Peppers Stuffed With Quinoa, A Delicious Recipe
Want to learn how to cook healthy quinoa-stuffed peppers? We present two variations of this recipe, one vegetarian and another based on chicken meat. As always, it is possible to replace the meat with vegetable preparations such as tofu or seitan, in order to make the recipe suitable for the diets of vegetarians or vegans.
Quinoa and chicken stuffed peppers
This quinoa-stuffed pepper recipe features chicken and some vegetables. As for the final result, we will get a recipe rich in proteins, antioxidants and essential minerals. In addition, it contains few calories and is suitable for any type of diet.
Ingredients
- Chicken breast (200 g)
- 3 green peppers
- 1/2 courgette
- 1/2 eggplant
- 1 leek
- 1 onion
- Mushrooms (100 g)
- Quinoa (150 g)
- Salt, pepper and garlic powder
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Grated havarti cheese (or any other cheese that melts well)
Method of preparation
- Cut the peppers in half, remove the seeds, eliminate any possible scraps and wash them.
- Arrange them on a baking sheet and bake at 180 degrees for 15 minutes or until softened.
- While the peppers are cooking in the oven, put the extra virgin olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Peel and cut the julienne courgettes, leek, onion, aubergine and mushrooms. Add the ingredients to the pan and cook for 20 minutes.
- Next, clean and cut the chicken breast into strips and put it in a pan until golden brown.
- Wash the quinoa to remove the saponins it contains and add it to cooking together with 500 ml of water. Cook until the water has completely evaporated and the desired consistency is obtained.
- Add salt, pepper and minced garlic.
- Stuff the peppers – previously cooked – with the quinoa, chicken and vegetable mixture and a sprinkling of grated cheese.
- Gratin in the oven for 5-10 minutes.
- Your dish is ready!
Béchamel sauce for quinoa-stuffed peppers
Béchamel to be au gratin with cheese goes very well with this dish, but the calorie and fat intake will increase. In case you still want to add it, follow the recipe we are about to propose and it will give the dish a light and creamy consistency:
Ingredients
- 2 glasses of whole milk or vegetable drink (400 ml)
- 1/4 cup of butter or vegetable margarine (50 g)
- 1/3 cup of wheat flour (100 g)
- Salt and nutmeg
Method of preparation
- Put the butter in a saucepan and melt over low heat.
- When the butter is melted, add the flour and sauté for about 10 minutes, without stopping stirring and until the flour has lost its raw flavor.
- Add the milk a little at a time, preferably at room temperature. Continue to mix the mixture with the help of a whisk, in order to obtain a homogeneous consistency and eliminate the lumps.
- Add salt and nutmeg to taste.
- When the béchamel is ready, all you have to do is add it to your recipe just before browning in the oven.
Peppers stuffed with quinoa and broccoli
Also for supporters of vegan and vegetarian diets we have a proposal to cook peppers stuffed with quinoa. In this case, we suggest adding broccoli and other healthy vegetables such as courgette, cherry tomatoes and garlic. Let’s work!
Ingredients
- 3 red peppers
- Quinoa (80 g)
- 1/2 broccoli
- 1 courgette
- Cherry tomatoes (100 g)
- 1 clove of garlic
- Salt, pepper and oregano
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of curry (of your choice)
Method of preparation
- Cook the quinoa for 20 minutes – or until cooked to the right point – in a previously washed and dried pot.
- Meanwhile, peel and chop the onion, cut the broccoli, courgette, garlic and cherry tomatoes.
- At this point, add the vegetables to a pan over medium heat, together with the extra virgin olive oil and cook until desired.
- Mix the previously prepared quinoa into the pan, then add salt, pepper, oregano and curry to your liking.
- Next, cut the peppers in half, wash them and remove the seeds and possible scraps.
- Arrange them on a pan suitable for the oven and spread the mixture of vegetables and quinoa to fill each pepper.
- Place the pan in the oven preheated to 180 degrees, with top and bottom cooking, for 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes.
As for the previous recipe, we can add bechamel or grated cheese, or, if we want a vegan dish, bechamel with vegetable milk and vegan cheese (with cashews or nutritional yeast).
Haven’t tried these quinoa-stuffed peppers yet? Choose the version you like best and prepare it to enjoy for lunch or dinner.
