This is a really nutritious, vegetarian main dish that gets a lot of its nutrition from quinoa and chickpeas. This meal combines Persian and Mediterranean tastes. Very simple to prepare and quite satisfying! This (goat cheese and everything) stores really well for a later dinner or lunch.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil, or as needed
- 1 ⅓ cups water
- ⅔ cup quinoa
- 1 (16 ounce) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
- 1 (16 ounce) can stewed tomatoes (such as Del Monte® Stewed Tomatoes with Onions, Celery, and Green Peppers)
- ¼ cup walnut pieces
- ½ cup golden raisins
- 1 bunch green onions, sliced, white parts and tops separated
- ½ lemon, juiced
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried mint leaves
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 2 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, seeds and membrane removed
- ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with olive oil.
- Bring water and quinoa to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender and water has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Mix garbanzo beans, stewed tomatoes, walnuts, raisins, white parts of green onions, lemon juice, chili powder, garlic powder, mint, and cinnamon together in a bowl; stir in cooked quinoa.
- Arrange red bell pepper halves, hollow-side facing upwards, in the prepared baking sheet. Spoon quinoa mixture into each red bell pepper half.
- Bake in the preheated oven until bell peppers are tender, about 30 minutes. Spoon a few teaspoons of drippings from the bottom of the baking dish over each stuffed pepper; top each with 1 tablespoon goat cheese and green parts of green onions.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 469 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 79 g |
| Cholesterol | 7 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 13 g |
| Protein | 16 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 654 mg |
| Sugars | 21 g |
| Fat | 12 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I loved this recipe! I used roasted red tomatoes, fresh mint and dried cranberries as this is what I had on hand. Super easy and wonderful flavour. Leftovers were even better the next day.
Surprisingly good! Nice change of pace from our usual side dishes. I liked the blend of cinnamon and goat cheese in this.
I was looking for a unique side to take to a BBQ. I made the recipe up to the point of stuffing the peppers. I then diced the red peppers and added them to the mix. I refrigerated the salad overnight. I had hummus and goat cheese in separate containers so guests could assemble as they liked: hummus, salad on top with goat cheese to top it off. It paired very well with the grilled salmon. Ultimate compliment- salad was gone within the first hour. There were 12 adults at the BBQ.
Even with added cheese and spices this recipe turned out bland and was not a favourite. I will not make this again.
I don’t know why it only calls for 2 peppers because i needed 4! it turned out pretty good though. the mix of spices and flavors is quite weird though, especially in the quinoua mix before you bake it. but once baked it tastes good.
I made this dish for a dinner party of 6. It was easy and was very impressive.
This is a very good recipe. The proportions are correct and it has a good flavor. I liked it because it is a little different from what you usually see with green peppers.
I wanted to add a comment to my earlier review… I first made this a few years ago when my vegetarian daughter and soon-to-be step-daughter were visiting us. As they are both vegetarian I try to find some new recipes to try when they are around. This was so good that I decided to use it for a dish at our wedding to offer something substantial for our vegetarian/vegan guests. I gave the recipe to our caterer and he made it, leaving the goat cheese aside as a topping (a courtesy for the vegan crowd). It turned out pretty good except that he used GREEN peppers instead of red or orange! (Probably less expensive) Noooo… it’s just not the same! You MUST use red or orange peppers. If I had tried this with green the first time I would not have been as impressed. The taste is just not right. This recipe is perfect as is. Don’t change it.
Made this almost to the recipe. Didn’t have goat cheese so I used feta, and I omitted the raisins. (We really only like them is sweet items or breads…not dishes like this.) First, there was way too much filling for the peppers. I ended up cutting a third pepper, and there was still a bit of filling left. My daughter, who loves feta, didn’t like it with this. I thought the taste was fine, as feta and goat cheese have a slightly similar taste in the first place. But cheese choice aside, overall, this really did nothing for me. Although I love quinoa, and stuffed peppers, I will only finish these leftovers…the recipe will not be made again.
Used shelled pistachios, chopped up… with some fine ground walnuts (1 tsp), black beans instead of chick peas. Used a few blueberries, in place of raisin. Cooked the quinoa, in vegetable broth instead of water (as always). Slice of provolone cheese on top of the pepper half. (last 10 minutes of oven time). Tasted very good.
I made this dish according to the recipe except for leaving out the walnuts and raisins and I loved it! The combination of seasonings and flavors was delicious, the goat cheese was just the right topping and I found it very filling. I used two small bell peppers so had some of the filling left over. I put it over hummus and it was great that way as well. I will definitely make this dish again.
The recipe said 2 peppers but the shopping list said 3. Three was perfect and the flavours were fantastic. I will make this again when company is coming for dinner.
Absolutely delicious! I also used cranberries instead of raisins and it turned out wonderful! It’s flavourful and really easy to make. This is going to be a regular meal for us.
I tried this recipe using dried cranberries instead of raisins. Absolutely wonderful!