Rice Stuffed Bell Peppers

My all time favorite summertime dish : rice stuffed bell peppers .The best part about this dish, is that it’s super easy to make, tastes absolutely delicious hot or cold, the same or the next day. I even freeze these for weeks .

These rice stuffed bell peppers are a great vegetarian / vegan or just as a healthy dish, so please add this to your recipe book and enjoy!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of washed, rinsed rice ( I use jasmine rice, but other kinds will work as well)

1 medium size brown onion, finely chopped

4-5 tbs olive oil, and some extra to drizzle the pan

300 grams tomato sauce (or 2 large fresh tomatoes, finely chopped)

1 tbs red pepper paste

3 tbs salsa, plus extra to spread on the bottom of the baking pan

Salt – pepper to taste

2 tbs dry basil ( or any dry greens such as dill, oregano or parsley, you can also use fresh greens to your preference )

6-8 Large bell peppers ( or 12-15 medium sized peppers)

Directions

Sautée chopped onions until tender and golden color

Add tomato sauce, red pepper paste, salsa,dry greens, salt and peppers

Mix and cook for a minute

Add the rice, cover and cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes,stir occasionally to avoid sticking

While the rice is cooking, start cleaning and deseeding the peppers

Allow the rice to cool a few minutes before stuffing

At this point a you can preheat the oven to 400°F/ 180°C

Prepare the baking pan or regular cooking pan ( I use 9″x13″, but choose bigger one if making this with large bell peppers)

Drizzle the pan with 2-3 tbs olive oil and 2-3 tbs salsa or tomato sauce

Place the stuffed peppers in the pan, pour some boiling water until half of the pan is filled

Sprinkle with 1-2 tsp salt

Cover with aluminum foil , punch a few holes on the foil

Bake 35-40 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked

Allow the dish the sit 10-15 minutes before serving

*Notes

This dish can be served both hot or cold, and it also freezes very well up to 3-4 weeks