Vegetarian Tex Mex Stuffed Peppers with brown rice, beans, spices and veggies helps satisfy your need for spicy Tex Mex. They’re meal prep ready and freezer friendly! vegetarian + gluten free
The weekend was crazy packed with an errand day and a little rest and relaxation the next. However, I was conflicted. When I went to the farmers market this past weekend, I had great difficulty in focusing on my list which consisted only of squash and greens; several varieties. Yet there were other fresh and delicious veggies to be had. So. Many! I was utterly distracted.
Perhaps it was the rain tapping on the top of my raincoat, the giant pumpkin judging contest, the smells wafting from food venders, chatting with a neighbor, joy on people’s faces, tail waggin dogs… or thoughts of roasting pumpkins.
Then, as I stopped by one of the farmer’s stands, all of a sudden, the clouds opened up, the rain stopped and a ray of sunshine shown down on a huge basket of peppers! Do you hear me people? A basket of peppers, y’all!!
Green and vibrant, their wet skin glistened in the sunshine. I was in pepper heaven, because, y’all, Mexican food is my all time favorite food.
Then, out of nowhere, it hit me; vegetarian stuffed peppers (!!).
I love Mexican food; one of the things I miss about Texas. We ate it regularly at two of our favorite restaurants; Chewy’s and On the Boarder. Have you been?
There was also a tiny, local, authentic Mexican food restaurant in Corpus Christi that we frequented. They had the best prickly pear cactus fajitas and I swear, the coldest beer. I miss that place.
How to Make Vegetarian Tex Mex Stuffed Peppers:
There are several steps to this recipe, but it’s not difficult to pull together.
- Start by cooking the rice with fire roasted tomatoes. Start this first because the rice takes longest to cook.
- Blister the poblano pepper, then peel the skin. Roasting the poblano brings out its best flavors.
- Roast the green bell peppers. Doing this softens the bells and prepares them for stuffing.
- While the bells are roasting, mix the poblano, corn, black beans, spices, rice and cheese in a mixing bowl.
- Now the peppers are ready to stuff and bake.
Several of the components in this recipe can be prepped ahead, if needed. The poblanos and rice can be roasted/cooked up to two days ahead. If time is short, you can skip roasting the poblanos all-together.
Instead, dice the poblano and add it to the other sautéed veggies. While roasting imparts a smoky flavor, this can be skipped in a pinch.
Share vegetarian Tex Mex Stuffed Peppers with an extra cold beer, pico de gallo and guacamole.
More Vegetarian Mexican Food Recipes to Love!
- Mexican Inspired Tofu Tacos
- Roasted Stuffed Poblanos with Smoky Quinoa, Sweet Potatoes and Black Beans
- Spanish Brown Rice
- Roasted Cauliflower Tinga Tacos with Chili Lime Slaw
- Skillet Vegetarian Enchiladas Verde
Tex Mex Stuffed Peppers
Sweet bell peppers stuffed full of brown rice, beans, spices and veggies help satisfy your need for spicy Tex Mex. Roast the poblanos and cook the rice up to two days ahead for meal prep. vegetarian + gluten free
Ingredients
- 1/2 C Long Grain Brown Rice
- 1 C Water
- 1/3 C Canned Fired Roasted Tomatoes including juice (freeze remaining amount for future use)
- 1 Poblano Pepper tops cut off, seeds removed and quartered *See Time Saver Note
- 4 Large Green Bell Peppers tops cut off and seeds removed
- 1 15 oz Can of Black Beans drained and rinsed
- 1 C Zucchini diced (about 1 small zucchini)
- 1 C Purple Onion diced (about 1/2 an onion)
- 1 C Corn fresh off the cob or frozen
- 1 Tbs Garlic minced (about 2 large cloves)
- 1/2 Tbs Coconut Oil virgin, unrefined, melted and cooled + Coconut Oil Pan Spray
- 1/2 C Monterey Jack Cheese grated (pepper jack if your feeling spicy!)
- 3/4 tsp Sea Salt
- 1 Tbs Ground Cumin
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
- 1 1/2 Hot or Sweet Smoked Paprika
- 1/3 C Cojita Cheese crumbled (or more Monterey Jack Cheese)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to Broil.
- Add rice, water and fire roasted tomatoes to a 2 qt sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stir, cover, reduce heat to low. Cook on low heat for about 22 minutes. Remove from heat and set covered until ready to use.
- Meanwhile, prep veggies, bells and poblano peppers. Reserve the tops of the bells for 'lids' in your final presentation. Otherwise chop them up and add them to the veggie mixture. In a large mixing bowl, add the drained and rinsed beans along with the spices. Set aside.
- To save time on this step, see note. Place cut poblano on a silpat or parchment lined sheet pan skin side up. Broil for about 2-4 minutes or until the poblano is blistered. The poblano can also be blistered on a gas stovetop, using tongs to place the pepper directly on the fire, turning as needed to blister all sides. Place in a covered bowl for about 15 minutes, then carefully peel off skin. Dice the poblano.
- Turn oven down to 350F. On a silpat or parchment lined sheet pan, roast the bell peppers (including the 'lids' if using) for 20-25 minutes or until slightly soft (no blistering here). Remove from oven to cool slightly.
- In a large skillet add 1 1/2 Tbs coconut oil. Saute' the zucchini, onion, and corn for about 15 minutes on medium heat. Stir every 4-5 minutes. Some blistering is good here. Add the minced garlic during the last 5 min.
In the large bowl with the beans and spices, add the rice, sautéed veggies, diced poblanos 1/2 C Monterey jack cheese. Stir until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Now is a good time to taste for any seasoning adjustments. Stuff the bell peppers using the rice mixture, gently packing each pepper.
- Spay a dutch oven or casserole dish with coconut oil spray and place the peppers gently in the dish. It's ok if they are touching. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and remove the foil. Sprinkle cojita (or monterey jack) over the tops of the peppers reserving some for final garnish if desired. Broil along with the 'lids' of bell peppers for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.
To freeze, store in a lidded container, in the freezer for up to two weeks. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Gently reheat at 350F, covered for about 15 minutes or until warmed through.
Serve With: Salsa or Pico de Gallo, sliced avocado, lime, jalapeño and cilantro.
Recipe Notes
*To save time on the poblanos, instead of roasting them in step 4, skip it. Instead, dice them up and saute with the zucchini and corn in step 6.
*Cook time is the amount of time to bake the stuffed peppers.
Inspired by my Ma's stuffed bell peppers.
If you make this recipe, or any others on Vanilla And Bean, be sure to post it to Instagram, notify me @vanillaandbean and tag #vanillaandbean! I’d love to see what you’ve made! Also, if you like my content, please consider sharing it with three friends and/or family. Thank you!
Kate says
May 1, 2019 at 12:52 pmDelicious! Labor intensive but soooo worth it. Thank you!
Traci says
May 1, 2019 at 1:15 pmSo happy to hear, Kate! I’m soooo with you! Thank you for coming back and leaving a note!
Liz says
April 5, 2017 at 4:26 pmThis went straight in to my favourite recipes of all time book!!! Loved all the flavours and how wholesome and delicious it is…. will be making this as often as I can eat it 😀
Traci says
August 27, 2018 at 2:14 pmOh my gosh Liz… I missed this.. a year later :/ ! Thank you for coming back and leaving a note! So happy you enjoyed the recipe and, despite the amount of time it takes to prepare … you did it! Some things are just worth it and this is one of those recipes! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
ATasteOfMadness says
November 2, 2014 at 11:43 amOh my goodness. This looks amazing! I definitely need to try making stuffed peppers!
Simi Jois says
October 19, 2014 at 11:15 amLooks so good, love your step by step images, I really want to eat this.
Traci says
October 19, 2014 at 1:04 pmHi Simi! Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Carla (@charliesue) says
October 17, 2014 at 10:51 amLook how cute the presentation is with the little top on! This seems like a perfect leftover too…
Traci says
October 17, 2014 at 10:56 amHi Carla! These do warm for leftovers with ease. I just add about 2tsp of water to one and pop it in the toaster oven on 300F for about 15 minutes. Delicious!
Isadora says
October 16, 2014 at 9:32 pmNow I’m wishing I had a super cold beer to drink while I swoon over these stuffed peppers! You are not crazy at all for posting a pepper recipe! I’ve only made stuffed peppers a few times, but every time I wonder why I don’t make them more often! These ones look awesome and I love all the flavors and cheese that you put in them! I see prickly pear at the store all the time, but I’ve never actually bought it. I’ll have to try to experiment with it soon! Thanks for sharing such a great recipe and have a happy Friday, Traci!!
Traci says
October 16, 2014 at 10:33 pmHey Izzy! I hope your not on Amazon too (while enjoying that super cold beer)!! hehe! I haven’t seen prickly pear at the store… perhaps I need to venture in to a few new stores?! I’ve read that it can be pretty tricky preparing them, but I’d be up for the task. Perhaps a blogger challenge is in order??
Isadora says
October 18, 2014 at 7:23 amA blogger challenge would be so much fun!! Do you watch Chopped?! I’ve been thinking it would be fun to do some sort of mystery basket blogger challenge! I think I see so much prickly pear in the store because I live in the desert, haha! We also have a bunch growing in our yard :)
Traci says
October 18, 2014 at 8:42 pmYou’ve plenty of prickly pear, then! LOL! I’ve seen Chopped many times! Exciting and stressful! A mystery basket blogger challenge would be fun…. something to consider!! :D
Geraldine | Green Valley Kitchen says
October 16, 2014 at 10:41 amIsn’t the farmers market the best – there’s always so much to see and be inspired by. Love these stuffed peppers – they look delicious and filling – perfect for a sunday afternoon lunch with a beer or two. Your photos are just gorgeous, as usual. Thanks, Traci!
Traci says
October 16, 2014 at 10:30 pmAwh, thanks so much, Geraldine! Haha… a beer… or two, or three?! LOL! Yes! The farmers market is the best! Ours just closed for the season, but the farmers pool their resources here to provide ‘Endless Summer’ where they send out an email blast of veggies available. They bring all the veggies to a farm stand, then people go pick up their order. It runs through the first or second week of December. It’s so so convenient and the veggies are the freshest!
Medha @ Whisk & Shout says
October 16, 2014 at 10:05 amMexican is my favorite cuisine! These look amazing and the photography is out of this world! :)
Traci says
October 16, 2014 at 10:26 pmI love it too, Medha! The spicier, the better!! :D
Cheryl says
October 16, 2014 at 8:16 amI freaking love your overhead shots! I have such trouble styling overheads and making it seem natural, but you, my dear, ARE a natural. These looks so wholesome and delish, it seems I must make them.. I don’t usually make stuffed peppers, probably due to some recipe my family made growing up, like *all ze time* and it was a recipe that provoked the thought, “When I grow up, I will never eat stuffed peppers” but these! These! These are a whole ‘nother ball game. Yum yum.
Traci says
October 16, 2014 at 10:26 pmAwhhh, Cheryl, you’re the best! Thank you! LOL… peppers. We ate them quite a bit too, when I was growing up. Although they were a bit different than these. If you can improve those TGIF skins you recently made, I have an inkling you’ll have no problem improving stuffed peppers!