Quinoa stuffed peppers

Stuffed peppers are often made with ground meat. This meatless version is made with quinoa, walnuts, tomatoes and zucchini.

Stuffed peppers are often made with ground meat, but this version is a hearty mix of quinoa, walnuts and veggies.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped zucchini
2 cups chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Parmesan cheese
2 large bell peppers, cut in half

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 F. Cook quinoa according to package directions. Set aside.

Heat a large saute pan to medium-high heat. Add oil, zucchini, tomatoes, onion, celery, walnuts, garlic and thyme. Reduce heat to medium after 2 minutes. Once vegetables are tender, add cooked quinoa, salt, pepper and cheese.

Place the pepper halves on a baking sheet. Place 1/2 cup of the quinoa and vegetable mixture into each pepper half. Cover with foil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes until peppers are cooked to desired doneness.