Slow cooker quinoa stuffed peppers
Whole peppers stuffed with quinoa, pinto beans, corn and green chiles cook themselves in enchilada sauce until tender, then get a melty cheese top.
- 370 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $3.63 a serving
- 520 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 can diced green chiles
- 1 can red enchilada sauce, divided
- 1½ cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded, divided
- 2 red bell peppers, large
- 2 yellow bell peppers, large
- ½ cup sour cream (optional)
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¼ cup water
Each serving has about 520 calories, 25 g protein, 66 g carbs and 18 g fat, and costs about $3.63 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No pinto beans? Black beans or kidney beans work.
- No frozen corn? Canned corn works.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
In a bowl, mix the quinoa, beans, corn, green chiles, half the enchilada sauce, the cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and 1 cup cheese.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Dolly’s tip: Rinse quinoa in a fine strainer before using. It has a natural coating that tastes bitter.the tops off the peppers and pull out the seeds and ribs. Pack the filling into the peppers.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Pour the water and the rest of the enchilada sauce into the slow cooker. Stand the peppers up in it and tuck any extra filling around them.
Cover and cook on Low for 5 to 6 hours (or High for 3 hours), until the peppers are tender and the quinoa is fluffy.
Timer: 300 min
Dolly’s tip: Check a spoonful from the middle of a pepper. If the quinoa still crunches, give it 30 minutes more.Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the peppers, cover and cook until , 10 minutes.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Timer: 10 min
Lift the peppers out with a big spoon and serve with the sauce from the pot, sour cream and cilantro.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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