Seitan Stuffed Bell Peppers

Savory stuffed bell peppers filled with seitan, quinoa, black beans, onion, and garlic. Seasoned with cumin and chili powder. Topped with tomato sauce and baked to perfection.

Overview

This meal is delicious and filling. The prep work is very straightforward but the time component for the various steps makes this a longer duration meal to cook. Make no mistake, this recipe is worth the effort but for those looking for a quick recipe to make I wanted to be upfront with you.

The meal consists of tender bell peppers filled with sautéed seitan, quinoa, and black beans. Seasoned with chili powder and cumin. With a dash of maple syrup to take the edge off the tomato’s acidity. What’s not to love?

In terms of special kitchen utensils for this recipe you will need a baking dish (9 x 13 inch is what we used), tongs, and strainer. Let’s walk through the cooking process next.

Cooking Notes

Prep work

Start by peeling three cloves of garlic. Discard the ends and then mince them. The garlic can be medium sized to fine. Once minced, place in a small bowl.

Next, move on to preparing the onion. For this recipe you can use half of a red onion or a whole yellow onion. Chop the onion and then place it in the same bowl as the garlic.

Wash the bell peppers with cool water and then dry with a paper towel. Using a paring knife, carefully cut the tops of the bell pepper. Remove the tops, as well as, removing the seeds and membranes from inside the bell peppers.

Cooking the Bell Peppers

Bring a large pot of water up to a rolling boil. Optionally, you can add some salt to the water. Carefully place the bell peppers in the boiling water and set a timer for 10 minutes. When the time elapses use tongs to remove the bell peppers from the pot and put them in a strainer to drain the water. If your pot wasn’t big enough to cook all the bell peppers then repeat this process in batches until they are all cooked.

Run them under water from a facet until they are cool to the touch. This will also help them to stop cooking and retain some rigidity for the baking process. When they are cool to the touch, and drained of water, place them in a baking dish. For this recipe we used a 9 x 13 inch baking dish but you could probably use a smaller square baking dish instead.

Sautéing the Seitan

Store bought seitan usually comes vacuum sealed and by extension it congeals into a single block. After you open the package break it apart over a bowl. Place a skillet over medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Then add the crumbled seitan and sauté until it starts to brown.

Place the garlic powder and cumin in the skillet and use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to stir the mixture to evenly coat. Cook for several minutes until the seasonings are absorbed and then remove the seitan from the skillet by placing it in a large bowl. Set the bowl off to the side for now and move on to making the filling.

Make the filling

With an empty skillet over medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil. Then add the garlic and onion and sauté until the onion starts to turn translucent. Stir in the chili powder and salt. Followed by the tomato sauce, water, and quinoa. Add a lid, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.

When the time elapses give the quinoa mixture a quick stir. Drain and rinse the black beans and then add them to the skillet. Also at this stage add the sautéed seitan. Last, add the maple syrup and then stir to combine all the ingredients.

Baking Instructions

With the boiled bell peppers sitting upright in a baking dish use a serving spoon to carefully fill each one. There is no hard and fast rule to filling them. However, I tend to prefer a round robin approach of filling each one part way working in a clockwise circle. This helps ensure that there is an even distribution of the filling between all the bell peppers.

Preheat the oven to 380ºF. Open the remaining can of tomato sauce and evenly pour the contents over the tops of the filled bell peppers. This will help the filling retain its moisture content. Bake the bell peppers for 20 minutes on the center rack. When the time expires remove from the oven with oven mitts or pot holders and place on a wire rack. Serve the bell peppers immediately by placing in a bowl and enjoy. 🙂

Storage

Place any leftovers in your storage container of choice. Store the leftovers in the refrigerator. They should keep nicely for several days before the freshness starts to taper off. To reheat the stuffed peppers it helps to cut them in half first.

If you like this recipe be sure to check out our other recipes below:

• Spicy Seitan and Broccoli Rabe Pasta
• Baked Ziti
• Baked Pesto Gnocchi
• Lumberjack Casserole