Ingredients
Scale
- About 1/2 cup cooked sausage, chopped as needed (I used vegan sausage.)
- 1 – 2 bell peppers (red, orange, yellow or green)
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 – 3 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped zucchini (can sub other veggies like broccoli, green beans or cauliflower)
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup chopped sweet tomato
- 1 – 3 teaspoons chopped hot pepper (optional)
- 1 cup COOKED quinoa, couscous or rice
- 1/2 cup shredded gouda cheese (plus more for the tops)
- Several fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon dried basil)
Instructions
- Cook the sausage and cut into chunks, or crumble and cook. Set aside. You’ll add this to the filling later.
- Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
- While the water is heating, cut the bell peppers lengthwise, then carefully cut out the core with the seeds. Blanch the cut peppers in the hot water for 3 – 4 minutes. Use tongs to remove them, setting them on a towel. Pour the hot water down the sink.
- Reduce heat to medium, add the olive oil and then add the onion and saute until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and zucchini and cook for a few minutes longer until the zucchini is crisp tender. Stir in the cooked sausage, tomato, hot pepper, quinoa (or couscous or rice), and gouda cheese and cook until the cheese is melted, then stir in the basil. Taste and add salt & pepper or additional basil if needed, to your liking.
- Use a spoon to stuff the peppers with the stuffing mixture. If you’re stuffing just one pepper, you might have some leftover stuffing. That’s okay … it’s delicious on its own or stuffed into other veggies. I had enough filling for 1 1/2 very large bell peppers (3 halves).
- Bake at 350 for 15 – 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. If you want the cheese browned on top, broil for a few minutes.
Notes
RECIPE SOURCE: Sumptuous Spoonfuls – https://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/ … © Copyright 2023, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.