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My vegetarian stuffed pepper casserole is everything you love about classic stuffed peppers, baked into one cozy, scoopable dish. It’s saucy and savory, with tender rice, sweet bell peppers, and just enough spice, all finished with a melty pepper jack topping.
save this recipe!Like my vegetarian taco casserole, this dump and bake meal packs in Tex-Mex flavors with bell peppers, pepper jack cheese, and rice!
The newest member of your dinner rotation
- Same stuffed pepper flavor you know and love, but without the elaborate prep 🎉
- A dump-and-bake with minimal hands-on time (as a new mom, this is key!)
- Feeds a crowd (I brought this to a big family dinner and even the meat-eaters devoured it!)
Reader rating
The Testing
Rice Hydration: We’ve made a lot of vegetarian rice bakes at this point, so we know just how finicky rice can be when baked. For this one, we tested adding cheese early, but that slowed the rice cooking and created an uneven texture. Letting the rice cook almost fully before adding cheese kept the grains tender but intact.
Protein Prep: Speaking from experience here, but most dump-style casseroles are missing that layer of flavor from a stove-top recipe. The trick for this healthy casserole with spinach and rice is to brown the plant-based beef first, then add it to the baking dish.
Key Ingredients
This is just an overview – jump to the recipe card for measurements and printable instructions!
- Plant-Based Ground Beef: Impossible Ground Beef and Beyond Beef are my personal favorites because they brown like meat. Other plant-based options like Abbot’s and Gardein are more veggie-forward but work too.
- Long Grain White Rice: We tested many rice varieties, and this one produced the most consistent results. You can use brown rice, but I recommend a quick-cook brown rice since regular brown rice will take longer to bake and need more moisture.
- Bell Peppers: Bring sweetness and that classic stuffed pepper flavor without needing to be pre-roasted. Want more traditional plant-based stuffed peppers? Try my ricotta-stuffed peppers.
- Frozen Spinach: Just be sure to squeeze out every last drop of moisture after thawing it to prevent a soggy stuffed bell pepper bake.
- Marinara Sauce: The base to help our rice cook and become flavor-packed in this bell pepper rice bake. Plus, it’s just one ingredient for max flavor, which is perfect for an easy weeknight vegetarian casserole.
- Pepper Jack Cheese: Melts like a dream (especially if you grate it yourself) and adds a fun spicy hit!
No Pre-cooking Required
Just like in my chickpea bacon ranch casserole, this recipe doesn’t require precooking the rice. Just make sure your foil on top is very tight to keep all that moisture in. I do recommend rinsing your rice to prevent a gummy texture.
Vegan beef alternatives
If you can’t find this in the stores, you can also use vegetables in your meatless stuffed pepper dish. Finely chopped mushrooms that have been sauteed a bit to release the moisture work well mixed in. Walnuts that have been chopped very small can just be tossed in. You can also add in beans like white beans or chickpeas for more fiber while keeping the protein high.
troubleshooting a dry or soggy casserole
Dump and bake rice recipes are so easy and perfect for a weeknight vegetarian dinner, and troubleshooting them is pretty easy!
- If the rice is dry: This will happen if the foil is not tightly on the baking dish, so the steam and moisture that should be cooking the rice are escaping. You can add more sauce or vegetable broth to cover the rice and continue to cook covered until the rice is cooked through.
- If the casserole is soggy: If there is still liquid when you first take off the cover, that’s normal! As long as the rice is cooked through, then just leave it in the oven for another 5 minutes or so, uncovered, so the excess moisture can evaporate. The dish will also thicken as it cools a bit.
more dump & bake Meals
Vegetarian Unstuffed Pepper Casserole (Dump & Bake)
Ingredients
- 1 12-oz package chopped frozen spinach, 340 g
- 1 lb plant-based ground beef, we used Impossible brand, 453 g
- 1 24-oz jar marinara sauce, 680 g
- 1 cup long grain white rice, 185 g
- 2 bell peppers, diced, any color
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp each cumin and smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp each salt and pepper
- 2 cups vegetable broth, 475 mL
- 8 oz pepper jack cheese, grated from block, 226 g
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Thaw 1 12-oz package chopped frozen spinach in short bursts in the microwave, then squeeze out excess water.
- Cook "Beef": In a large saute pan on the stove with a splash of oil, crumble and cook 1 lb plant-based ground beef until browned.
- Dump: To a 9×13 inch casserole dish, dump in thawed spinach, cooked "beef", 1 24-oz jar marinara sauce, 1 cup long grain white rice, 2 bell peppers (diced), 4 cloves garlic (minced), 1 tsp each cumin and smoked paprika, ¼ tsp each salt and pepper, and 2 cups vegetable broth.
- Bake: Stir to combine then cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until rice is al dente (mostly tender but still has a little firmness in the middle when you bite a piece).Check on the casserole at around the 30 minute mark. If rice appears to be softening and there’s excess liquid, uncover for the remaining bake. If rice is still hard, keep covered.
- Cheese: Once rice is al dente (almost cooked), grate 8 oz pepper jack cheese and sprinkle it over the dish.Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 15 more minutes, or until rice is tender and cheese is all melted.To brown the top, optionally remove foil and turn oven to "broil". Watch closely and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until cheese is browned in spots.
- Serve warm with good crusty bread!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
This recipe looks ssooo delicious. I am vegan but some of my friends are not. I would like to prepare this dish for both my vegan and non vegan friends. For my non-vegan friends, can I use 97/3 lean ground turkey in this recipe? If so, do I brown the ground turkey first then put it in with the other ingredients? Thank you.
I haven’t tested this one with ground meat, so I really can’t say for sure, but that’s probably your best bet. I would love to hear how it goes. Happy eating!
My whole family loved this recipe, and it was so quick and easy! I used fresh spinach and only needed about 3oz out of a 5oz package. Delicious!
Thank you for sharing this recipe
So pumped you loved it Mapache, thanks for leaving your review!
Cant get my review to post. Trying again. We loved this dish! I used fresh spinach and only needed about 3oz from a 5oz package. Delicious! My family loved this!
Tasty and simple! Especially using pre-chopped papers and pre-shredded cheese. Made enough for 6-8 servings. I did season to my personal taste and added a touch more smoked paprika and garlic. I also added about half a can of leftover beans I had. I think a can of green chiles would be perfect in this for some subtle spice! Would also be good with feta instead of pepperjack. Love the adaptability!
Appreciate you taking the time to leave a review, thanks Niamh!
So good and easy. This will go into rotation for us. I used fresh spinach and brown rice added 1/2 an onion and omitted the cheese. Delicious! I really enjoy your recipes.
So glad it hit the spot, thanks for sharing Jill!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was so easy, filling, and delicious! The only change I made was swapping the marinara for a 16oz jar of medium salsa. Turned out perfect!
Excited to eat the leftovers tomorrow. The plant beef did really well here and hit the nostalgia mark for stuffed peppers. In the future I might experiment and swap the plant crumbles for lentils or black/kidney beans.
Thanks so much!
You’re the best, thanks for the feedback Elizabeth!
This is delicious!!! Made exactly as written and wouldnt change a thing!
So happy you loved it, happy eating Jill!
Would replacing rice for quinoa work for this recipe?
Yes, it should! Cook time will likely be less though, and you may need less liquid!
I have made this twice now, baking the dish for 30 minutes only to find it barely warm, nevermind half cooked. I have had to cook it on the stove top then add the cheese and cook that under the grill. I covered it in foil and preheated the oven. What am I doing wrong? It is delicious so I want to make it.
Hi Susan! It sounds like your oven may not be heating all the way. We tested this a few times and never had an issue with it being not hot at the 30-minute mark. I always recommend getting an analog oven thermometer and hanging it on the racks just to double-check that the sensors are correct (even when we got a new oven, we were surprised that the temperature would lower so much just by opening the door!)
Thanks Sarah. It’s a brand new oven that is very good. Im not sure..I’ll try again. Either way, it’s made it into our regular meal rotation, it’s just more faff if I have to cook it on the stove.