Stuffed Bell Peppers with Quinoa and Black Beans

Name: Stuffed Bell Peppers with Quinoa and Black Beans
Prep time: 18 min
Cook time: 33 min
Total time: 51 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 4 whole Green Pepper; 1 tablespoon Olive Oil; 1 small finely diced Onion; 2 cloves minced Garlic; 1 cups Quinoa; 1 can Black Beans; 1 cup Sweetcorn; 1 can Diced Tomatoes; 1 teaspoon Cumin; ½ tsp Chili Powder; ½ tsp Smoked Paprika; To taste Salt; To taste Pepper; 1 1/2 cup Shredded Mexican Cheese; Chopped Cilantro

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Vegetarian recipe with Mexican flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 61 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 51 min total

4 whole Green Pepper
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 small finely diced Onion
2 cloves minced Garlic
1 cups Quinoa
1 can Black Beans
1 cup Sweetcorn
1 can Diced Tomatoes
1 teaspoon Cumin
½ tsp Chili Powder
½ tsp Smoked Paprika
To taste Salt
To taste Pepper
1 1/2 cup Shredded Mexican Cheese
Chopped Cilantro

Step-by-step instructions

Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish or a similar-sized casserole dish.
Place the bell pepper halves in the prepared baking dish, cut side up. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until slightly softened.
While the bell peppers are baking, prepare the filling. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, and cook for 3-4 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, and cook for another 1 minute, until fragrant.
Stir in the cooked quinoa, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, ground cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until heated through. Remove the skillet from heat, and stir in 1 cup of the shredded cheese, if using.
Remove the bell peppers from the oven, and carefully stuff each pepper half with the quinoa and black bean mixture. Top the stuffed peppers with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, if using.
Return the stuffed peppers to the oven, and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the peppers are tender.
Remove from the oven, and allow the stuffed peppers to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

Why this works on a weeknight

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Quinoa and Black Beans lands at about 51 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Sheet-Pan Dinners collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Stuffed Bell Peppers with Quinoa and Black Beans actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🍳 Sheet-Pan Dinners Vegetarian Mexican