These rice and mushroom stuffed peppers are loaded with cheese. They taste like risotto without all the time and effort spent at the stove.
I can be super indecisive sometimes. Most of the time I’m not, particularly in important or professional settings, but ask me what I feel like eating or “what’s your favorite food” (<—hardest question ever!) and I’ll probably waffle for a good 20 minutes or so.
I annoy myself.
So, 4 peppers sat in my fridge for about 10 days.
They needed to be used asap.
Stuffed peppers sounded like a good solution. Right? Yeah, kind of.
Except, there was this persistent little voice saying “risotto sounds really good right now” that wouldn’t go away too.
Ahhh, decisions!
Growing up there was only one kind of risotto in our house: sausage & mushroom.
It was cheesy, hearty and so damn good in the winter. I’ve since made two variations of it: Buckwheat Risotto with Mushrooms and Leeks and Butternut squash and porcini mushroom risotto.
I know you can make risotto with practically anything and I’ve eaten many variations but, when I think of the dish, I immediately conjure up the one my mom makes. Considering there’s still snow left on the ground over here, that risotto was sounding pretty darn good.
Back to that decision.
I kid you not when I say I stood in front of the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, door open, (so wasteful, I know) staring at peppers on one side of the produce drawer, mushrooms on the other and trying to decide which meal to make.
And then it hit me.
Peppers stuffed with risotto!
Duh.
I bought chicken this week for the first time in months (well, actually I bought it last week but had to throw it out after losing power for 2 days) and these were the perfect side dish to the cashew crusted baked chicken breasts I made for dinner.
Or I guess I could’ve used the chicken to make chicken stuffed poblano peppers. Oh well, next time.
Since I knew we’d be eating these as a side, I left the sausage from mom’s risotto out, but they would be delicious as a main dish with it in the stuffing as well.
I’ll be honest, the stuffing isn’t a “true” risotto based on the preparation but, it’s got the same taste and flavor components which definitely satisfied my craving.
Also, it’s easier than a true risotto, always a good thing.
Besides their taste, I’m kind of obsessed by how similar they look to mini pumpkins.
Perfectly festive for this time of year.
Indecisiveness never tasted so good.
More recipes like these cheesy mushroom stuffed peppers:
Bison Stuffed Peppers
Spinach Sausage and Ricotta Stuffed Peppers
Tuscan White Bean Farro Risotto
Cheesy Chicken Stuffed Eggplant
Asian Steak Stuffed Grilled Avocados
Cheesy Mushroom Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 4-5 medium orange peppers
- 1 1/4 cups cooked brown rice
- 8 oz. sliced baby portobello mushrooms
- 1 shallot, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon rosemary, divided
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sherry wine
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cut tops of peppers off and clean out the insides.
- Sauté butter, olive oil, shallots, garlic and half the rosemary (1/2 tablespoon) in a medium pan for 2-3 minutes over medium heat.
- Add mushrooms and a dash of salt & pepper, toss to combine and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
- Add sherry wine and let wine and water from mushrooms cook off completely, about 5-7 more minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- Combine mushrooms, cheese and cooked rice with remaining rosemary in a medium bowl and season with salt & pepper to taste.
- Stuff peppers with the mixture and place in a square baking dish with about 1/2 an inch of water on the bottom.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Ooh love these! So cute! They do look like mini pumpkins!! :)
Fantastic! Love that you made the risotto out of brown rice. I haven’t made stuffed peppers in quite a while. I think that’ll have to change:)
oooh pretty! I love stuffed peppers! =) I’ve never had them with sherry wine as an ingredient! actually ive never cooked with wine! help! hehe
This looks so yummy!! I love stuffed veggies, mushrooms AND peppers so I clearly need to make this immediately.
This look delicious!!! I don’t normally like peppers, but this look so good that I might just try it. :)
Now that is comfort food! I love stuffed peppers and filling them with rice and cheese? Heck yeah! And so perfectly festive. Good luck with the contest!
The peppers in the background with the caps remind me of the pumpkin costumes I made for you and your brother long ago ! ;)
I know, I thought the same thing!
They DO look like mini pumpkins! And anything with mushrooms and cheese is a winner to me. Also, I think you always have winning photos. Hope you get the hand painted version prize. That’s so cool!
These are so pretty! I have never stuffed a pepper before. There’s one in my fridge right now – I’m going to try it with lentils for dinner. Thank you!!
Love your entry, Gina! Thanks so much! I can’t wait for the polls to open tomorrow. This is kind of exciting!
PS- Ack! I just noticed the link over my name leads to a 404 page on your site; it’s got my blog address tacked on to the end of your blog post address. :)
omg, im sorry! I’ll fix it right now!