High Protein Stuffed Peppers

There are lots of recipes for high protein stuffed peppers with ground beef. As much as I love these, I wanted to change things up a bit and go with a lower fat alternative, opting for lentils which are a great protein rich food, high in fiber and low in fat.

I've added a little salami to the filling which adds an extra layer of flavour. However, for vegetarian high protein stuffed peppers you can leave this out.

Recipe ingredients

• Peppers - you can use any colour of bell pepper as they'll all work in this recipe. I allow 1 whole pepper per person for dinner, or ½ a pepper for a lighter lunch option.
• Lentils - for ease I use a can of green or brown lentils as they have a good bite. I find red lentils soften and break down too much.
• Onion - I use spring onions (green onions) as they have a mild onion flavour that doesn't overpower the other flavours in the filling.
• Courgette - I add some diced courgette (zucchini) to the mix.
• Tomatoes - I use sweet cherry tomatoes for the filling, you could also use baby plum tomatoes.
• Garlic - for the best flavour I use fresh garlic, although frozen garlic would work here too.
• Basil - I like to shred fresh basil and stir that through the mix.
• Salami - I like to add some small thin pieces of salami to the filling, use any variety of salami.
• Seasoning - I seasoned the filling with dried oregano, sea salt and black pepper.
• Cheese - I use extra mature cheddar cheese both in the filling and also to sprinkle over the top of the peppers during the cook.

How to make high protein stuffed peppers

• Leaving the stalk of the pepper in tact, cut through the pepper from top to bottom. Gently remove the seeds and membrane without removing the stalk.
• Place the pepper halves into the baking dish.

TOP TIP: The stalk helps hold the half pepper in shape, without it the pepper will soften when cooked and the filling will fall out.

• Place all the remaining ingredients, along with 75g of cheese, into a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.

• Place this lentil and vegetable mixture into the peppers, dividing the mixture equally and pressing down into the corners.
• Cover the dish with kitchen foil and place into the hot oven for 25 minutes.
• Remove the dish from the oven, remove and discard the foil. Scatter the remaining 125g of cheese over the top of the peppers and place the dish back into the oven for 25 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and serve immediately, allowing 2 halves of pepper per person.

Recipe variations

• Lentils - I've used canned green lentil, you could also use brown lentils. Or swap lentils for black beans, or even some crushed up cashew nuts.
• Meat - I've used thin slices of salami, but you could also use chorizo, ham, cooked chicken leftover from the weekend's roast. Or cook up some minced meat like beef, lamb or turkey.
• Cheese - swap cheddar for other strong cheese like Parmesan, Gruyere, feta or goats cheese.
• Fresh herbs - swap basil for other fresh herbs, try parsley, coriander (cilantro) or thyme.
• Seasoning - add any dried herbs or spices to the filling mixture, try smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, Cajun spice.
• Chilli - add some chilli heat to the filling with chilli powder or red chilli flakes.

Serving suggestions

For a healthy protein rich meal I serve ½ pepper per person for a light lunch, and 1 whole (2 halves) per person for dinner.

These peppers are packed with flavour and can be served on their own, or with a light side salad, like my Easy Lettice & Herb Salad, Easy Celeriac Remoulade, or Sprout Slaw with Apple & Radish.

Useful hints and tips

1. Don't cut through off the stalk: you need to keep the stalk of the pepper intact, otherwise the pepper will fall apart when is cooks and softens.
2. Cheese: when cooking stuffed peppers I like to use a strong cheese, like an extra mature or vintage cheddar, or Gruyere. Using a strong flavoured cheese means you need to use less cheese than you would if using a mild cheddar, so less saturated fat.
3. Vegetarian: remove the salami and ensure you use a vegetarian hard cheese.
4. Dairy free and vegan diners: remove the salami and swap the mature cheddar for a plant based hard style cheese, or use vegan feta cheese.
5. Allergy advice: gluten free, egg free, soya free and nut free. For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.

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Additional recipe suggestions

If you like this recipe then try some of my other high protein recipes:

• Tuna, Avocado & Quinoa Salad
• Curried Scrambled Eggs
• Easy Shakshuka Eggs
• Savoury Parma Ham & Egg Muffins
• Spinach Omelette
• Chorizo Hash with Chickpeas

Looking for inspiration for feeding the family mid week, then take a look at my Ultimate Guide to Family Dinners, full of useful hints, tips and recipes.