These cheesy rice stuffed peppers are colorful, flavorful, and surprisingly easy to make. Sweet red bell peppers are filled with a Mediterranean-inspired mixture of rice, feta cheese, olives, basil, and lemon zest before being baked until tender and lightly golden.
Like my Egyptian fried boiled egg salad, this one's hearty enough to serve as a vegetarian main dish but also works beautifully as a side dish alongside grilled meats, roasted chicken, or even seafood.
Stuffed peppers are one of my favorite ways to transform simple ingredients into something that feels a little special. The combination of salty feta, briny olives (which I've loved when I made my marinated olives and feta), fresh basil, and bright lemon zest gives these peppers so much flavor, while the roasted tomatoes and garlic create a delicious sauce-like base inside each pepper.
This recipe is also a great way to use up leftover cooked rice (this, and my chicken Fajita rice bowl) and can easily be prepared ahead of time for busy weeknights.
Quick Look: Cheesy Rice Stuffed Peppers
- 🔪 Prep time: 10 mins.
- ⏲️ Cook time: 25 mins.
- 👪 Servings: 4.
- 📋 Main ingredients: Rice, feta cheese, red bell peppers, olives, basil, cherry tomatoes.
- ♨️ Cooking method: Prepare filling → stuff peppers → bake until tender.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy.
- 🥣 Serving ideas: Serve as a vegetarian main course, side dish, or part of a Mediterranean-inspired meal along with Sumac onion salad.
Jump to:
- Quick Look: Cheesy Rice Stuffed Peppers
- What's So Great About the Recipe?
- Recipe Ingredients
- Substitutions & Variations
- How to Make Cheesy Rice Stuffed Peppers
- 💭Top Tip
- Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- How to Serve Cheesy Rice Stuffed Peppers
- Troubleshooting and FAQs
- More Easy Vegetarian Side Dish Recipes
- Cheesy Rice Stuffed Peppers
What's So Great About the Recipe?
- It's packed with flavor. Feta, olives, garlic, basil, and lemon zest come together to create a delicious Mediterranean-inspired filling.
- It is great for meal prep- these peppers reheat beautifully and can be made ahead of time too.
- You'll need just a few simple ingredients to create an incredibly satisfying meatless meal option- like my favorite Fatoosh salad.
Recipe Ingredients
Cooked rice: Forms the base of the filling and makes the peppers hearty and satisfying.
Feta cheese: For that creaminess and a salty, tangy flavor.
Green olives: For a delicious briny contrast to the sweet peppers. Sometimes, I like to use my molasses marinated olives when I have them at hand.
Red bell peppers: Sweet, tender, and perfect for stuffing.
Cherry tomatoes: To bring some moisture and savory juiciness to the dish.
Garlic: For that aroma and depth. I like to use my roasted garlic sometimes.
Herbs: I used a mix of fresh basil and some dried oregano to get that aroma and pop of color to the dish.
Olive oil: Helps the peppers soften while baking.
Red pepper flakes: Add a subtle kick of heat. You can skip these if you don't want it to be spicy.
Lemon zest: To brighten up the filling.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- Feel free to use brown rice, jasmine rice, or quinoa instead of plain white rice. Sometimes, I like to use my lemon dill rice here.
- Swap the feta for goat cheese or any salty, creamy cheese if you want to.
- Add chopped spinach to the filling for nutrition. Spinach and feta cheese are an unbeatable combo, which I realized when I made spinach and feta crisps recently.
- Stir in pine nuts for additional texture and flavor. I like to roughly chop up some of my Sumac roasted nuts and sprinkle them in.
How to Make Cheesy Rice Stuffed Peppers
Step 1: In a large bowl, combine the cooked rice, sliced green olives, chopped basil, lemon zest.
Step 2: Next, add crumbled feta cheese and mix until everything is evenly combined.
Step 3: Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and core.
Step 4: Drizzle the inside of each pepper with olive oil and season with oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt. Add the cherry tomatoes and minced garlic to each pepper half.
Step 5: Fill each pepper with the rice and feta mixture. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the peppers are tender and the feta begins to turn lightly golden.
💭Top Tip
Don't overfill the peppers too tightly. Keeping the filling slightly loose allows heat to circulate through the rice mixture and helps everything cook evenly.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- Use cooked rice that has cooled slightly before mixing the filling. This will ensure the rice is fluffy and has not clumped together.
- Choose peppers that are similar in size so they cook evenly. For that bit of char on the outside, you can brush some olive oil on them.
- Don't skip the lemon zest—it adds a lot of freshness to the filling. You can also use lemon infused olive oil to grease the peppers if you want some more lemony flavor.
- If your peppers are particularly large, they may need a few extra minutes in the oven. For softer peppers, cover the baking dish with foil for the first 15 minutes of baking.
- Spoon some basil Gremolata or preserved lemon Gremolata over the peppers before serving to lend them some extra flavor.
How to Serve Cheesy Rice Stuffed Peppers
These stuffed peppers are hearty enough to serve on their own for a light vegetarian dinner.They also pair wonderfully with Sumac chicken, roasted lamb, salmon, or lemon butter garlic shrimp.
For a Mediterranean-inspired meal, serve them alongside a simple beet cucumber salad, some lemon beet hummus, pita bread, and crispy Turkish cheese rolls.
Troubleshooting and FAQs
Store leftover stuffed peppers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Yes. You can assemble the peppers several hours in advance and refrigerate them until ready to bake.
The peppers should be tender when pierced with a fork and the feta should be lightly golden around the edges.
More Easy Vegetarian Side Dish Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried these cheesy rice stuffed peppers or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Cheesy Rice Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 2 red bell peppers
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup green olives
- ¾ cup feta cheese
- 2-3 garlic
- 1 tablespoon basil
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 lemon zested
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked rice, sliced green olives, chopped basil, lemon zest.
- Next, add crumbled feta cheese and mix until everything is evenly combined.
- Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and core.
- Drizzle the inside of each pepper with olive oil and season with oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt.
- Add the cherry tomatoes and minced garlic to each pepper half.
- Fill each pepper with the rice and feta mixture. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the peppers are tender and the feta begins to turn lightly golden.
Notes
- Use cooked rice that has cooled slightly before mixing the filling. This will ensure the rice is fluffy and has not clumped together.
- Choose peppers that are similar in size so they cook evenly. For that bit of char on the outside, you can brush some olive oil on them.
- Don't skip the lemon zest—it adds a lot of freshness to the filling. You can also use lemon infused olive oil to grease the peppers if you want some more lemony flavor.
- If your peppers are particularly large, they may need a few extra minutes in the oven. For softer peppers, cover the baking dish with foil for the first 15 minutes of baking.
