Creamy Riced Cauliflower Stuffed Peppers

Most meals begin as ideas.

A conversation at the office jogs a memory of Grandma’s butter cookies, a blog entry inspires you to make a beeline for the pantry, or a hunt through the refrigerator brings a burst of creativity that helps you to make something delicious with what you already have on hand.

You chop and prep, watching as the abstract becomes something you can hold in your hands and eat.

Some ideas take months or years to become reality. But tonight’s dinner? That idea that hit you this morning can come to fruition as soon as this evening, with you and your loved ones gathering around the table to partake in something new.

As you combine ingredients in new ways, building a meal you’ve never made before, your creativity combined with your skill in the kitchen allows what was once only imagined to become real.

There’s a unique pleasure, I think, in the immediacy of kitchen work. It’s so unlike the lengthy, drawn-out way most plans move forward towards sometimes uncertain completion.

Coating peppers in olive oil and roasting them in the oven, for example, the scent and sound of it assaulting your senses in a way that is very physical and present, strikes the mind differently than filling out lines in spreadsheets or writing down your thoughts might.

Perhaps this immediacy, the physical experience and delicious end result of stuffing vegetables and baking them for dinner, is one of the kitchen’s greatest gifts to us. A project stalls, a promotion is postponed, but the kitchen remains, and our efforts are rewarded with a delicious meal that we can sit down and enjoy together.

Riced cauliflower is super popular these days, and with a handful of fresh peppers in the fridge, I knew I had to make grain-free, gluten-free, vegetarian entree for dinner tonight that would be even lighter than vegetarian bell peppers stuffed with white rice.

This will also make a delicious appetizer alongside an Italian-themed meal.

Maybe you’re already a pro at throwing together a cauliflower pizza crust, or making a sizzling wok full of cauliflower fried “rice.” Just in case you could use a little extra assistance, here’s a quick word on ricing cauliflower:

If you want to save on time and buy a premade frozen version, go for it! To make your own, simply break the cauliflower florets away from their stalks, and pulse them in a food processor until they resemble rice – or, if you ask me, something more closely resembling couscous. That’s it! You can also use your box grater to complete this task

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Cooking By the Numbers…

Step 1 – Prep Produce

Grate enough cauliflower until you have approximately 1 1/2 cups. You can use a food processor with the grating disc attached, but a box grater lend itself to faster cleanup.

Cut the tomatoes vertically in half with a sharp knife. A fast trick is to place all the tomatoes between two flat dinner plates, and slice in between.

Zest and juice the lemon. I like to use my microplane for this. Be sure to remove any lemon seeds! Measure out the quantities that you need.

Mince the garlic. This can be done quickly with your garlic press.

Chop the herbs finely. Be sure to use a sharp chef’s knife to get clean slices, rather than mashing your herbs.

Coat the peppers completely with olive oil. As an alternative, other high heat oils like avocado oil may be used, but olive oil does lend a nice flavor.

Step 2 – Roast Peppers

Make sure to preheat your broiler. Oven temperatures can vary greatly, so keep an eye on them so as not to over broil them. You want them to be lightly roasted, not burnt.

Place them on a sheet of foil on top of a baking sheet. Broil for three minutes, and then rotate to make sure the other side is roasted equally.

Pull the pan out of the oven within six minutes max.

For other pepper roasting methods, check out our article for tips.

Step 3 – Prep Filling

Gently blend the ricotta, 1 tablespoon each of parsley and basil, salt, lemon juice, and zest together.

Using a rubber or silicone spatula is ideal for proper blending, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. This ensures that all of the flavor components are blended equally.

If you can’t get fresh basil or parsley, dry herbs will give you a similar flavor profile.

Step 4 – Cook Filling

Add the cauliflower to a saute pan and place it over high heat. You’ll want to cook just the cauliflower in the pan without any oil or other ingredients for at least a minute, to sweat off the excess water. Too much water will make the filling too wet and mushy overall.

Next, add the remaining olive oil and saute. Stir constantly to ensure that the cauliflower does not brown too much or burn. Continue mixing until it’s a nice golden brown.

Remove from the heat immediately, add the remaining herbs into the pan, and give it a stir. The residual heat from the pan will continue to heat the cauliflower and release oils from the herbs. After a few minutes, transfer the cauliflower mixture to a bowl and set it aside.

Add the butter and garlic to the pan, and place it over medium heat. Allow to sweat for about 30 seconds to one minute and no longer, to avoid scorching. This technique will soften the sharpness of the garlic, but you don’t want to cook it for too long, since burnt garlic will add a bitter flavor to the dish.

Next, add the tomatoes. You also want to cook down the water in the tomatoes, so aim for about a minute of cooking time, stirring occasionally. Stir in the black pepper, and remove the pan from the heat.

The tomatoes are on the stove only for a short period of time, but the residual heat will continue to gently cook them for a few minutes. This way, the tomatoes won’t get too mushy

Fold the cauliflower and the tomatoes into the ricotta mixture. A rubber or silicone spatula is recommended for this, if you have one available. Thoroughly incorporate all of the ingredients, making sure the cauliflower and tomatoes are coated with the ricotta blend. For a creamier consistency, fold in two additional tablespoons of ricotta.

Now is the time to adjust the mix if needed, so taste and see if you want to add more lemon zest, salt, or pepper.

Step 4 – Stuff

The peppers should have cooled enough to touch them comfortably at this point. Cut them in half vertically, and remove the seeds. Keep the stems on if you like, for a pretty presentation. You can use a spoon, or just scoop the seeds and membranes out with your fingers.

Place the peppers back on the sheet tray that you have covered with foil. This will help to prevent the cheese from melting down the sides onto the pan and burning, with easy cleanup afterwards.

Using a large spoon, scoop out the cauliflower mix and pack it down in each half. Avoid overfilling.

Peppers can obviously vary in size. If you have leftover filling, it will hold in the freezer for about two weeks, and can be served as a side dish. Bring it to room temperature, and then heat it through gently in a saute pan.

Next, take pinches of shredded mozzarella and cover the stuffing thoroughly. Put the pan back in the oven and broil for 3-5 minutes. The mozzarella should start to bubble and brown slightly.

Remove pan from the oven, and serve immediately.