Ricotta Couscous Stuffed Peppers

These Ricotta Couscous Stuffed Peppers take stuffed peppers to a whole new level! The couscous filling is DELICIOUS! You’ll want to eat it straight out of the bowl. I snuck in some plant protein by making the vegan ricotta out of tofu. And there is spinach in there for some greens. This is basically spinach dip made healthy and stuffed inside a pepper. So good!

Step One: Make the Couscous

I am in love with pearl couscous. It is basically like quinoa met pasta and they had a baby. It’s fluffy and delicious.

To make the couscous, melt some vegan butter in a skillet. Add diced onion & garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the dry couscous and toast for 2 minutes. Pour in the broth, bring to a boil, cover and lower the heat. Simmer for 12 minutes. Remove the lid, fluff the couscous and transfer to a large mixing bowl to cool slightly.

Step Two: Make the Tofu Ricotta

While the couscous is cooking, we are going to whip up some tofu ricotta – one of my oldest recipes, that I always come back to!

Here is what you need:

• firm tofu
• vegan parmesan – I used Trader Joe’s
• lemon juice
• garlic
• olive oil
• salt & pepper

Add all of the tofu ricotta ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.

Step Three: Assemble & Bake

Add the tofu ricotta, spinach and vegan pesto the the couscous bowl and mix to combine. Taste and add salt & pepper if needed.

Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise and scoop out the ribs and seeds – I like to do this with a small knife. Fill the bell pepper halves with the couscous mixture and place in the baking dish. Really press down the couscous and load it up.

Top with a little vegan mozzarella, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for another 10 minutes. For a crispier top, turn the oven to broil for the last 2 minutes of cooking.

Step Four: Serve

Pull the bell peppers out of the oven, add them to a plate and drizzle with a little more olive oil & plenty of fresh basil.

These stuffed peppers are comforting while still packing lots of healthy ingredients AND plenty of protein.

You can make these for an easy weeknight dinner and enjoy the leftovers for lunch all week!

Tips & Tricks

Pearl couscous is not the same as traditional couscous. It is bigger and requires more liquid/cook time.

When I say fill up the peppers with the couscous, I mean FILL them up! Don’t be afraid to have the filling piled high!

I like to spray the foil with oil so that it doesn’t stick to the peppers while cooking.

I got my vegan parmesan and vegan mozzarella from Trader Joe’s.