Quinoa Stuffed Red Peppers

Surprisingly, red peppers contain twice as much vitamin C as oranges. Vitamin C is necessary to absorb the iron found in quinoa.  A match made in heaven!  Serves 4

1 cup quinoa, rinsed well

4 large red bell peppers

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup sweet onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups mushrooms, sliced into bite-sized pieces

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice

¼ cup shredded Parmesan


1.    Prepare quinoa. Preheat oven to 350F.

2.    In a large skillet, heat olive oil.  Add onions and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and sauté another 5 minutes or so. 

3.    In the meantime, cut the tops off the red peppers and scoop out membranes. 

4.    Add spinach to the sauté.  Stir continuously until spinach has become a dark green.  Don’t overcook!  Remove from heat and combine sautéed vegetables with cooked quinoa in a large bowl.  Add salt, lemon juice and toss.

5.    Stuff peppers and place in a glass or ceramic baking dish with ½ inch water in bottom.  Bake for 35 minutes or until peppers are soft.  Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cheese on each pepper and return to oven for 3-5 minutes.

Recipe created for use by Heart-Healthy Woman & Well Fed Heart and their clients.

Time-Saver Tool Tips
-Use a microplane to quickly grate garlic and Parmesan
-Citrus squeezers are a must-have for quick, fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice, without the seeds!

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Ingredient Insight
Dirty Dozen™ Ingredients: bell peppers, spinach
Clean Fifteen™ Ingredients: onion

-If you are cooking with cinnamon for the added health benefits, make sure you use the Ceylon variety - lower in coumarins - potential liver and neurotoxins when consumed frequently.

-Depending on the season, switch out the spinach with Swiss chard or curly kale instead.  Just be sure to saute a bit longer.

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