Vegetarian Greek Stuffed Peppers Recipe (Yemista)
This vegetarian Greek stuffed peppers recipe, also known as yemista, is a delicious summery recipe loaded with fresh vegetables, rice, and herbs and spices. An authentic plant-based Greek recipe that is perfect for summer entertaining.
These stuffed peppers are light, herby, and slow baked with delicious summer vegetables. See our step-by-step photos in the post below, and make this recipe along with us today!
Want more authentic vegetarian Greek recipes? Try our orzo avgolemono soup, baked Greek giant beans recipe, and our favorite spanikopita spinach pie.
We absolutely love these stuffed peppers, and are so grateful to our good friend George for passing along his family’s recipe for yemista. These Greek stuffed peppers are fantastic and have delicious summer vegetables in every bite.
Start by hollowing out your peppers, mixing up a delicious rice and herb filling, and baking them with potatoes until soft and tender. This is slow, delicious, better-for-you comfort food! An absolute must if you are entertaining guests and want to make a plant-based dish that is as delicious as it is impressive!
Notes from our Kitchen
- These Greek stuffed peppers are light, herby, flavorful, and hearty!
- They are vegan, vegetarian, and totally plant-based.
- A great way to highlight summer produce: tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, eggplant, and loads of fresh herbs.
- A great summer entertaining vegan entree!
- Cooks of any skill level can make these stuffed peppers – just see our step-by-step photos below!
Ingredients You’ll Need
See our recipe card below for the full ingredient amounts and instructions.
The star of this recipe is bell peppers! We used both red and green which have a beautiful color contrast. We bake the stuffed peppers in a pan with large chunks of Russet potatoes.
The filling for the peppers has white rice, zucchini, eggplant, red onion, green onion, and garlic for the vegetables. It also has parsley, mint, pine nuts, and dill which give it a delicious flavor!
We drizzle olive oil over the finished peppers, and cover the peppers and potatoes with a delicious tomato puree sauce with salt, pepper, and some Italian seasonings.
Additions and Substitutions
If you want to make these with just one color pepper, feel free to stick to just green or all red peppers. Or you can use yellow or orange peppers too for even more color.
While the pine nuts add a wonderful texture to the filling, you can omit them for a nut-free version if desired.
You can try making this with brown rice as well! If you do, make sure to cook the brown rice before stuffing the peppers, as it takes much longer to cook than white rice.
How To Make This Recipe
Step 1: Slice the tops off the bell peppers (save the tops for later) and scoop out all the seeds – set the peppers aside.
Step 2: In a large pan, heat half of the olive oil (1/2 cup) over medium heat. Add the red onions, green onions, garlic, shredded eggplant, and zucchini. Sauté for about 6-7 minutes until soft.
Step 3: Stir in the long-grain rice, roasted pine nuts, mint, dill, half the parsley, and salt and pepper.
Step 4: Pour in half of the tomato puree. Let this mixture cook for about 10 minutes until the rice has soaked up most of the liquid. If it looks too dry, add a splash of water. The rice will finish cooking in the oven.
Step 5: In a separate pan, whisk together the remaining tomato puree, the rest of the olive oil, the other half of the chopped parsley, Italian seasoning, and some salt and pepper to make your pan sauce.
Step 6: Toss the quartered potatoes in this sauce until they are fully coated. Pour any leftover sauce from the potatoes into the bottom of a baking dish.
Step 7: Fill each pepper about three-quarters full with the rice mixture. Pop the pepper tops back on and place the stuffed peppers in the baking dish. Fill in the empty spaces in the dish with the coated potatoes. Drizzle some extra olive oil over everything.
Step 8: Cover the entire dish with a sheet of wet parchment paper, then a layer of aluminum foil. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove the foil and parchment paper and bake for another 20 minutes. The dish is done when the peppers are tender and have a nice, slightly blistered look.
Recipe FAQs
These delicious Greek stuffed peppers are made with a wonderful rice stuffing mixture with white rice, shredded zucchini, grated eggplant, onions, and delicious fresh herbs and spices! These stuffed peppers are also baked with potatoes in a fresh tomato pan sauce.
Yes, the filling is sautéed so the vegetables become soft in a pan before being added to the peppers. This helps the peppers from getting soggy when cooked.
Store any leftover peppers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave, oven, or airfryer before enjoying.
Expert Tips
- Make sure you bake the peppers until soft and the rice filling until it’s fully cooked through. If the peppers aren’t done enough, you can bake them for an additional 15 minutes.
- Don’t over-crowd your pan – if the potatoes and peppers won’t all fit in the same pan, you can bake the potatoes separately in a baking dish.
More Summer Bell Pepper Recipes
- Marinated Mozzarella Pasta Salad
- White Bean and Olive Salad Recipe
- Thai Peanut Chickpea Lettuce Wraps
- Vegan Pinwheels Recipe with Avocado & Chickpeas
- Vegetarian Cajun Pasta Recipe
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One Ingredient, Five Ways has tasty no-waste recipes for cooks of all skill levels
Greek Stuffed Peppers (Yemista)
Equipment
- Large Pan
- 13 x 9 inch baking dish
Ingredients
- 8 medium to large bell peppers green and red, tops sliced off and seeds removed
- 2 small Italian eggplants peeled and shredded
- 1 medium zucchini shredded
- 2 medium red onions finely chopped
- 4 green onions sliced
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 24 ounces tomato sauce or 3 cups fresh tomato puree, divided
- ½ cup roasted pine nuts
- 1 bunch fresh parsley chopped, divided
- 1 bunch fresh mint chopped
- ½ bunch fresh dill chopped
- 1 cup olive oil divided, plus extra for drizzling
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2-3 russet potatoes quartered
Instructions
- Slice the tops off the bell peppers and scoop out all the seeds – set the peppers aside.
- In a large pan, heat half of the olive oil (1/2 cup) over medium heat. Add the red onions, green onions, garlic, shredded eggplant, and zucchini. Sauté for about 6-7 minutes until soft.
- Stir in the long-grain rice, roasted pine nuts, mint, dill, half the parsley, and salt and pepper.
- Pour in half of the tomato puree. Let this mixture cook for about 10 minutes until the rice has soaked up most of the liquid. If it looks too dry, add a splash of water. The rice will finish cooking in the oven.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining tomato puree, the rest of the olive oil, the other half of the chopped parsley, Italian seasoning, and some salt and pepper to make your pan sauce.
- Toss the quartered potatoes in this sauce until they are fully coated. Pour any leftover sauce from the potatoes into the bottom of a baking dish.
- Fill each pepper about three-quarters full with the rice mixture. Pop the pepper tops back on and place the stuffed peppers in the baking dish. Fill in the empty spaces in the dish with the coated potatoes. Drizzle some extra olive oil over everything.
- Cover the entire dish with a sheet of wet parchment paper, then a layer of aluminum foil. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove the foil and parchment paper and bake for another 20 minutes. The dish is done when the peppers are tender and have a nice, slightly blistered look.
Notes
- Make sure you bake the peppers until soft and the rice filling until it’s fully cooked through. If the peppers aren’t done enough, you can bake them for an additional 15 minutes.
- Don’t over-crowd your pan – if the potatoes and peppers won’t all fit in the same pan, you can bake the potatoes separately in a baking dish.
Nutrition
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