Lentil & Couscous Stuffed Peppers
These healthy vegetarian stuffed peppers are full of lentils, couscous, basil and feta! They're simple to make and go great with a side salad.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
Well hello! I’m in a tizzy with good news this morning and can’t wait to share with you all. There’s excitement in air, too. Can you feel it? Summer might be winding down, but I just spied a pumpkin at the store and I’m looking forward to all the fun activities that fall brings.
Before I get ahead of myself, I thought we’d better make good use of those glorious end-of-summer bell peppers. I wanted to make stuffed bell peppers that weren’t super heavy and cheesy, so I drew some inspiration from Middle Eastern mujaddara and stuffed them with a simplified couscous version.
Basically, the peppers roast in the oven while lentils simmer away on the stove, which then gives you some free time to properly season the couscous with aromatics and tomatoes. Then you just toss the cooked lentils and couscous together with feta and basil, stuff the peppers and serve them right away.
I chose Bob’s Red Mill’s petite green lentils for this recipe because they retain their shape and look far more appetizing than the standard brown version. They’re cute, right? Like all lentils, they’re rich in fiber and iron, but this variety has more flavor than the rest.
I’ve bought lentils from bulk bins that have taken thirty to forty minutes to cook because they’ve been sitting on the shelf for so long, but these Bob’s Red Mill lentils took just over twenty minutes, which I take as a sign of their superior freshness.
These stuffed peppers are a light meal, for sure, so I’d suggest pairing them with a big green salad. This one is my go-to, and the lemony dressing would go so well with the lemony lentils. Please let me know how you like this one! In hindsight, this recipe reminds me of Jeanine’s recent stuffed peppers recipe, so check out those beauties, too!
Want to try something different? Make my Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers, which have a Mexican flair!
Lentil & Couscous Stuffed Peppers
These healthy vegetarian stuffed peppers are full of lentils, couscous, basil and feta! They’re simple to make and go great with a side salad. Recipe yields 8 stuffed peppers (which I’d say is 4 servings, since these are light!).
Ingredients
Roasted peppers
- 4 large red bell peppers, halved vertically, seeded and membranes removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, or more as needed
- Salt and pepper
Lentils
- ½ cup French green lentils, sorted through for debris and rinsed
- 1 ¼ cups vegetable broth or water
- 1 bay leaf
Couscous
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped (to yield 1 cup chopped onion)
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- ½ cup whole wheat couscous
- ½ cup vegetable broth or water
Everything else
- ½ cup crumbled feta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil, plus extra for garnishing
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the prepared peppers on the sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Use your hands to rub the oil all over both sides of the peppers, then arrange them with the cut side up and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the peppers are tender and a little blistered around the edges.
- Meanwhile, combine the lentils, broth or water and bay leaf in a small pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the lentils are tender, about 23 to 25 minutes. (Add another splash of water if necessary to prevent the lentils from scorching.) Drain off the excess water and return the lentils to the pot. Discard the bay leaf.
- While the lentils cook, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a heavy-bottomed, medium pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and a sprinkle of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened and are turning golden on the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and pour in the couscous and ½ cup broth or water. Cover and set aside for 5 minutes, then remove the lid and fluff the mixture with a fork.
- In a medium serving bowl, combine the cooked lentils and couscous. Add the crumbled feta, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, chopped basil, ¼ teaspoon salt and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine and season to taste with additional salt, pepper and lemon juice, if necessary.
- Spoon a generous amount of filling into each roasted pepper halve and sprinkle with a little more chopped basil. Serve these with a fork and a knife, for slicing!
Notes
Make it dairy free/vegan: Omit the feta. You might try adding some thinly sliced Kalamata olives to make up for the feta’s salty punch.
Make it gluten free: Substitute quinoa for the couscous (add the water and quinoa at the same time, stir, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, then remove from heat and let it steam for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork and carry on.)
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This post was created in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill and I received compensation for my participation. Opinions are my own, always. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who support C+K!
I love stuffed peppers and lentils! What a great combo. I get my lentils from the bulk bins too, they take forever to cook. I will have to try Bob Red Mill’s lentils to see the difference. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Emily! Hope Bob’s lentils do the trick for you!
These peppers look divine and all, but I really want to know the good news! Share!
Soon!!! xoxo
I love cous cous, lentils and peppers (especially red ones) but I have never thought about bringing all these three ingredients together. I’ll definitely run some errands later on today and purchase all the ingredients you’ve mentioned in the recipe and prepare it for super. I hope the finished dish looks as nice as yours!
Thanks, Mariana! I hope they turn out great for you. Please let me know!
My mom used to make stuffed peppers with sausage and crunchy rice and I never liked them. Never never never. But these are filled with all sorts of goodies that I love- lentils! Cous cous! Tomatoes! I might have to give stuffed peppers another shot.
No crunchy rice here! Hope you will give these a try, Allyson!
You have us all on pins and needles waiting to hear your good news – hope we don’t have to wait too long! In the meantime, we can enjoy these beautiful stuffed peppers. YUM!
These look so delicious and colorful. How about same recipe with mini-peppers as an app? I love Bob’s Red Mill products and look forward to trying the lentils.
Oooh, that is a wonderful idea!
These peppers look so vibrant and tasty! you have to love the simplicity of high-quality grains and legumes. So great. And what is your good news? I’m dying to know (when you’re ready, of course). :)
These sound so satisfying! And are really pretty looking too. Love this!
Can’t wait to hear the good news! But I’ll be feasting on these beauties in the meantime
I love stuffed peppers and these sound so divine. I definitely will be making these …and soon :-). Hope you and Cookie have a great weekend :-)
The stuffing looks delicious! I would like to try this version of stuffed peppers :)
yummy!! this combination :D
Beautiful! These stuffed peppers look delish! Can’t wait to hear the good news!
I’ve been mega into stuffed peppers lately, and given that mujaddara is pretty much a favorite meal of mine, I know I would adore these!
I’ll have to make these! x
Made these for lunch today. Delicious! :)
Yay, thanks Deepthi!
I just made these for dinner on a cold, wet, rainy British evening and they brought a little ray of Mediterranean sunshine! Yummy :-)
Glad to hear that! Thank you, Jane!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I love that all your recipes are healthy but also very tasty! I thought about substituting with quinoa but couscous was a nice change. Thanks Kate!
Thank you very much, Cecilia!
I often read your blog and I’ve never commented but just wanted to say, I made these tonight for dinner and they were delicious! Substituted quinoa for the lentils since it’s what I had on hand. My boyfriend loved it too. Can’t wait for the book! Thanks Kate
Thanks, Emma! So glad you enjoyed them!
Kate, your recipes are reliably delicious and healthy! I made these for dinner the other night and they were so good. I don’t always love stuffed peppers, but roasting the peppers separately and then filling them made all the difference. I subbed quinoa for couscous and did want to say there was a little extra liquid (probably from the tomato) so for people using quinoa, watch out for that. We used the extra basil to make your basil gimlets as a way to enjoy the last fresh basil we’ll have for a while!
Thanks, Lizzie! Love that you paired these with my basil gimlets. Thank you for the quinoa tip!
Delicious! Just like every other recipe of yours I’ve made. I’m never nervous to try a new one because they are always great! I added some chopped fresh spinach and even my non-vegetarian husband loves them! Thanks!
That is so nice to hear. Thank you, Nicole!
We’ve had these twice in two weeks. They are delicious! My favorite part is that they are great at room temperature for lunch the next day. My family lives your recipes-every recipe I have made from your site has been a hit. Can’t wait for your cookbook! I will definitely be on the pre-order list!!
Thank you so much, Marianne! Really happy to hear that you’re all enjoying my recipes. Thank you for your support, it means a lot!
I found you because I Googled red peppers and couscous. It’s what I had on hand and I needed something new and different for dinner. Your recipe exceeded my expectations.
The only change I made was canned tomatoes because I didn’t have a fresh one. They are delish! Excited to try more. Thanks!
Made this dish a few weeks ago, substituted the couscous for quinoa (I had the latter but not the former), looove it! Got two thumbs up from my teenagers as well! Am menu planning and will be doing it again next week. Thank you Kate!!
Is it sad to say I’m reading up on this recipe during work hours and just can’t wait to try this recipe once I get home tonight? I think not! :) As always — looking forward to my dinner plate knowing a Cookie&Kate recipe is on the menu.
This was delicious! I’ve never cooked with Mediterranean flavors but we’re trying to do a cupboard fast and only use things we have around, and we have so much couscous! I knew you’d have something great and wow this was wonderful. We added extra red pepper flakes because we love spice otherwise we did everything the way you did. Such a homerun – my husband and I loved this so much.
Just made this for dinner – great recipe! It’s a keeper1
I made these for Easter 2016 and my family loved them, even the die hard carnivores. I was making a large dinner so I used the Trader Joe’s prepared lentils to make the dish a bit faster. I also substituted the Feta for olives as recommended for us vegans to enjoy. I am definitely adding this recipe to have again.
So delicious! I made these for dinner tonight & they were excellent, adding these to our dinner rotation for sure! I didn’t add the red pepper flakes as I was also feeding my 2 young littles but we definitely didn’t miss it.
Hi Kate! I just stumbled upon this recipe after getting back from Athens and having the most delicious stuffed peppers of my life. I want to try your recipe, but am just a single person, so I was wondering if you have any insight as to if these will freeze/keep well? Like could I make 2 batches and have them for a week?
Hey Lilly, I am in the same boat! Generally speaking, prepared food will only keep well for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator. If you don’t mind eating a stuffed pepper a day, you’d finish them in four days. I bet they would freeze well!
Just made this with my husband and it turned out great. We decided to try something new, meat free, and this was definitely the dish to convince us to try even more. Was easy to follow and if we could get it right on the first try, anyone can
Sooooooo good. I melted a little Monterey Jack cheese on top of mine, because I am defenseless in the face of cheese. Surprisingly filling!
Hey Kate :)
I wanted to make this recipe but only have Quinoa.. Would it still work with quinoa in place of couscous ? And if so would I need to adjust cooking times ?
Thanks
Absolutely LOVED this recipe! Definitely one of my new favourite meat-free dishes.
Yum! Thanks Kate. The stuffing is good on its own, too.
Thank you!
These peppers are awesome and are now a part of our regular week night meal rotation! It is so hard to make the peppers flavorful when baking stuffed peppers. Roasting the pepper halves ahead of time is the perfect solution. Thanks for a great recipe!
Woohoo! Thanks, Molly. I agree—roasting them first is the way to go!
They turned out amazing! I’m always looking for new, healthy recipes to try out, and this one did not disappoint! I added kalmata olives with the feta just because I love salty stuff. I was really impressed with how all of the flavors mixed together into a savory dish. I’m going to definitely do this one again in the future!
Awesome! Thanks, Sarah! I’ve been craving all the salty stuff lately, so I’d probably add olives next time, too. :)
I loved these peppers! I didn’t have all of the ingredients, like basil and feta, but they turned out great. I made a batch of the lentils/couscous at the beginning of the week and cooked the peppers before I ate. I ended up frying an egg to put on top of the pepper with a little red wine vinegar. It was great!
Once again, a delicious dish! I actually added more couscous to make it more filling. And the lentils came out perfect! Call me crazy, but when I drained the lentils, something told me to keep the juice, and it made a great cozy juice snack while I waited for the peppers. LOL! Yummy, Kate!
I hope green peppers are okay to use because I have an abundance of them.
Yes, they should be fine! I just generally prefer the flavor of red/orange/yellow peppers.
I made this tonight (changed it up a bit to be vegan) // superb. First time I’ve had and made stuffed peppers. Delicious. Served with an Arugula Salad with Hemp Seed Oil and Fire Cider and Delicata Squash. Thank you Cookie & Kate !
Love this! Second time I’ve made it. Quick and easy and awesome.
I’ve been a silent but devoted C&K fan until I made these peppers, but now I’m coming out from lurking. My SO had one bite, said, ‘This tastes like pizza!’ and abandoned his fork and knife in favor of shoveling the rest of the pepper in his mouth.
I broiled the peppers a bit after the initial roasting to get them even more blistered and deepen the flavor and it worked perfectly, and subbed red quinoa for the couscous. I’m having the leftovers for lunch right now, absolutely delicious. Definitely going into the rotation!
I’m so glad this was such a hit! Thanks, Eve. This made me smile.
Truly delicious. I decided to simmer the lentils before starting anything else, and glad I did.. I had a hard time finishing the combo of couscous, feta etc meanwhile the peppers were in oven. Both me and my husband loved them very much!!
Yes, the timing of everything gets a bit tricky with more components. I’m glad you loved it, though!
Love this Kate! I made this last night for dinner, and it was a hit! I just love the way the red peppers compliment the tomatoes in the couscous – for that reason, I left my tomato in chunks rather than dice. The lemon and basil really wrap this together like a warm blanket. :)
Thanks for the kind comment, Stephie! I love that little splash of lemon, too.
These were great! I had to sub yellow split peas since I didn’t have green lentils on hand but I rather liked the “meatiness” of themm also used tri color couscous.
Yum! Sounds delicious, Megan.
My carnivorous better half enjoyed this dish a lot and neither of us missed the meat. Will definitely make this again. :-)
Great! Thank you, Heather for sharing and for your review.
I love your website. I come back to it again and again for dinner recipes. I made this dish last night. It was delicious and is one I will make again. However, next time I will use cous cous. Last night I accidentally used quinoa and didn’t realize it until I went to fluff it with a fork. It worked, but I had to cook it for about 12 minutes longer. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes.
Thank you, Janet! I love to hear that. Quinoa works well here too!
This is one of my favorite recipes and I love love love how quick and easy it is to put together! Thanks so much for posting it!
You’re so welcome, Jenn! I love that this is a favorite of yours. I need to make this again soon, myself.
These turned out so well for me!! Thanks for a recipe that makes for great leftovers, Kate!
Thank you, Varshini!