Connect with us

Cheesy Vegetarian

Ricotta and Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers are such a classic vegetarian dish, and these creamy ricotta stuffed peppers are my all-time favourite version!

I wanted the stuffing mixture to require no pre-cooking whatsoever – so these stuffed peppers really couldn’t be simpler to make. Just mix up the filling ingredients, stuff them in the peppers, and bake. Simple, quick, easy!

A stuffed pepper filled with creamy ricotta and black beans, on tomato sauce with rice.

When you dig into these peppers, you’re met with a seriously creamy mixture with spring onions, black beans, and my all-time favourite spice. Feel free to switch up the filling ingredients if you’d like to – see below for some ideas.

???? Ingredients and Substitutions

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

Ingredients for ricotta stuffed peppers laid out with text overlay.
  • peppers. I used regular bell peppers, but long pointed peppers would also work well. Any colour will be fine, but I find green peppers are the least tasty, so I prefer to use red, yellow or orange peppers.
  • black beans (canned)
  • ricotta cheese. If you can’t get ricotta, you could try cream cheese or mascarpone cheese instead.
  • spring onions. I use spring onions rather than regular onions because it means the stuffing mixture doesn’t need any pre-cooking. Spring onions have a more mellow flavour, which doesn’t need cooking beforehand.
  • tomato sauce. Any kind of tomato sauce will work (not ketchup though!). I used passata (sieved tomatoes), but a tomato-based pizza or pasta sauce will work well too. My slow cooker tomato sauce is also ideal.
  • grated cheddar cheese
  • smoked paprika (one of my favourite spices of all time)
  • garlic powder. Using garlic powder instead of fresh garlic again removes any need to pre-cook the filling for the stuffed peppers.

You can easily change up these ingredients to suit your preferences if you like, but make sure you choose ingredients that don’t need any pre-cooking, otherwise you’ll be adding extra steps to the recipe. A few examples of ingredients you could include:

  • Fresh or dried herbs (e.g. parsley, basil, cilantro)
  • Different spices – the smoked paprika I used could easily be swapped for ground cumin, chilli powder, or any other spice you love.
  • Different canned beans, e.g. kidney beans or chickpeas
  • Canned sweetcorn
  • Other vegetables that don’t need pre-cooking, e.g. finely chopped tomatoes, mushrooms, or frozen peas
  • Sliced olives or sun-dried tomatoes

Becca’s Top Tip

If you choose to add some extra vegetables to your stuffed peppers, don’t add too many. They will release liquid as they cook, and could make your stuffed peppers a bit soggy.

???? How Many People Does the Recipe Serve?

These stuffed peppers can be served as an appetiser, or as a more hearty meal. The number of portions you’ll get depends on how you’re serving it.

I’d recommend allowing:

  • 1 pepper half per person as an appetiser
  • 1 pepper half per person if served alongside several hearty side dishes
  • 2 pepper halves per person if served alongside something light (or if you have a bigger appetite!)
Three cheesy stuffed peppers in a baking dish, sitting on tomato sauce.

???? How to Serve Creamy Stuffed Peppers

I served my black bean stuffed peppers with some white rice. It mixed so beautifully with the tomato sauce that I cooked the peppers on, and with the creamy ricotta filling.

A few other ideas for side dishes to go with stuffed peppers:

  • any other simple carb, e.g. pasta or crispy potatoes
  • a simple green salad
  • pitta bread and hummus
  • more roasted vegetables (or perhaps roasted veggie fattoush!)
  • couscous

???? Recipe Video





Sign up to get recipes by email, and get a FREE e-cookbook!

(1-2 emails per week, no spam)

Overhead shot of a ricotta stuffed pepper with black beans and rice.

???? Printable Instructions

A yellow pepper stuffed with creamy ricotta and black beans on a plate with rice and tomato sauce.

Print

Creamy Ricotta and Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

Super creamy ricotta and black bean stuffed peppers with a seriously simple no-cook filling! These are so quick and easy to make.
Course Appetiser, Main Course
Cuisine Mediterranean
Diet Gluten Free, Vegetarian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 4 pieces
Calories 263kcal
Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

  • 250 g (~ 9 oz) ricotta cheese
  • 400 g tin black beans, drained (240g, or ~ 1 1/4 cups, when drained)
  • 3 spring onions, sliced
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 250 ml (~ 1 cup) passata or tomato sauce
  • 2 bell peppers (I used yellow and red)
  • 75 g (~ 3/4 cup) grated cheddar cheese

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F). In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, drained black beans, chopped spring onions, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and salt and pepper. Mix well to combine.
    Creamy ricotta and black bean mixture combined in a mixing bowl.
  • Spread the tomato sauce around the bottom of a baking dish – mine measured approximately 8 x 8 inches.
    Tomato sauce in a baking dish.
  • Cut the peppers in half, and remove the seeds in the middle. I like to leave the stalks on mine when making stuffed peppers, because I think it looks pretty, and it helps to keep the filling in. Don’t eat them though! Divide the black bean stuffing across the four pieces of pepper.
    Peppers stuffed with ricotta and black beans on a board.
  • Place the stuffed peppers in the baking dish on top of the sauce. You can lean them against each other to keep them straight, if needed. If you have any of the ricotta filling left over, you can dollop it around the peppers. Top with grated cheese.
    Uncooked cheesy stuffed peppers in a baking dish.
  • Bake for around 30 minutes, or until the peppers are just soft and the cheese is crisped up to your liking. Serve one or two pieces per person.
    A yellow pepper stuffed with creamy ricotta and black beans on a plate with rice and tomato sauce.

Video





Nutrition

Serving: 1piece | Calories: 263kcal | Carbohydrates: 22.2g | Protein: 17.5g | Fat: 12.2g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 513mg | Potassium: 306mg | Fiber: 5.7g | Sugar: 3.4g | Calcium: 338mg | Iron: 2mg

???? Recipe FAQs

Can I prepare these stuffed peppers in advance?

Absolutely. Since there’s no pre-cooking involved, you can easily combine all the cold ingredients beforehand, and instead of baking straight away, store in the fridge for a day or so, until you’re ready to bake.

How should I store any leftovers?

I would recommend transferring any leftover pieces of stuffed pepper into an air-tight tub (after they have cooled), and storing in the fridge for up to 3 days.

How should I reheat leftovers?

Leftover stuffed peppers will be best reheated in the microwave.

???? Other Pepper Recipes

Healthy Vegetarian Recipes
A yellow pepper stuffed with creamy ricotta and black beans on a plate with rice and tomato sauce.

Ricotta and Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

A Mediterranean vegetable flatbread on a plate.

Mediterranean Vegetable Flatbreads with Goat Cheese

A slice of vegetable crustless quiche on a plate with potatoes and salad.

Feta and Roasted Vegetable Crustless Quiche

Pepper fried eggs served with a crispy tortilla.

Pepper Fried Eggs (great fridge clearer!)

The post Ricotta and Black Bean Stuffed Peppers appeared first on Easy Cheesy Vegetarian.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Cheesy Vegetarian

Air Fryer Gnocchi (with Pesto and Mozzarella)

Ahh, gnocchi! Adorable little potato dumplings that taste like little pillowy clouds – soft and fluffy, like little hugs for your mouth. I adore gnocchi cooked with all sorts of flavours, and this easy air fryer recipe involves:

  • crispy gnocchi cooked in a creamy pesto sauce
  • roasted vegetables that are sweet and tender
  • gooey little pockets of mozzarella cheese
  • a layer of rich tomato sauce to bring it all together

Doesn’t it just sound irresistible?! It couldn’t be easier to make, and the classic Italian flavours are just incredible.

Air fryer gnocchi and vegetables with mozzarella and pesto.

If you’re a regular reader here on Easy Cheesy Vegetarian, you might know that I’m not a fan of boiling gnocchi, and I usually cook it in a frying pan (see my instructions for frying gnocchi!). However, lately I’ve been experimenting with different methods – like baked gnocchi, and oven-roasted gnocchi. This time, I thought I’d use the air fryer!

❓ Why Cook Gnocchi in an Air Fryer?

I use my air fryer several times a week, and I love it. An air fryer is essentially just a mini oven, so whatever you can cook in an oven, you can cook in an air fryer instead (and vice versa) – but it’s a lot quicker when there’s a smaller space to heat up.

Cooking this pesto gnocchi in an air fryer means you can turn it on, leave it to do its thing for a while, and return to perfectly cooked gnocchi. It’s a lot less labour intensive than cooking the gnocchi in a frying pan, and it’s quicker than using the oven. Best of both worlds!

Cheesy Vegetarian Bakes ebook on an ipad screen.

Sign up to get recipes by email, and get a FREE e-cookbook!

(1-2 emails per week, no spam)

🥗 Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

Ingredients for air fryer gnocchi laid out with text overlay.
  • gnocchi – any shop-bought gnocchi will work. I haven’t tested this recipe using homemade gnocchi, but I imagine that would work well too (though you’ll probably need to boil the gnocchi first).
  • vegetables – I used mushrooms, red onion and a yellow pepper. Any similar Italian-style veggies will work well.
  • pesto – I used a creamy basil pesto, but use whatever you like the sound of.
  • fresh mozzarella cheese
  • tomato sauce – choose your favourite tomato-based pasta sauce, or use your own homemade tomato sauce! It’s worth choosing a good quality sauce for this recipe.

Becca’s Top Tip

If you don’t have an air fryer, you could cook this recipe in a regular oven instead, or in a frying pan on the stovetop.

📹 Recipe Video





🔪 Equipment

My air fryer is the Ninja Foodi MAX air fryer, which I really love, and I use it several times a week. I love how it has two separate baskets, so you can cook small or large meals easily. One of the baskets was enough to cook this air fryer gnocchi.

Here’s the one I have on Amazon:

Ninja Dual Air Fryer

Ninja Dual Air Fryer

I love the two separate zones in this air fryer!

If you’re in the UK or Canada, click the link to see a local product.

$169.99

Buy on Amazon

A bowl of air fryer gnocchi on tomato sauce.

🖨 Printable Instructions

Air fryer gnocchi and vegetables on tomato sauce.

Print

Air Fryer Gnocchi with Pesto and Mozzarella

Air fryer gnocchi, with creamy pesto sauce, gooey pockets of mozzarella, and roasted veggies. This vegetarian meal is so easy!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Diet Vegetarian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 22 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Servings 2 people
Calories 663kcal
Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp pesto (I used a creamy basil pesto)
  • 2 Tbsp water
  • 120 g mushrooms (~ 6 medium mushrooms)
  • 1 bell pepper (I used yellow)
  • 1 red onion
  • 500 g (~1 lb) gnocchi
  • 250 g (~ 9 oz) fresh mozzarella cheese, torn into pieces
  • 340 g (~ 1 cup) good quality tomato pasta sauce

Instructions

  • Add the pesto and a splash of water to a mixing bowl, and mix well to thin out the pesto a little. This will help it to coat the gnocchi nicely.
    Watered down pesto in a mixing bowl.
  • Chop the mushrooms, pepper and red onion into bitesized pieces, and add them to the bowl, along with the gnocchi. Mix well to coat everything in the sauce.
    Gnocchi and raw vegetables coated in pesto in a mixing bowl.
  • Transfer the mixture to your air fryer, and cook at 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes. Stir the gnocchi, and cook for a further 10 minutes.
    Crispy gnocchi and vegetables in an air fryer.
  • When the gnocchi and vegetables are nicely crisped up, add the torn up mozzarella cheese to the air fryer, and cook for 2 more minutes, until the cheese has melted.
    Air fryer gnocchi and vegetables topped with melted mozzarella.
  • Heat up the tomato sauce – I warmed it in a bowl in the microwave, but you could use a pan on the stovetop instead, if you prefer. Serve the crispy air fried gnocchi on top of the hot tomato sauce.
    Air fried gnocchi and vegetables served on tomato sauce.

Video





Nutrition

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 663kcal | Carbohydrates: 99.5g | Protein: 34.4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6.3g | Cholesterol: 118mg | Sodium: 1237mg | Potassium: 1265mg | Fiber: 6.2g | Sugar: 10.6g | Calcium: 202mg | Iron: 10mg

💭 Recipe FAQs

Can I prepare this recipe in advance?

You could easily mix up the gnocchi / vegetables / pesto in advance, then store the mixture in the fridge until you’re ready to air fry, just before serving.

How should I reheat any leftovers?

I generally reheat any leftovers in the microwave. If you don’t have a microwave, you could also reheat in the air fryer or in a frying pan, but bear in mind that the sauce will dry up a bit if using these methods, so you may need to mix in a little water to freshen it up.

How should I serve air fried gnocchi?

This recipe can be served on its own, without any additional side dishes. However, if you’d like to serve something on the side, a simple salad would be a great addition.

🥔 Other Gnocchi Recipes

Vegetarian Air Fryer Recipes
Air fryer gnocchi and vegetables on tomato sauce.

Air Fryer Gnocchi (with Pesto and Mozzarella)

Sheet pan gnocchi with pumpkin.

Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Pumpkin and Feta

Pizza baked gnocchi topped with peppers, mushrooms and black olives.

Cheesy Pizza Baked Gnocchi

Easy Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi

Easy Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi

The post Air Fryer Gnocchi (with Pesto and Mozzarella) appeared first on Easy Cheesy Vegetarian.

Continue Reading

Trending