Italian Vegan Stuffed Peppers with a hearty homemade filling of meaty, soy curls and all the classic spices of the most delicious Italian sausage. Fawning with flavor due to the fennel, paprika, red wine, parsley, and thyme, these bell peppers are everything.
Soak the soy curls in hot water for 20 minutes until rehydrated. Drain and use your hands to wring out any excess water. Transfer to a food processor or use a sharp knife to chop them until they have the texture of ground meat. Set aside.
Preheat a heavy bottom pot over medium low heat and saute the onion in a light drizzle of olive oil until translucent (use a splash of water for WFPB + Plantricious compliance).
Stir in the red pepper flakes and fennel seeds and toast for a couple of minutes until you can smell the fennel. Add the garlic and cook just until the garlic is fragrant taking care not to burn it.
Add the soy curls and stir in the red wine. Bring to a simmer and cook until the wine has been absorbed.
Add in the crushed San Marzano tomatoes, thyme, oregano, paprika, onion and garlic powder. Bring to a simmer and cook covered on medium low heat for 45 minutes until the filling is nice and thick. Stir often.
Season the sauce to your taste with sea salt and black pepper. Discard the thyme sprigs.
Stuff the Peppers
Cut the bell peppers in half through the core. Discard the seeds and the core.
Use a spoon and fill each bell pepper half with the Italian sausage filling.
Transfer any leftover filling to a 9x13 inch baking dish together with 1/4 cup veggie stock or water. Mix to combine. Place the stuffed peppers on top and cover with an oven safe lid or aluminum foil.
Preheat your oven to 375”F and bake the stuffed peppers for 45 minutes. Remove the lid/ foil and cook another 15 minutes until the peppers are soft to your liking.
Serve hot with a drizzle of cashew cream, vegan sour cream, fresh herbs and some crusty bread.
Notes
Note worthy: The filling is enough to stuff 4 regular size bell peppers and still have a little leftover to spread in the bottom of the pan.
How Long To Bake Stuffed Peppers? I bake mine, covered, for 45 minutes at 375 degrees, then uncover them and cook for another 15 minutes. Keep in mind that the filling is already cooked so as soon as thebell peppers are soft enough for your liking you can take them out.
Can I add rice or lentils to the filling? You can, just make sure they are already cooked and don’t overdo it. I like it better with just the soy curl filling in this particular style and maybe a handful of cooked farro, just not too much.
Can I use cherry or banana peppers instead of bell peppers? Any pepper works here really. The bell peppers are faster and easier to work with, in my opinion.
Storage - Place the cooked peppers in a sealed container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. To store in the freezer, place in an airtight container for up to 2 months.