Vegan Israeli Stuffed Peppers

With Dried Cherries and Saffron Rice

This is a flavorful Israeli stuffed peppers combined with dried cherries and saffron rice, diverse spices and fresh herbs for a bright weeknight meal. They are filling and healthy and packed with flavor. Perfect for the vegans in your life or for your meatless dinner.

Stuffed peppers are a classic vegetarian entree, maybe a bit less popular these days, but a common dish nonetheless!

Israeli Stuffed Peppers

Nicole Kearsley

This recipe is quite simple, despite the laundry list appearance of the ingredient list. I prooooomise you have most of the ingredients already in your pantry/fridge!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 35 mins

Total Time 45 mins

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Mediterranean, Vegan

Servings 2 Servings

Ingredients

  

• 3/4 cup Saffron Rice
• 1 cube Not Beef Bouillon
• 1/3 cup Textured Vegetable Protein
• 1 Carrot
• 1 Onion
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 2 Anaheim Peppers
• 1/4 cup Almonds
• 1 1/4 teaspoons Israeli Spice Blend
• 2 tablespoon Cherries Dried
• 4 ounces Baby Spinach
• 7 teaspoon Olive Oil Extra virgin
• 1 tablespoon Salt & Pepper To taste

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 425 °F (219 °C). Add the saffron rice, 1 1/4 cups water, and a pinch of salt to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook until all of the water is absorbed and the grains are tender about 15 to 20 minutes.
  
• Add the bouillon cube to a medium bowl, cover with ⅓ cup hot tap water, and mix to dissolve. Add the textured vegetable protein to the bowl and stir.
  
• Peel and dice the carrot. Peel and dice the onion. Peel and thinly slice 3 cloves garlic. Butterfly the Anaheim peppers by slicing down one side from stem to tail, and gently remove the seeds and white pith. 
  
• Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat with 1 tbsp olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the diced carrot, diced onion, half the sliced garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook until softened, about 5 to 6 minutes.
  
• Increase the heat to high and add 1 tbsp olive oil and the textured vegetable protein mix. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp in places, about 4 to 6 minutes more.
  
• Add the almonds, Israeli spice blend, and dried cherries to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes.
  
• Gently open the Anaheim peppers and stuff with the filling. Place the stuffed peppers on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  
• Return the empty skillet to high heat and add 1 tsp olive oil and the remaining sliced garlic. Once hot, add the baby spinach and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until wilted, about 2 to 3 minutes.
  
• Fluff the saffron rice with a fork. Divide the rice between plates and top with the Israeli stuffed peppers. Serve with the sautéed spinach on the side.
  

Notes

MAKE IT IN ADVANCE: The filling and sauce can be prepared a day in advance to make for easy pre-dinner prep.

*ISRAELI SPICE BLEND: Curious about it? It is za’tar spice.

**ANAHEIM PEPPERS: You can use bell peppers instead especially if you feel like there’ll be plenty of filling.

***TEXTURED VEGETABLE PROTEIN: It’s used in place of ground beef but without the fat, cholesterol and sodium. 100g of TVP has 80 calories, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, and 12 g protein while the same amount of ground beef has 332 calories, 30g fat, 78 mg cholesterol, 67 mg sodium, and 14g protein. TVP costs pennies too.

Keyword plant based, vegan