It’s the best Monday in all the Mondays! Er, what? Monday and best in the same sentence? I know, but I have my reasons. Let’s just pause for a second and add these crockpot stuffed peppers into the picture of your day.
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This recipe was wonderful, I loved that I wasn’t missing the hamburger that you usually get with traditional stuffed peppers. Highly recommend!
Trina
These Quinoa Black Bean Crockpot Stuffed Peppers topped with cilantro, Pepperjack cheese, sour cream, and avocado are making Monday dinners everywhere just a little more wonderful.
- They’re meatless.
- The prep – if you can even call it prep – is incredibly easy, like any good crockpot meal should be. No chopping, no pre-cooking, nada.
- You can top them with all your favorite things in the worrrrrld, which makes them ultra pretty for something that’s coming from a crockpot.
- The nutrition factor here is right on! Protein, fiber, and veggies, oh my. If you want to get extra-healthy, just omit or reduce the cheese – we’ll all cry a few tears for you, but you just go ahead and do what you want to do, friend.
How To Make Our Crockpot Stuffed Peppers:
A few other things that are making me happy on this Quinoa Black Bean Crockpot Stuffed Peppers Monday –>
The Minnesota Twins! Well, not so much the Twins, like, actually playing baseball, but more like me going to the Twins home opener at Target field this afternoon to a) sit in the perfect, golden spring sun, and b) sample all the best food in the baseball park lands. Seriously, Target field knows what kind of food the Minnesotans love and they deliver.
The food choice is always a huge decision for me when we go to games. There are so many good options that you can get complete analysis paralysis, and worst case scenario – you make a sloppy, poorly planned food order that you regret two bites in. UGH. The pain.
I am debating right now between a golden brown, melty cheese Cuban sandwich with pickles // crispy deep fried walleye and chips // Kramarczuk’s polish sausage with sauerkraut (that kraut! it’s definitely at least 10% weird, but I don’t even care because oh, that wonderful acidic tang) // Minnesota crispy belly bacon w/ jalapeno jelly & vinegar slaw. No, serious. This is Minnesota Twins ballpark food. #proud
Minnesota friends – anyone else going to the opener today? Also: I would not be mad if you gave me all your best food recommendations for Target field. TEAMWORK.
Final thing that’s making me happy on this sunny Monday: our Sage girl.
We visited three dog parks over the weekend (okay, I just literally cringed – we are SO overboard as dog parents) and Sage’s favorite part was sitting on the bench and doing The Lean for kisses and hugs. She’s an outdoorsy one, that Sage. My girl and I also already had a few lovey snuggles this morning to bring in the week. Do they have a name for this disease? Can’t stop won’t stop.
Your comments, emails, pictures, welcome notes, and encouraging tips in response to The Sage Post were just so fantastically uplifting. My heart melts. I HAVE read them, but I haven’t had time to respond – cause, like, hello? three dog parks in one weekend? we’ve been obnoxiously dog-busy – but I will get to them in the next day or two.
If you want to see more of Sage on Instagram, please find @sages_advice – it’s an account that Bjork made for Sage Pictures and Sage Wisdom. Bjork has never ever wanted anything to do with Insta until now – to say I’m smitten with these two and the fact that they are now on Instagram would be a majorly major understatement.
Okay, crockpot though! The quinoa black bean crockpot stuffed peppers! I hardly even talked about them because LIFE, but they are delicious and I think you’ll love how easy they are.
The peppers are stuffed with a combination of quinoa, black beans, Pepperjack cheese, enchilada sauce, and spices – all easy pantry ingredients that can be whipped together in a flash. Then you top them with everything <— that’s an order. You must do it, good people of the world. They make the perfect lunches for the week and they are an excuse to incorporate chips and guac into your meals. Which is always always always a good thing.
So bring it on, Monday! I feel good about this one.
Quinoa Black Bean Crockpot Stuffed Peppers
- Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 peppers 1x
Description
These Quinoa Black Bean Crockpot Stuffed Peppers can be made with or without meat – all with simple pantry ingredients! Minimal prep, awesome taste.
Ingredients
- 6 bell peppers
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- 1 14 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 14 ounce can refried beans
- 1 1/2 cups red enchilada sauce
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Pepperjack cheese
- toppings! cilantro, avocado, sour cream, etc.
Instructions
- Cut the tops off of the peppers and scrape out the ribs and seeds.
- In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, beans, enchilada sauce, spices, and 1 cup of the cheese. Fill each pepper with the quinoa mixture.
- Pour 1/2 cup water into the bottom of a crockpot. Place the peppers in the crockpot so they’re sitting in the water. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. Remove lid, distribute remaining cheese over the tops of the peppers, and cover again for a few minutes to melt the cheese.
- Serve topped with anything you like! These are also great with chips and guacamole, believe it or not.
Notes
My crockpot only fit four of the peppers so I had to bake the other two in the oven – I just put some water in the bottom of the pan, covered with foil, and baked for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees.
You can also keep the leftover filling for a day or two in the fridge.
I also made a variation of these with spicy ground sausage (I left out the refried beans and added a pound of uncooked sausage), and they were equally great! Bjork liked those ones better, being the meat guy in the family.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Mexican-Inspired
Keywords: quinoa stuffed bell peppers, stuffed bell peppers, crockpot stuffed peppers
Make It A Freezer Meal!
Mix Filling:
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- one 14-ounce can black beans, drained
- one 14-ounce can refried beans
- 1 1/2 cups red enchilada sauce
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
Stuff Into:
- 6-8 large hollowed-out fresh bell peppers
To Cook:
BAKE: From frozen, bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes, covered.
FINAL STEP: Finish by melting extra cheese on top. Serve with guac, sour cream, cilantro, hot sauce, etc.
View more healthy freezer meals here!
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of best healthy vegetarian recipes. Check it out!
These were really good! I didn’t add the cheese with the filling because some of us are vegan and some not, so I just added the different cheeses at the end once the peppers were in separate serving bowls. Cooked them on high in the crockpot and they were done just exactly at 3 hours like you said. Crockpots are so iffy and random — it was nice to have a good idea when these would be done and actually have them done at that time. They were perfect for my vegan/gluten-free family with being able to modify the toppings to be dairy free or not. Will make these again for sure!
I’ve never likes suffed peppers with rice but this recipe sounds great! Besides wanting to try this recipe, I have a meat-stuffed pepper recipe that I want to try in the crock. (It’s an Italian recipe with no rice, using a lightly cooked fresh tomato sauce in the filling and to cooked the stuffed peppers in )
Can’t wait to try them both!
For doing this as a freezer meal, am I right that you put the quinoa in uncooked? The liquid in the enchilada sauce etc will be enough for it to cook through later?
Can the filling be frozen? I have too much filling but don’t want to throw it out!
Yes it can be!
Do you think this recipe would work with cooked quinoa? I have a bunch in my fridge I’d love to use up!
Yes! We think quinoa would work well!
I love this recipe and have made it many times! Thank you for such a great recipe. We sure do enjoy Pinch Of Yum!
I don’t have a crockpot – how long would you recommend with an instant pot?
What an incredible dish! I’ve been using this recipe a few years now and I’m always impressed with how it comes out and tastes. So happy to have this one in the books and will continue to make it for years to come!
I love this recipe, have used it for years!!
Recently spiced it up a little by adding a can of green chiles and 1 tbsp or so of diced pickled jalapeños. Added spices by using my intuition lol. I used minced garlic instead of garlic salt. used vegetarian refried beans vs regular.
Why did my peppers fall apart when I tried to take them out of the crockpot?? I so disappointed. It’s my girlfriend’s birthday. I spent extra money to buy green, red, and orange peppers hoping for a fantastic presentation. They were in on low for six hours.
Hey hey! It’s hard to find enchilada sauce in canada, any alternatives that would work?
Hi! We have this homemade enchilada sauce that could work well if you can’t find it in stores!
Can I use two cans of black beans instead of a can of refried beans?
Hi, Michele! We’re guessing that would work, yes!
Love this recipe so much! Would it work if I sub rice for quinoa? Thanks for your time!
We haven’t tested this with rice, so not entirely sure if the texture of the rice would turn out well. But let us know if you give it a try!
Hi! I made this before in the slow cooker before and they were delicious. Unfortunately I don’t have one anymore. Do you have a variation of this that I can make without the slow cooker or with an instant pot?
Hi! You can bake them in the oven. We’d put some water in the bottom of the pan, cover with foil, and bake at 400 for 45 minutes to an hour.
Do the peppers get too soft/soggy? Or is there a way to prevent that? My wife brought home smaller than usual peppers and also is worried that using the crockpot will cause them to be over cooked and soggy
The pepper should become soft, but not soggy!
What would be the cooking time for this in the instant pot? Is it possible?
We haven’t tried this recipe in this Instant Pot, so we’re not sure. Here are some good options if you’re looking for an Instant Pot-specific recipe!
Made these yesterday and they’re fantastic! It’s so hard to find slow cooker recipes that we genuinely like. This one’s a keeper.
I made these today and cooked them in the oven per your instructions and while I love just about all of it, my quinoa was definitely not done. 😞 The peppers were definitely cooked perfectly but the quinoa was still very seedy.
These are great, I have made them many times! I am wondering if anyone has tried pressure cooking them in the Instant Pot instead of cooking in the Crockpot? I want to try it, but don’t know how long to pressure cook them.
Why do you use taco seasoning in the freezer version instead of cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic salt
For convenience! Either way works!
Looks so yummy! I’m hoping to make this tonight, with ground turkey in place of refried beans.
What would be your recommendation for cooking this in the oven, with meat? Cook the meat first? Still at 400 degrees for 45 minutes?
Thanks! Can’t wait to try it! I’ve loved Pinch of Yum recipes for a long time, and this looks delicious!
Yes, we’d try that! Hope you enjoy it, Molly!
I allowed extra time to test the fresh –>oven version of this before I committed to the freezer–>oven version, and yeah, I think your mileage will vary based on how large and full your peppers are! It took 80 minutes for the quinoa to cook at 400 degrees and probably should have done more as it was still a bit wet (but at least not crunchy). After 45 minutes the top quinoa was done but not the stuff in the middle of the pepper so I stirred it around in the peppers a bit. I did have huge peppers, though – no leftover filling and they were taller than my 9×13 pyrex. I did add water to the bottom and covered tightly with foil but still a long time…!
the quinoa didn’t cook after 3 hours of being in the crockpot on high. i added water to the bottom. is there something I should have done?
So sorry to hear that, Tasha. Sounds like the peppers needed more time than what was stated in the recipe. Others have reported the similar results. We will have to add this to our list of recipes to re-test. Thanks for the comment!
I tried making the freezer meal version of these and though they were delicious, the quinoa did not cook at all, so the insides were a soupy mess!
I should have covered the entire pan with foil, not each individual pepper. I had to freeze them like that to save space, so when it came time to throw them in the oven, I just kept the wrappings on. Dear reader, don’t do that.
This was just really, really good! We used mild Italian sausage and 1/2 the cumin. We will definitely be making this on a regular basis!
Thank you!!