Say hello to the best Vegan Stuffed Peppers! These high-protein TVP, veggie, and rice-stuffed bell peppers are baked with dairy-free cheese on top and served hot. The perfect family dinner you can customize to your liking!
Looking for more easy family dinner recipes? Be sure to check out this Cheesy Broccoli Rice Vegan Casserole, my favorite Vegan Baked Ziti, and this Vegan Enchilada Casserole.
Look at how pretty these Vegan Stuffed Peppers are! Tasty, satisfying, and great for a crowd, it’s no wonder why this classic dish is so popular.
My vegan version of this traditionally meat- and dairy-packed recipe features a hearty filling of lightly seasoned TVP (textured vegetable protein), rice, and vegetables. My kids love anything cheesy, so I stirred in plenty of dairy-free cheese and melted extra on top. You can always leave it out, though.
The best part? This recipe is seriously flexible. Swap the TVP for vegan ground beef, use quinoa instead of rice, or add whatever vegetables are in your fridge. No matter the spin you put on it, you’ll have a crowd-pleasing dish perfect for dinners, meal prep, and holidays.
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“Another great recipe Nora! Made these peppers for dinner tonight and topped with some vegan sour cream. My husband and son loved them as well.” – Karen
Why you’ll love these vegan stuffed bell peppers
- Feeds the whole family! This recipe makes 6 hearty stuffed peppers, AKA enough for your next comforting family dinner. Hosting a crowd? You can easily double or triple the batch.
- High-protein comfort food – The meaty TVP, rice, and vegetable mixture make these vegan stuffed peppers surprisingly filling. I like to serve them with a salad and a loaf of freshly baked Dutch Oven Bread to round things out.
- Completely customizable – Stuff the bell peppers with what you have on hand! Beans, lentils, quinoa, vegan ground meat, and extra veggies are all great in the filling.
How to make vegan stuffed peppers
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
To prep the peppers, slice off the tops and scoop out the seeds and ribs inside.
Par-cook the peppers: Place the peppers in a casserole dish, cut side down. Pour the water around the peppers in the dish.
Cover with foil and cook for 25 minutes or until the peppers are slightly soft and tender.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Add the TVP and water to a large skillet. Heat to a boil and cook until all of the water is absorbed.
Add the oil, onion, garlic, soy sauce, oregano, and basil. Once softened, stir in the cooked rice and tomato sauce. Finish by stirring in the vegan cheese, then take the skillet off the heat.
Set the par-cooked peppers aside to cool slightly and drain the water from the casserole dish.
Fill the peppers with the TVP and rice filling. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
Bake the stuffed peppers for 30 minutes. Serve hot and enjoy!
Frequently asked questions
The TVP is easy to replace with an equal amount of cooked green/brown lentils, chickpeas, black beans, my Vegan Taco Meat, or vegan ground beef. Beyond Meat or Impossible ground beef would be so delicious in the filling!
Remember: If you skip the TVP, omit the 1 1/2 cups of water in step 2.
Yes, quinoa would be a great swap for the rice.
You can bulk up the filling with more vegetables, like chopped bell peppers (cut fresh or from the tops you sliced off), diced celery, chopped zucchini, finely diced cauliflower, corn kernels, frozen peas, or shredded carrots. Add any extra veggies to the skillet when you add the onion and garlic mix.
For a flavor boost, season the filling with a pinch of cayenne pepper, Italian seasoning, paprika, or 1 to 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast.
This can happen if they were pre-cooked for a little too long. My peppers were fork-tender in the middle after about 20 to 25 minutes in the oven.
Also, make sure you drain all the water from the casserole dish after pre-cooking the peppers! Water in the bottom of the dish will surely make the peppers soggy.
Store the baked and cooled peppers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. They make wonderful leftovers, if they last long enough!
To reheat vegan stuffed peppers without drying them out, place them in a baking dish, cover with foil, and warm in a 350ºF oven until warmed through.
Yes! Wrap each leftover filled pepper in plastic wrap or place them in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the fridge overnight, then heat either in the oven or microwave until warm.
Vegan Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 6 medium/large bell peppers, any color
- 1 cup dry TVP (textured vegetable protein) *See notes for substitutions
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, diced small
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce *use tamari for gluten free
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 1/2 cups cooked white or brown rice
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- salt + pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 cups shredded vegan mozzarella *homemade or store bought, may leave out
- chopped fresh parsley, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly spray a 9×13 inch casserole dish with oil.
- Prep the peppers: Slice off the tops of the bell peppers and remove the seeds and ribs that are inside.
- Pre-cook the peppers: Place the peppers in the casserole dish cut side down. Pour 1 1/2 cups water into the dish around the peppers. Cover with foil and place in the oven for 25 minutes. This will soften the peppers somewhat, making them more tender.
- While the peppers are pre-cooking, make the filling: In a large skillet, add the dry TVP and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil on high heat and cook for 5-10 minutes, until all the water is absorbed.
- Now add the olive oil, diced onion, garlic, soy sauce, oregano and basil to the skillet and cook for 5-10 minutes over medium heat. Stir in the cooked rice and tomato sauce, and add salt + pepper to taste. Stir in 1/2 cup of the vegan cheese, if using. Remove the filling from heat and set aside.
- Remove the peppers from the oven and drain off the excess water, carefully. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, flip them over in the casserole dish and fill each one with the filling.
- Sprinkle the rest of the vegan cheese on each pepper evenly and bake for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley if desired and serve immediately.
Notes
- You can substitute cooked lentils, chickpeas, black beans or vegan ground beef for the TVP if desired. Simply skip the water used for cooking the TVP and add when you add the rice and tomato sauce instead.
- You can skip the vegan cheese if desired, but it’s a great addition. Use store bought vegan cheese such as Daiya, my Shreddable Vegan Mozzarella or Easy Stretchy Vegan Mozzarella.
- Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or freeze for longer. Reheat in the microwave for a few minutes until warm, or the oven at 350 degrees until warm throughout.
Enjoyed this dish. I chose to steam the peppers rather than pre-cook them in the oven. I can see coming back to this (with variations in the filling for variety) frequently. Thank you.
You are welcome, Jan! Thank you for sharing your recipe experience! I’m really glad that you enjoyed the recipe and will be making it often! Thanks for your awesome review! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
These were amazing!!!! We took some ideas from other comments and added some chopped peppers, vegan Worcestershire, and used beyond meat in lieu of TVP (as that was all we had). Will make again and again!!! I do wonder how well it re-heats from frozen- any tips on that? Freeze just the whole stuffed pepper? What do you think about just the filling and buy peppers after?
Omg these are soooo good! Very easy to make. I didn’t have tvp so I used gardein plant based ground be’f. Also used a bit of cayenne pepper instead of regular pepper..because I put that on everything lol.
So delicious Nora…thanks for this tremendous recipe!
You are welcome, Elle! I love the versatility of stuffed peppers! Yours sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe experience, as well as your terrific review! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
When you flip the peppers to fill, do you still leave the water in the dish for the 2nd baking? And do you cover them for the 2nd baking?
Hi Veronica. When you remove the peppers from the oven, drain off the excess water, carefully. (step 6). They do not need to be covered for the final baking. Enjoy!
Another great recipe Nora! Made these peppers for dinner tonight and topped with some vegan sour cream. My husband and son loved them as well.
Thank you, Karen! I’m thrilled the poppers were a hit! Thanks for sharing your fabulous review!
This is the second recipe I’ve made with TVP, and it was a huge hit with my family. Thanks for another great recipe, Nora!
I’m thrilled the recipe was a hit! You are welcome! Thank you for your wonderful review and feedback!
This sounds so good! What do you think of broken/crushed soy curls in place of the tvp? I have so many bags to use up. Thanks!
Hi Diane. Yes, I think that would work! Enjoy!
So my husband and my sons loved our dinner the other night. I say “our” because I’ve been going thru your recipe library and planning my dinners accordingly. I also used quinoa instead of rice and a new plant-based (soy-free) ground beef by Abbot’s Butcher. My non-vegan sons obviously approved of the flavor because they ate the leftovers I had planned on having the next day and they are rather picky since they cook their own food. Thank you Nora. Your recipes are amazing and make vegan cooking doable, but most of flavorful.
Hi Linda. It’s so great you are enjoying my recipes! I appreciate you using them! I’m thrilled the recipe was a hit with your family! Thank you for sharing your fabulous feedback and review. Happy cooking!
Replaced the rice with quinoa (had a lot to get rid of in the pantry) and made some very minor adjustments like chopping down some pepper tops and sautéing with onions and garlic along with a dash of Worcestershire (vegan of course). I made this along side my keto wife’s stuffed peppers with meat and cauliflower rice. Honestly – this recipe was way better than the meat recipe. One note: the TVP is just a little “mealy” to me and could use some texturing prior to stuffing the peppers. Browning it or less liquid would probably help. We’ll see.
Hi Leo. Thanks for your wonderful ideas and feedback! I’m glad you liked the stuffed peppers!
So delicious! Used your vegan taco meat instead of TVP and loved it!
Thank your sharing your wonderful review! Good idea on the meat switch! Happy cooking!
I want to Thank You for your simple, easy to find ingredients. Most of these are in my pantry. I am delighted at the fact that I do not have to “look up” what an ingredient is. I do know my foods, I was a chef and cook for many years. Thanks again.
That’s great feedback to hear, thank you so much!
Made this last night and it was delicious! I just subbed quinoa for rice. Great way to use TVP and made it a high protein meal. Thank you!
So glad you loved the stuffed peppers! Good idea on the quinoa! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review!
This was just what the family needed tonight! No complaints from kids or husband…it was an enjoyable dinner for all! Thank You!!
I’m glad your family enjoyed the stuffed peppers! Thanks for sharing your comments, Elizabeth!
These were really good! I used black beans instead of TVP and I only had three big peppers so cut them lengthwise to make 6 servings. Definitely will make again!
Hi Kim. I’m glad you liked my stuffed peppers recipe. Thank you!
Made these tonight. My whole family liked them
That’s so great!
Great store cupboard recipe. I’ve been looking for a tasty recipe to use up tvp I had bought, think I found it!
That’s great!
I was looking for additional ways to cook with my TVP and your recipe was a good one. We loved it. I also added some diced peppers (from the tops of the peppers) and some sliced mushrooms as well. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome!
This was amazing. Even my very much carnivore husband loved it.
I’m so happy you enjoyed the stuffed peppers, thank you!
Delicious. Made w/ beyond meat instead of tvp.
So glad it was delicious!