Light and healthy Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers filled with tomatoes, onions, black beans and cilantro, seasoned to perfection and topped with melted cheese!

Ok so I started typing this epic blog post in the middle of watching The Bachelorette….and then it ended and I proceeded to delete everything I had previously typed.
Ummm what the eff?!
I had to delete my entire post because, well, it was all about Sean. The too-good-to-be-true, too-hot-for-cable-television, all-American-perfect-male-specimen-SEAN. What was she thinking letting him go???
First of all, lets state the obvious. Arie is a total creepster. Sure its cute they kiss all the time and he can’t stop touching her, but why not try having an intelligent conversation?? And then when asked what he does on any given night, he goes on to say going out with his friends because he hates being home. Duuuude, you’re about to become a dad. I think weekly night dinners around the table are destined in your immediate future…oh yeah and 5:00 AM wake up calls.
And then there is Jef. Sweet, adorable Jef. No I wasn’t the biggest fan of him in the beginning, but he has really come to surprise me. He’s an old soul with great hair, all wrapped up in a skater boy’s body. Now that Sean’s gone (RIP) I’m totally on board Team Jef and am now hoping he wins the whole thing.

And speaking of beautiful men, yes tonight IS the night ladies. I’m finally going to see the highly anticipated movie Magic Mike. I’m headed there with about 10 of my girlfriends and we’ll of course be downing delicious martinis beforehand. C’mon, would you expect anything less?? One must be prepared for a gyrating Channing Tatum and shirtless Matthew McConaughey.
And on that note, I made some delicious quinoa stuffed bell peppers.  Feel free to make this dish completely clean by omitting the cheese and chopping up fresh tomatoes. You’ll save over 50 calories per serving and I guarantee this will still taste pretty amazing!
Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
- 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed, drained
- 3/4 cup quinoa
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 cup Trader Joes Pepper Jack cheese
- 4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion, celery and jalapeno for about 5 minutes, until soft, then add cumin and garlic and cook for an additional minute. Stir in drained tomatoes (reserving liquid) and cook for 5 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Stir in black beans, quinoa and 1 1/2 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Stir in 1 cup of cheese and season with salt and pepper, if desired.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and pour reserved liquid from tomatoes in the bottom of your baking dish.
- Fill each halved bell pepper with 3/4 cup quinoa mixture and place in baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes. Transfer stuffed bell peppers onto serving dish and drizzle pan juices over top. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.







I made something super similar last week, yum!
And I feel the same way about Bachelorette! Jef all the way!
Carly
http://www.lipglossandcrayons.com
I love stuffed bell peppers, these look amazing!
Thanks to Miss Emily I have to COMPLETELY type my post over as well! BOO! WHY on Earth she didn’t choose Sean is beyond me! & this recipe looks to die for!!! Will be making it soon! I’m a new-er follower & I just love your blog! It’s so much fun!
Shayna
I made something ridiculously close to this last week (omit the jalapeno and add frozen spinach and 3 shredded carrots), and it was delicious! I might have to try mine with jalapeno next time for that little extra kick!
I’d planned on making quinoa stuffed peppers tonight before I even saw this post! Now I have a fantastic recipe! Thanks for sharing 😀
These look amazing Kelly…already put in on the menu for next week!!!
Totally agree!! Arie IS such a creeper! I think she is the most comfortable around Jef 🙂 He gets my vote.
Those look so good! I will definitely need to try this recipe! And I am 100% with you…Sean for the next Bachelor 😉
Did you see my pic of what I I ate for dinner that I instagrammed? Quinoa stuffed bell peppers!!! Except I used 99% lean ground turkey, but essentially we made almost the exact same thing! twinsies.
sigh, I love sean.
I said the SAME THING! When Sean was voted off I said: “Ladies and Gentlemen… meet the new Bachelor”. I loved him and wanted her to pick him. Sadly, I think she is attracted to the bad boy Arie.