These broccoli and rice stuffed peppers are packed to the brim with a creamy broccoli and rice mixture and topped with crispy panko breadcrumbs. If you are gluten-free, you can leave off the breadcrumbs and use extra cheese or gluten-free breadcrumbs.
Before cutting out dairy, I used to make a similar stuffed pepper, but it was loaded with cream cheese and cheddar. This version gives you that creamy texture without all of the dairies. If you want to add vegan cream cheese to make it extra creamy, you could give that a try.
One thing I would note when making this broccoli and rice stuffed peppers recipe is to season the stuffing more than you think is needed. When the filling goes in the pepper, I think it absorbs some flavor, so you need to be generous with the salt and pepper.
Hearty Broccoli and Rice Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
Pepper Ingredients
6 large green pepper (green capsicum)
Stuffing Ingredients
1 ½ cups white rice
1 head broccoli
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon beef stock (beef broth or beef bouillon)
½ cup ground beef (minced beef)
Cream Sauce Ingredients
2 medium jalapenos
1 cup yellow onion - diced
3 cloves garlic- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot starch
¾ cups milk - oat- 1 tablespoon instant yeast - nutritional
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup cheddar cheese
Topping Ingredients
¼ cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon avocado oil
Instructions
Pepper Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cut around the stems of the pepper. Once cut all the way around, grab the stem with your hand and wiggle the stem and seeds out. Pull out any remaining seeds, flip over, and tap the bottom to remove them.
- Place peppers in a baking dish and place in the oven while you prepare the filling (around 25 minutes).
Stuffing Instructions
- Chop broccoli into bite-sized pieces.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat in a large pot. Add in the rice and stir to toast for just a few minutes.
- Add the ground beef, broccoli, better than bouillon, salt to taste, and 4 cups of water.
- Stir together and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for around 20 minutes until water is absorbed and rice is tender.
Cream Sauce Instructions
- While rice is cooking, prepare the cream sauce. Dice onion, garlic, and jalapenos with seeds.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Add onions and a dash of salt and cook for a few minutes until soft. Add in garlic and jalapenos and cook until fragrant, around 1 to 2 minutes.
- Stir in arrowroot starch until combined, then pour in oat milk, stirring continuously. Stir until thickened. Mix in nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, and 1 cup vegan cheddar. Continue to stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper to taste.
Assembly Instructions
- Add cream sauce to the rice mixture and stir well to combine. Taste for salt and pepper.
- Remove peppers from the oven and stuff them with the rice mixture, pushing down with a spoon to ensure the peppers are well packed.
- Mix panko and avocado oil and sprinkle over the peppers. Bake for around 20 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until panko is browned and peppers are soft.
