Easy Barley Stuffed Peppers with Basil & Feta (Vegan)
These barley stuffed peppers with basil & feta are an easy weeknight dinner with hearty barley, fresh basil, and creamy feta crumbles inside a vibrant, crisp bell pepper. It’s a mouthwatering dinner that’s also perfect for meal prep and freezer friendly!
There’s something about a savory stuffed pepper that brings me back to my childhood. My mom loved to make these (except they had ground beef) and top with cheese. I wanted to create my own stuffed pepper recipe with one of the best grains: barley! It’s nutty, chewy, and tastes amazing in a stuffed pepper!
If you like barley too, make sure to check out my other top vegan barley recipes!
Ingredients
- Pearl barley or quick-cooking barley: I recommend cooking either pearl barley or quick-cooking barley to save time. Pearl barley cooks in about 20 minutes while quick-cooking barley can be ready in as little as 10 minutes. Pot barley (less common) takes the longest to cook.
- Bell peppers: Choose whatever color you like the most! Red peppers and orange peppers are my favorite. Make sure to choose LARGE peppers which will be the best for stuffed.
- Vegan feta: The vegan cheese I like the most is feta because it is creamy a mimics dairy cheese the best. I love Violife or Follow Your Heart.
- Garlic cloves: You need 2 freshly minced garlic cloves for this recipe.
- Fresh basil: Vibrant and the perfect flavor to match the creamy feta.
- Onion: Adds more flavor to our pepper
- Extra virgin Olive oil : Add a little moisture and flavor with the garlic, onion mixture
- Other spices: black pepper, Italian seasoning (Italian herbs)
Do the flavors of bell peppers vary based on their color?
Yes, the different colors of bell peppers have varying flavors based on their ripening time. Green peppers are harvested before they ripen so they have slightly bitter flavor. Yellow bell peppers are harvested when partially ripened and have a slightly sweet taste. Following, orange bell peppers are sweeter and harvested at full ripeness. The sweetest pepper is the red bell pepper which is harvested at peak ripeness (and stays on the plant longer than any other pepper).
Substitutions & Variations
Barley ➞ Try out brown rice, millet, pearl couscous and more! Check out the best substitutes for barley.
Vegan Feta ➞ You can use vegan mozzarella shreds or another type of cheese
Basil ➞ Parsley would be lovely in this barley stuffed pepper
Other veg ➞ Add spinach, mushrooms (cook it down before with the onions), grated carrots, sliced artichokes, and more!
Protein ➞ Add in chickpeas, black beans, white beans, and more
Equipment
- Small saucepan
- Pot
- Tongs
- Large mixing bowl
- Square baking dish (Can also use rectangular like I did)
Instructions
Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 F or 190C. Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onion and minced garlic cloves and cook for 3-4 minutes until onion is slightly translucent.
Step 2: While onion is cooking, begin to boil water in a large pot big enough to fit your peppers. Add in a pinch of salt. Prepare a large bowl of ice cold water.
TO BLANCH PEPPERS:
Add peppers to boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes until skin starts to soften, rotating them if they are not fully submerged.
After 2-3 minutes, remove peppers with tongs and immediately submerge in ice water bath for one minute to stop the cooking process. Pat dry with paper towels to remove excess liquid.
Step 3: Cut peppers in half and carve out the inside using a small paring knife or spoon.
Tip: If you have a few seeds stuck in the pepper rinse the pepper under cold water to rinse it out.
Step 4: Mix together stuffing ingredients: combine barley (cooked), sliced tomatoes, chopped basil, vegan feta crumbles, salt, pepper, and Italian herbs.
Step 5: Spoon barley mixture into pepper halves and press down with a spoon to fill the pepper crevices. Top peppers with more cheese if desired. Place peppers in preheated oven and cook for 15 minutes (uncovered) until peppers are tender but still slightly firm and the inside stuffing is warm.
Hint: When cutting bell peppers in half, make sure to remove all the seeds and white part inside. Read more on how to cut bell peppers properly.
▶︎Serve this barley stuffed peppers with a delicious side salad like this Autumn Harvest Grain Salad!
Storage
Store your leftover peppers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
These stuffed peppers freeze great! Just wrap them in plastic wrap then place in a freezer safe container for up 3 months.
Reheating
For easiest reheating, you can microwave a stuffed pepper for 30-45 seconds. You can also reheat barley stuffed peppers the next day in the oven (375 C for 150- 20 minutes until middle is warm).
FAQ
No, barley is not gluten-free. For a gluten-free substitute check out this post Best Substitutes for Barley which includes a lot of gluten-free options.
To blanch a bell pepper you briefly boil it in hot water, then immediately plunge it into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process.
Blanching bell peppers before stuffing them helps to soften the flesh and make them easier to stuff. It also helps to partially cook the peppers, which can reduce the overall baking time in the oven.
If your barley stuffed peppers are dry it could mean they were cooked too long in the oven or they didn’t have enough liquid.
You only need to bake peppers for 15 minutes. Make sure your barley was not overcooked and dry.
Pro Tips
- Speed it up. You can make this recipe even quick if you make your barley ahead of time. Just store in the fridge for a few days in a container until ready to make your peppers.
- Go big or go home! Choose the biggest peppers you can find at the grocery store so that you can include a lot of filling. (No one wants a baby pepper!)
- Top it off. I love to sprinkle more feta on top before cooking it and a few more basil leaves after it’s finished cooking.
- Give it a rest. Let your peppers rest for a few minutes before diving in. This lets it set and it will be easier to transfer to a plate.
Add on a side dish like a green salad or one of these:
Other easy vegan dinners:
- Vegan Recipes with Barley
- Stuffed Portobello Mushroom with Spinach & Feta
- Warm Roasted Veggie Quinoa Salad with Sesame Dressing
- Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
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Easy Barley Stuffed Peppers with Basil and Feta (Vegan)
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Ingredients
- 2 cups barley cooked
- 2 large bell peppers
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/2 cup vegan feta
- 1/4 cup basil chopped, plus more for topping
- 1 tsp Italian herbs
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 F or 190C.
- Sauté garlic & onion: Begin heating a small skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add diced onion and minced garlic cloves and cook for 3-4 minutes until onion is slightly translucent.1 tbsp olive oil, 1 small onion, 2 cloves garlic
- Start to boil water: While onion is cooking, begin to boil water in a large pot big enough to fit your peppers. Add in a pinch of salt. Prepare a large bowl of ice cold water.
- How to blanch peppers: Add peppers to boiling water and cook for 3 minutes until skin starts to soften, rotating them if they are not fully submerged.2 large bell peppers
- Submerge in ice bath: Remove peppers with tongs and immediately submerge in ice water bath for one minute to stop the cooking process. Pat dry with paper towel to remove excess water.
- Carve out peppers: Cut peppers in half and carve out the inside using a small paring knife or spoon.Tip: If you have a few seeds stuck in the pepper rinse the pepper under cold water to rinse it out.
- Mix together stuffing ingredients: Combine barley (cooked), sliced tomatoes, chopped basil, vegan feta crumbles, salt, pepper, and Italian herbs.2 cups barley, 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup vegan feta, 1/4 cup basil
- Prepare stuffed peppers: Spoon barley mixture into each pepper and press down with a spoon to fill the pepper crevices. Top peppers with more cheese if desired.
- Cook peppers: Place peppers in preheated oven and cook for 15 minutes (uncovered) until peppers are tender but still slightly firm and the inside stuffing is warm. If peppers are too hard, cook for another few minutes.
- Serve with more fresh basil on top if desired.
Notes
-
- Speed it up. You can make this recipe even quick if you make your barley ahead of time. Just store in the fridge for a few days in a container until ready to make your peppers.
-
- Go big or go home! Choose the biggest peppers you can find at the grocery store so that you can include a lot of filling. (No one wants a baby pepper!)
-
- Top it off. I love to sprinkle more feta on top before cooking it and a few more basil leaves after it’s finished cooking.
-
- Give it a rest. Let your peppers rest for a few minutes before diving in. This lets it set and it will be easier to transfer to a plate.
This was easy, so tasty and colorful. I did saute some mushrooms and add it with the onion/garlic. I will definitely make this dish again.