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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.
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- Same stuffed pepper flavor you know and love, but without the 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!)
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
Boursin Gnocchi Casserole (Dump & Bake)
45 minutes
Marry Me Orzo (Dump & Bake!)
50 minutes
Lemon Pepper Orzo (Dump & Bake)
50 minutes
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!
