided (use throughout recipe)
• 1 cup dry quinoa, cooked according to package instructions
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 500 grams Spicy Italian sausages (or mild, if you prefer), casing removed
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 4 – 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 can (540mL) lentils, rinse and drained
• 1 tsp oregano
• Kosher salt & Pepper
• ½ cup Mozzarella cheese, grated
• Parmesan cheese, grated
• ¼ cup Fresh Italian Parsley, chopped
• Garnish: Basil or Italian Parsley

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 425F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place halved peppers skin side up. Drizzle oil on top of peppers and sprinkle of kosher salt. Bake for 10 minutes.
3. Remove peppers from the oven and flip them over so the open side is now facing upward.
4. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large sauce pan. Add onions and sauté for a couple of minutes until softened.
5. Next, add sausage meat with casing removed. Use a wooden spoon or flipper to break the meat apart. Cook for a couple of minutes until pink is mostly removed. Toss in your lentils to the meat mixture and stir to combine. Heat through for another couple minutes. .
6. Then, add mushrooms and garlic to the filling-mixture. Ensure there is adequate moisture by adding a little more oil or water to the sauce pan. Add in seasoning to mix.
7. Then add cooked quinoa to the filling mixture and stir to combine and heat through.
8. Taste the filling to adjust the flavours according to your preference. Remove filling mixture from the heat and set aside in a large bowl.
9. Fill half-peppers with the lentil sausage and quinoa mixture. Sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan on top.
10. Place filled peppers back in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.
11. Finally, top with basil or Italian Parsley for garnish and enjoy!