These stuffed peppers were inspired by the abundance of bell peppers in our garden and frozen tilapia filets in the freezer. I decided to take a greek twist on the classic stuffed bell peppers.
Our recipe has red onion, artichoke hearts, grape tomatoes and zucchini. Seasoned with greek flavors like lemon and parsley.
The whole greek themed is tied together with a fresh baked white fish and sautéed lemon and garlicky spinach.
If you don't eat fish or want to make the peppers the whole meal, I recommend browning ground turkey before the veggies and adding to the filling. This may also require an extra pepper or two as there will be more filling!
This dish is healthy refreshing and is an easy make ahead meal whether you prep the whole thing to bake or reheat or make the filling in advance and stuff when ready to eat!
Greek Stuffed Peppers with Baked Tilapia and Spinach
6 Servings | Cook time: 35 minutes
Notes: Feel free to omit the fish and spinach and instead add 1.5-2 lb of ground turkey to brown in the sauté pan. For this we recommend an additional 2 bell peppers to accommodate the additional filling.
Ingredients:
For peppers:
6 large or 8 small bell peppers, halved
3 cups cooked jasmine rice (made from 1 cup dry)
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 red onion (~100g)
1 large zucchini, diced (~300g)
2 cloves garlic, minced, divided
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained with 2 tbsp juices reserved
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
For fish/spinach:
2 lb tilapia filets, fresh or frozen and defrosted
1 tsp olive oil
Additional oregano, salt and pepper
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Optional: pitted olives, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 10oz bag spinach
For topping:
6 oz feta cheese (I use TJ’s fat free)
Fresh herbs and lemon wedges for servings
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Cook rice according to box instructions.
Slice and remove seeds from bell peppers, reserving as much of the flesh as possible. Place peppers open side up in a casserole dish, spray with nonstick spray and season with salt and pepper. Place in oven for 5-7 minutes.
In a sauté pan add 1 tsp olive oil along with red onion, 2 cloves garlic and zucchini to cook for 2-3 minutes. Once the veggies start to soften add in the tomatoes and artichoke hearts along with oregano, salt and pepper to cook another 2 minutes or so. Add juice from half the lemon and artichoke juice to deglaze anything from the bottom of the pan.
Turn off the heat and fold in rice until everything is well combined.
Remove peppers from the oven and distribute the stuffing throughout the shells. Tightly- and carefully it’s hot- cover the casserole dish with foil and return to the oven for 10 minutes.
Place tilapia filets on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper. Top with sliced olives if using.
After 10 minutes, place the tilapia in the oven and remove the foil from the peppers.
Bake both for 15 minutes or until the peppers are soft and the fish is white and flakey.
While the fish is baking, spray the sauté pan from the veggies with olive oil spray and add the remaining minced garlic and spinach to the pan. Season the spinach with a little salt and remaining lemon juice and sauté until wilted.
Remove the fish and peppers from the pan and serve 1-2 pepper halves alongside sautéed spinach and fish. Top everything with feta cheese, additional fresh parsley and lemon wedges.
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Nutrition Facts are provided as a guideline only. Exact nutrition will depend on quantity, brand and ingredients used.