These Mexican Rice Stuffed Mini Peppers are a fun fiesta for your mouth made with sweet mini peppers, Mexican inspired rice, cheddar, and a variety of toppings!
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One thing that I constantly seem to have in our fridge is a bag of mini sweet peppers. These peppers are a smaller, sweeter variety, making them perfect for snacking right out of the bag! I like to slice them into rings and add them to salads or cook them up and add them to eggs or stir-fries. They’re really versatile! But up until now, I’ve never tried stuffing them.
With Cinco de Mayo coming up, I decided to stuff some mini peppers with a Mexican rice filling. This dish is simple enough to serve as a Cinco de Mayo appetizer or even as a flavorful side dish for taco night or any night of the week! Plus, these peppers are as fun to eat as they are delicious!
The peppers are cut in half and stuffed with a Mexican rice made with black beans, onions, and spices. Then, the stuffed peppers are topped with shredded cheddar and cooked in the oven, just until the cheese has melted. I used all plant based ingredients, so the plant based cheddar doesn’t melt like regular shredded cheddar. But it still adds cheesy goodness to this dish!
Mexican Rice Stuffed Mini Peppers
These Mexican Rice Stuffed Mini Peppers are super easy to make! All you need to do is whip up a quick Mexican rice and stuff colorful and crunchy mini peppers! Then, sprinkle with shredded cheddar and pop them in the oven. Serve the peppers with toppings like sour cream, chopped scallions, and your favorite hot sauce!
The first thing we need to do is prep our peppers. I cut them in half, leaving the stem intact, and removed as much of the seeds as I could and the ribs.
Then, I started on the rice mixture. While the rice was cooking in a pot, I added black beans, onion, crushed tomatoes, paprika, cumin, and garlic powder to a mixing bowl. If you want, you could totally sub in salsa for the onion, tomatoes, and seasonings.
When the rice is done cooking and still warm, stir in the black bean mixture. Mix it well, making sure that the rice is completely coated with the tomato sauce.
Now you can start stuffing the peppers with the rice mixture. The rice is kind of sticky making it easy to fill the pepper halves. I used pretty much the entire pot of rice to fill these peppers.
Give the peppers a sprinkle of shredded cheddar before baking them in the oven. Let the peppers cook for 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Then, serve the stuffed mini peppers with some toppings like sour cream, chopped scallions, and hot sauce (or salsa)!
Ingredients
- 1 bag mini sweet peppers
- 1 cup rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 - 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
- Generous 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. paprika
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- Salt and pepper
- Optional toppings: sour cream, chopped scallions, hot sauce
Instructions
- Cut the mini sweet peppers in half and remove the rib and seeds. Set aside.
- Add the rice and water to a pot and bring to a boil. Drop down to a simmer, place a lid on the pot, and allow the rice to cook until fluffy, about 15-20 minutes.
- While the rice cooks, add the black beans, onion, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and crushed tomatoes to a mixing bowl.
- When the rice is cooked and still warm, stir in the black bean mixture.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Fill each pepper half with the rice mixture. Then, sprinkle a little shredded cheddar cheese on top.
- Cook for 20 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
- Top with sour cream, chopped scallions, and hot sauce, if desired.
How to Store Leftover Mexican Rice
If you have leftover rice, let it cool down completely and spoon it into a freezer bag. Store it flat in your freezer and then thaw it to make more peppers. The rice is even good on its own as a side dish!
Did you make this Mexican Rice Stuffed Mini Peppers recipe? Share it on social media using the hashtag #livinglavidaeats. Don’t forget to tag me @lavidaholoka!
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