Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers (with Mushrooms and Feta)

These Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers have loads of flavor from mushrooms and Feta and you can make them with brown rice or cauliflower rice! And the tasty stuffed peppers are also gluten-free and the version with cauliflower rice has only about 12 net carbs per pepper.

PIN Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers to try them later!

For my Friday Favorites pick this week I’m featuring these delicious Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers that came about a few years ago when a reader asked on the Danica's Kitchen Facebook page whether I had a stuffed pepper recipe that was vegetarian. That inquiry started the idea of stuffed peppers without meat swirling around in my mind, and I came up with these Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers.

Originally I made a stuffed pepper recipe with cooked brown rice, but since then I’ve become a fan of using cauliflower rice for stuffed peppers, and these peppers can be stuffed with brown rice or cauliflower rice. Whichever you prefer, it will be combined with chopped peppers, chopped mushrooms, and crumbled Feta for a meatless stuffed pepper recipe that’s filled with amazing flavors.

We loved everything about this recipe, and if you can’t eat six peppers at once, take some of them out of the oven a little sooner and refrigerate or freeze for a quick dinner to be reheated later.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• bell peppers
• cooked brown rice, or use 10 oz. frozen cauliflower rice for low-carb version
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• onion
• mushrooms
• Greek Seasoning (affiliate link)
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• crumbled Feta cheese

Should you pre-cook the peppers for Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers?

I’ve been making stuffed peppers and low-carb stuffed peppers for many years, and I discovered a long time ago that I prefer stuffing the peppers raw so the pepper part is not too soft when they’re done.

What color of peppers can you use?

I love to use brightly-colored red, orange, and yellow peppers but you can make stuffed peppers with any color you have. And if you were making this during the holidays it would be fun to make the stuffed peppers red and green.

How can you make Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers lower in carbs?

The nutritional information in this recipe is for the original stuffed peppers made with brown rice, and each pepper has 24 net carbs. But if you replace the cauliflower rice with a 10 oz. package of frozen cauliflower rice, each pepper will be 12.1 net carbs. Cook the cauliflower rice just slightly less time than the package indicates, since it will cook more inside the peppers.

Want more low-carb stuffed peppers?

Check out Low-Carb and Keto Stuffed Peppers for lots more tasty ideas for stuffed peppers that are low in carbs.

How to make Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers (with Mushrooms and Feta):

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. I cooked the brown rice in my much beloved Zojirushi Rice Cooker (affiliate link), but if you don’t have a rice cooker just follow package directions to get 2 cups of cooked brown rice. (For cauliflower rice version, follow package directions but cook the cauliflower rice for slightly less time.)
2. You need some chopped pepper for the filling, so don’t feel bad about slicing off a bit of the bottom (to make the peppers stand up and slicing off the top.; (I bought a six-pack of multi-colored peppers from Costco.)
3. Clean out the seeds and inner membranes of the peppers and stand them up in a baking dish that you’ve sprayed with non-stick spray.
4. Chop up 12 ounces of mushrooms.  (I used brown Crimini mushrooms, which I think are especially flavorful.)
5. Also finely chop the pepper tops and bottoms and one small onion.
6. Saute the onions and peppers for a few minutes and remove to a plate.
7. Then saute the chopped mushrooms until they’re starting to brown (and all liquid has evaporated.)
8. Add the onions and peppers to the mushrooms, add the Greek Seasoning and black pepper to taste and cook about a minute more.
9. Turn off heat and mix in the cooked brown rice (or cauliflower rice) and 1 cup of crumbled Feta. (If you’re a strict vegetarian, look for a Feta cheese with vegetable rennet.)
10. Stuff the filling into the peppers, pressing it down with a spoon. (Remove one pepper at a time and hold it over the frying pan to stuff to keep the baking dish clean!)
11. Cover the baking dish with foil and cook 30 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 375F/190C. (Cook about 25 minutes for cauliflower rice)
12. Then put about 2 tsp. crumbled Feta on the top of each pepper, pressing it down so it will stay. (If it’s important to you for this to be strictly vegetarian, choose a version of Feta without rennet.)
13. Bake about 1o – 20 minutes more uncovered, until the Feta is melted and starting to slightly brown and the peppers are done to your liking.
14. Serve hot and enjoy!

More Tasty Meatless Dinners:

• Pesto Spaghetti Squash
• Tomato Zucchini Pie
• Slow Cooker Lentils
• Peanut Butter Tofu with Sriracha
• Swiss Chard Casserole

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

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Yield: 6 servings

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers (with Mushrooms and Feta)

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

You won’t miss the meat in these Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers with mushrooms and Feta, and you can make these tasty stuffed peppers with brown rice or cauliflower rice!

Ingredients

• 6 fresh bell peppers, any color (bottoms and tops sliced off)
• 2 cups cooked brown rice (or 10 oz. package frozen cauliflower rice)
• 4 tsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 12 oz. mushrooms, chopped small (see notes)
• 2 tsp. Greek Seasoning (or a little more)
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 1/4 cups crumbled Feta cheese

Instructions

1. Follow package directions to cook 2 cups brown rice.  I use Ben’s Original Brown Rice which I cook in my Zojirushi Rice Cooker (affiliate link). For frozen cauliflower rice, follow package directions but cook the cauliflower rice for slightly less time.
2. Preheat oven to 375F/190C.  Choose the smallest possible baking dish that will hold all six peppers standing up, and spray with nonstick cooking spray or olive oil.
3. Cut off the bottoms of the peppers, cutting off as little as possible to make a flat bottom so the peppers will stand up.  (Don’t worry if it leaves a small hole.)
4. Slice off the tops of the peppers, cutting off just enough to cut away the stem part.  Remove any seeds and membranes from inside the peppers and stand them up in baking dish.
5. Finely chop the pepper tops and bottoms that you sliced off, as well as the onion.
6. Wash mushrooms if needed, and chop into pieces just slightly larger than you chopped the peppers and onions.
7. Heat 2 tsp. of oil in a large non-stick frying pan, add onions and peppers, and saute over medium-high heat until they’re barely starting to soften, about 4 minutes.
8. Remove to a plate, add 1 tsp. more oil to pan, add chopped mushrooms, and cook until the mushrooms have released their liquid, the liquid has evaporated, and mushrooms are barely starting to brown, about 6 minutes.
9. Put the sauteed onions and peppers back into the pan with the mushrooms, add the Greek Seasoning and black pepper to taste, and cook 1 minute more.  Stir in the cooked rice (or califlower rice) and add 1 cup of the crumbled Feta and gently combine.
10. One at a time, hold each pepper over the frying pan and fill with the stuffing, pressing it down as much as you can so it’s tightly packed.  (We didn’t have any extra stuffing, but if you do, just cook it along with the peppers either in the same dish or in a small casserole dish.)
11. When all peppers are stuffed, cover the baking dish with foil (or a lid if it has one) and cook 30 minutes.
12. After 30 minutes, remove dish from the oven and remove the foil.  Put 2 tsp. crumbled Feta on the top of each pepper, pressing it down a little if needed to get it to stick.
13. Bake 10 - 20 minutes more, until the Feta is starting to melt and lightly brown and peppers are done to your liking.  Serve hot and enjoy!

Notes

Nutritional information is for the peppers made with brown rice. Stuffed peppers with cauliflower rice will have about 12.1 net carbs per pepper.

I used brown Cremini mushrooms, also called Baby Bellas.

If you won’t be eating all six peppers at once, take some out of the oven a little sooner and freeze in an air-tight container to be reheated for a quick dinner later.  For best results, let frozen peppers thaw in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave or in the oven in a small baking dish covered with foil.

Recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 238Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 798mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 4gSugar: 6gProtein: 9g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Peppers, onions, mushrooms, brown rice, and Feta cheese are all good for the original South Beach Diet Phase two or three. Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers with brown rice would be too high in carbs for low-carb diets but the version with cauliflower rice would be a good option and also suitable for Phase one for the South Beach Diet. If you make the version with cauliflower rice the peppers have only 12.1 net carbs per pepper.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Oven Dinners to find more recipes like this one.Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Danica's Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was posted in 2013. It was updated with the lower-carb option of using cauliflower rice in 2021 and last updated with more information and featured for Friday Favorites in 2024.

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