Stuffed Roasted Peppers with Lentils, Beef and Mushrooms
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup lentils, dried
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- 8 mushrooms, cremini or white button; chopped
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cans tomatoes, diced, with juice (29 oz)
- 1/2 - 1 tsp red pepper flakes, (add more for heat)
- salt and pepper
- 6 bell pepper, tops removed and scooped out
- 1 cup queso fresco, (or cheese of choice)
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium pot, add rinsed dry lentils and 3 cups hot water. Simmer for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Add onions, garlic and a pinch of salt and cook for 3-4 minutes until beginning to soften, add mushrooms and continue to cook for another 5-7 minutes until soft. Remove the onion mushroom mix from the skillet and place in a bowl.
- Using the same skillet add the ground beef, a pinch of salt and cook until browned. Stir in the red pepper flakes, diced tomatoes with juice and tomato paste. Mix together and cook for 5 minutes. Add the onion mushroom mixture and the cooked lentils. Season with salt and pepper, taste, and adjust seasonings.
- Place bell peppers in a large baking dish. Scoop the filling into the bell peppers until full. Place in the oven and roast for 25 minutes. Remove the peppers from the oven and top with queso fresco and fresh cilantro.
Notes
Recipe by Local Haven
Comments
This recipe certainly has lots of flavour; our family enjoyed it. There are a couple of things to note. The instructions indicate tomato paste is to be added when you put in the cans of diced tomato however the paste is not listed in the ingredients. Ours did turn out quite ‘soupy’ so the paste may help to form more of a sauce. Also, we followed the portion amounts as indicated however we ended up with enough filling for at least three more peppers so maybe have a freezer bag handy. On a side note, it would be great if all of the recipes on this site were paired with nutritional lists so we can see the true benefit we are gaining from these healthy recipes. Calories, protein, fiber, vitamins, fat, etc. would be helpful. Thanks for the recipe!
I made these for the first time tonight. The flavor was a bit bland but you can easily customize to your own tastes. I noticed that in the instructions it mentions tomato paste, but that isn’t listed in the ingredients so I didn’t add any. If I make this again I think I will drain the diced tomatoes or cook the tomatoes and meat long enough for liquid to cook off. My bell peppers turned out full of far too much liquid that spills across the plate. I would also mix the queso fresco into the filling so that it’s evenly spread out and not just on the top.