Greek Stuffed Peppers (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.
Servings: 8 stuffed peppers
Calories: 465kcal
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
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.
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.
Nutrition
Calories: 465kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 21g | Sodium: 416mg | Potassium: 724mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1140IU | Vitamin C: 28mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 3mg