Vegan Stuffed Poblano Peppers Recipe
These vegan stuffed poblanos peppers are filled with pantry staples like refried beans and brown rice. Top it off with a drizzle of my easy, homemade cashew queso! This recipe is great for a quick and easy, make-ahead dinner!
Stuffed pepper recipes are a personal favorite of mine because they’re so easy to make and are super satisfying. This recipe for vegan stuffed poblano peppers is a person favorite of mine because it uses pantry ingredients for a filling with a mix of canned refried beans and rice. The cashew queso is also pretty pantry friendly, made with soaked cashews blended with red pepper, jalapeno and spices!
For those of you who may be new to cooking with poblano peppers, they are a chili pepper with a mild to medium heat level. To be exact, the Scoville scale, which measures hotness in peppers, ranks poblanos 1,000 and 2,000. This puts the poblanos as being hotter than a banana pepper but not as hot as a jalapeño. I personally don’t mind a little heat but if you’re sensitive to spice I’d recommend looking for larger poblanos (they tend to be less spicy) or just use regular bell peppers for this recipe! That’s the great thing about stuffed pepper recipes, you can always substitute and add ingredients for your preferences or what you have on hand.
How To Make Vegan Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Stuffed peppers are pretty much fool proof so despite it’s impressive looks, don’t feel nervous to tackle this recipe!
Step 1 // Prepare the Poblanos:
The first step in making vegan stuffed poblano peppers is to prepare the poblanos. Preheat your broiler, and when its ready, place the poblanos in the oven for 3 minutes each side until they’re charred all over. Remove the poblanos when done and place them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap to steam them for about 15 minutes. This helps to loosen the skin. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
After they’ve been steaming for 15 minutes, remove the plastic wrap and let them cool until they’re able to be handled. Next, carefully peel off most of the charred skin, cut a slit into each poblano, cut out the seeds and lightly rinse out the insides. Don’t worry if every single piece of charred skin or seed isn’t cut out of the pepper, it’ll be okay!
Step 2 // Prepare the Queso:
Next, you’ll begin preparing the vegan queso. Start by heating olive oil on medium-high heat in a medium sized skillet. Add the red onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, and a pinch of salt and sauté for about 3-5 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Then, add and sauté garlic, cumin and chili powder for one more minute. Place the sautéed veggies in a food processor or blender along with the cashew, broth, miso and salt and blend until pureed. Be sure to taste the “queso” and season with more salt if need be.
Step 3 // Stuff and Assemble:
The filling is the easiest part of the recipe! Just mix the refried beans and brown rice together in a large bowl and stuff the mixture into each poblano. You can serve the queso two ways: one is to spread the it on the bottom of the casserole dish and bake the peppers on top, or you can warm the queso in a small pot and serve it on the side, separately. Either way works great but, I prefer mine on the side so that people can add as much or as little as they’d like.
Step 4 // Bake and Serve:
The last step is to bake the peppers until they’re warmed through, about 25-30 minutes. You can always serve them plain but I recommend garnishing the stuffed poblanos with cilantro, green onions and sliced radishes for more texture and flavor.
All in all this recipe isn’t too time consuming and you can always prepare it ahead of time, then reheat throughout the week.
Vegan Stuffed Poblano Peppers Recipe Adaptions And Additions
This recipe is so adaptable, don’t feel obligated to follow the recipe every step of the way. Get creative and use what you already have on hand! Nobody likes taking extra trips to grocery store. Here are a few ways to make this recipe your own:
Swap out the refried beans for canned pinto or black beans.
Use bell peppers instead of poblano peppers if you aren’t a fan of spicy food.
Add in shredded chicken, ground beef or chorizo to the rice and bean filling (obviously not vegan then!)
Add vegan chorizo or crumbled tempeh to the rice and bean filling for a meatless protein boost.
Add your favorite salsa on top.
Use quinoa or another grain instead of rice.
Add in vegetables to your filling. Try onions, corn or sautéed chopped spinach.
Use store bought queso instead of this vegan cashew queso.
Top with shredded cheese and sour cream.
What To Serve With These Vegan Stuffed Poblano Peppers
While these vegan stuffed poblano peppers can act as a meal by themselves, you can always serve them with other sides. If you want to keep it simple, try serving the stuffed poblanos with a side salad. If you’re wanting to do more of a Mexican themed meal, try serving with grilled corn on the cob, a Mexican street corn chopped salad, or a fun and fruity drink like my cantaloupe aguas Fresca.
Other Ways To Use This Cashew Queso
You can use this cashew queso just like you would any other queso! Some of my favorite ways are:
Drizzled onto tacos or enchiladas
As a dip for veggies or tortilla chips
Served over broccoli
Inside of a burrito
On top of French fries
Try this vegan stuffed poblano pepper recipe as a fun swap for your usual Taco Tuesday! You can make additions or substitutes so this recipe will fit your taste buds and use up the ingredients you already have on hand. Save yourself a trip to the grocery store, get creative, and have fun making these vegan stuffed poblano peppers!
This recipe for vegan stuffed poblano peppers has been updated to give you the best possible content.
Vegan Stuffed Poblano Peppers Recipe
Makes 4
Ingredients
Cashew Queso
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
½ cup cashews soaked in water at least 2 hours
¾ cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon miso
¼ teaspoon salt
Stuffed Peppers
4 poblano peppers
1 14-ounce cans refried beans
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
Chopped cilantro, for garnish
Chopped green onions, for garnish
Sliced fresh radishes, for garnish
Instructions
Preheat broiler. Place chiles on a baking sheet and place under broiler for about 3 minutes per side until charred all over. Remove poblanos from the oven and reduce temperature to 350 degrees F. Place poblanos in a bowl and top with plastic wrap. This allows the peppers to steam, loosening the skin. Let sit 15 minutes.
Next, prepare the queso. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Add the red onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno along with a pinch of salt. Saute 3-5 minutes until onion is translucent. Add garlic, cumin and chili powder and saute a minute more.
Scrape the sautéed vegetables into a blender or food processor. Add cashews, vegetable broth, miso and salt and blend until pureed. Taste and season with additional salt, if desired.
After steaming 15 minutes, remove the plastic wrap from the peppers and let sit until cool enough to handle. Carefully peel off most of the charred skin. Using a paring knife, cut a slit into each poblano, cut out the seeds, and lightly rinse out the insides.
In a large bowl, mix together the refried beans and brown rice.
Carefully stuff the bean and rice mixture into each poblano. You can either spread the queso on the bottom of a casserole dish and bake the stuffed peppers on top, or warm the queso in a small pot and serve with the stuffed peppers separately. Bake the peppers 25-30 minutes until warmed through.
Serve peppers garnished with cilantro, green onions and sliced radishes.
If you like this vegan stuffed poblano peppers recipe, you might also like these other Mexican recipes:
Vegetarian Baked Sopes with Salsa Verde
Vegan Taco Salad with Tempeh Meat and Creamy Salsa Dressing Recipe
Quick and Easy Tex-Mex Migas Recipe
