Vegetarian Stuffed Pepper Casserole
Making an easy, nutritious dinner is easy with this vegetarian unstuffed pepper casserole recipe! Strips of bell pepper are cooked alongside the deliciously spiced tomato lentil sauce to bring you the flavors and textures you love from a vegetarian stuffed pepper - but in a faster and easier casserole form!
Ingredients
- 3 bell peppers, all red or mixed colors, whatever you prefer, sliced
- 1 red onion, minced
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 7 oz (200 g) mushrooms, chopped into small pieces
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1.5 cups (1.5 cups) cooked green or brown lentils*
- 28 oz (800 g) canned tomatoes
- 2 cups (250 g) shredded mozzarella
Spices
- 1 Tbsp cumin
- 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- First, measure out your spices and combine them in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large oven-proof casserole dish, heat a glug of olive oil and saute your onions and pepper strips. You want to get to the point where the peppers are softening and starting to blister but still holding their shape - see the photos in the blog post for clarity. (You can cook them longer if you'd prefer them to be extra soft and melty in the casserole.)
- Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook until the mushrooms have reduced and the garlic is smelling lovely.
- Turn down the heat and then add the spice mix and butter. The butter will melt and toast the spices a little. Be careful not to let it burn. If everything seems dry, add more butter or pour in a little extra olive oil. You want it to have a rich, caramelized feel.
- Add the lentils and then mix them into until they're nicely coated with the spices too.
- Add the canned tomatoes and simmer the mixture for about 10 to minutes while you preheat the oven to 200C / 400F.
- Once the oven is heated, scatter the shredded mozzarella on top of the casserole and bake for 20 minutes or until the mozzarella is browned and the casserole is bubbling. (In the meantime you can prepare some rice or potatoes to serve alongside.)
- Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
* You can use a can of lentils, drained - it's more like 1.3 cups but that is close enough. If you're needing to cook the lentils from dried to make this recipe, you want 1/2 cup dried. I recommend you double it, save the rest, and make another one of my lentil recipes another night!
Calories: 302kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 18g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 40mg, Sodium: 454mg, Potassium: 971mg, Fiber: 10g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 3211IU, Vitamin C: 93mg, Calcium: 285mg, Iron: 5mg
