Easy vegetarian Mexican Stuffed Peppers with taco spices, beans, corn, rice and salsa is a family favorite! Serve this simple but satisfying vegetarian dish with extra avocado slices and a splash of lime!
Forget dinner fuss and enjoy the savory Mexican flavors of beans, rice, sweet corn and bell peppers in this super-simple weeknight dinner!
When it comes to colorful stuffed jalapenos and peppers, I have to say sweet yellow, orange and red bell peppers are my favorite! What is yours?
Green bell peppers are a nice mix-up but I think they pair best with Italian stuffed peppers. In my opinion:-) To each his own…
We are all really- I mean REALLY big Mexican food eaters over here! So much that I think little C (3 years old) popped out of my belly asking for hot sauce and jalapenos! That boy just loves hot sauce on everything and he would probably eat it on his morning oatmeal if I let him. Or until it lands in his eyes.
A few nights back we were eating Mexican bean and cheese burritos for dinner and he happened to grab the habanero salsa. That grab turned into dumping it on his burrito then rubbing his eyes from an itch (with salsa on his fingers)! Poor little guy toughed it out way better than I would have! To this day he asked for salsa but NOT habanero…lol.
Luckily this Mexican stuffed peppers dish is not spicy and you can add whatever amounts of spice you want! If you want to garnish with jalapenos- the heat pairs delicious with the corn, sweet peppers and this creamy guacamole recipe.
Key ingredients
The ingredients for Mexican stuffed peppers are pretty simple… lots of taco and burrito fixings! Use leftovers for another night turned into burritos or use leftovers from burritos to make this dish!
- Colorful bell peppers like yellow, orange and red. Green bell peppers work too! Save any extras for this Japanese ramen noodle recipe.
- Black beans which adds protein and natural fiber. Here is a recipe to make homemade black beans.
- Rice as a filler and helps the body to digest the beans.
- Corn kernels for fiber and their natural sweet flavor.
- Salsa for flavor.
- Cilantro for iron and flavor.
- Cumin for flavor.
- Toppings like avocado, radish slices, lime juice and extra salsas.
How To Make Stuffed Peppers
First prepare the rice and beans. For this step I like to make a big batch of homemade black beans and rice and use it throughout the week for recipes. For the corn I use a bag of frozen organic corn kernels. Canned organic corn will work too (non-GMO).
In a large bowl mix together the filling ingredients. Combine cooked rice, cooked black beans, canned or frozen corn, salsa, cilantro, cumin and salt together. Then get the peppers ready to be filled!
Assemble the stuffed peppers by first slicing the bell peppers in half from top to bottom. Discard the top and remove the seeds. Lay each pepper so it forms a boat in a baking dish. You can also just slice off the tops of the peppers and then remove the seeds inside. Then stuff each bell pepper with the filling.
Cover the bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until the peppers are fully cooked. If you want you can add your favorite cheese on top right before cooking. Personally I usually use vegan cheese mixed in my platters.
Tips When Baking Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Make sure the rice is fully cooked. You don’t want to be crunching on the grains:-)
- When using frozen corn, make sure to thaw it first in the microwave or stove. This helps the peppers to cook at the right time.
- Cook stuffed peppers on the middle rack in the oven for even cooking.
- If you want to add cheese, add it into the mixture before stuffing or on top right before baking.
- Cover the dish before cooking with aluminum foil. This helps to keep the stuffed bell peppers moist and prevents it from drying out. If you are afraid of aluminum touching food, place a sheet of parchment paper in between.
The best thing about these Mexican stuffed peppers are they are so easy to make, healthy and simple to throw together at the last minute!
