Roasted Red Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Pesto and Zucchini Noodles

I’m a big fan of stuffed peppers. In the Inspiralized cookbook, there’s a stuffed poblano...

Roasted Red Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Pesto and Zucchini Noodles

I’m a big fan of stuffed peppers. In the Inspiralized cookbook, there’s a stuffed poblano pepper recipe (stuffed with jicama rice and baked with asiago cheese.)

One of the first recipes I mastered when I was vegan, was a quinoa stuffed pepper.

Long story short, today, we have a zucchini noodle stuffed pepper that’s already been a hit, even without posting it on the blog yet.

Let me explain why.

Roasted Red Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Pesto and Zucchini Noodles

First, my friend Lally texted me a picture of these stuffed peppers. She loved them so much from my Snapchat and Instagram that she attempted it without a recipe.

That makes me so proud – and happy. I’m so glad that people (especially my friends) are as excited about spiralizing as I am!

The next day, my sister texted me and asked for “that stuffed bell pepper recipe from your Instagram.” Unfortunately, I was out and didn’t have access to my computer, so I couldn’t give her the recipe.

Roasted Red Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Pesto and Zucchini Noodles

Honestly, this recipe is so easy to make and has so many flavors in each bite, it’s going to be a staple this summer.

These peppers work well as a main dish (if you’re vegetarian or looking for something light) or they’re the perfect side dish to a fresh piece of grilled chicken or a quinoa salad.

They serve well, they’re easy to portion out and they’re beautiful and colorful! What more can you ask for?

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If you’d like to lower the cheese amount of these peppers, make the pesto vegan by taking out the parmesan cheese! They’ll be just as delicious, especially with that slightly melted, fluffy goat cheese.

They’re simple to make, too. You just mix the pesto, dunk the peppers in, roast the peppers and then stuff in the zucchini noodles and roast for another few minutes until the goat cheese melts:

Roasted Red Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Pesto and Zucchini Noodles

Easy peasey lemon squeezy.

Roasted Red Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Pesto and Zucchini Noodles

On a separate note, I’m counting down the minutes until our high-res wedding photos are ready – they should be arriving sometime early-ish this week.

In the meantime, I’ve been looking at the low-res slideshow online, and I already have way too many “favorites.” So many, in fact, that I decided to start a separate Instagram that shows more of my personal life, without spiralizing in it. If you’d like to follow along, I’m at @alissandramaffucci.

What about this one, on the golf course (credit goes to Nadya Furnari)?

Inspiralized

Sorry to overload you with wedding photos – I’ll probably stop in a week or so and then just stick to the Thursday #tbt’s to share more of my favorites!

Nutritional Information & Recipe

Weight Watchers SmartPoints*: 9 points

Inspiralized

Roasted Red Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Pesto and Zucchini Noodles

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • For the pesto:
  • 2 tablespoons pine nuts
  • 2 packed cups of basil
  • 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large garlic clove
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • For the peppers:
  • 2 large red bell peppers
  • 1 medium zucchini Blade D, noodles trimmed
  • 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
  • 2 tablespoons chopped basil
  • optional: oil to drizzle
  • optional: pepper to season

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Place all of the ingredients for the pesto into a food processor and pulse until creamy. Taste and adjust to your preferences, if necessary. Transfer the pesto to a large mixing bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons of pesto.
  • Slice the tops of the bell peppers off and then slice in half from top to bottom. Remove the white stems and seeds from the inside. Dip each pepper into the bowl of pesto to coat and then lay out on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all bell pepper halves are coated in pesto and on the baking sheet.
  • Bake for 10 minutes. While the peppers bake, toss the zucchini noodles with the remaining pesto and set aside.
  • Remove the peppers, add in the pesto zucchini noodles and cook another 10 minutes. Remove the peppers again, top with crumbled goat cheese to cover the zucchini noodles and bake for 5 minutes or until goat cheese has melted.
  • When done, garnish each bell pepper halve with chopped basil and serve for your lucky guests. Optionally, drizzle with olive oil and season with freshly cracked pepper.

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with love, Ali

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Recipe Rating




comments

  • This recipe looks great. Will be trying it this week. I LOVE that wedding picture. Beautiful dress, bouquet, setting, smiling gazes, and it shows off the color of Lu's suit, more than the other pics you've posted. It is a lovely shade of blue. This pic is a winner! Now I have a question though, about the zucchini Cesar salad recipe you posted the other day.... How long dos the dressing keep in the fridge? I have some leftover....
  • I did the same thing and made these Saturday night on the grill as a side for my boyfriend and I to go along with our steak. He LOVED them. Thanks for the great idea - your recipes seem to always be the perfect thing :)
  • These look SO GOOD. And keep sharing wedding photos! You look beautiful and so in love!
  • Lovely recipe! We made it with Parmesean cheese instead. It was delicious! Thank you ;)
  • […] almond milk cold brew coffee latte, berry spinach salad with spicy maple sunflower seeds, roasted red peppers stuffed with goat cheese, pesto, and zucchini noodles, Moroccan potato salad, and chicken with summer […]
  • My very picky husband and I both LOVED this recipe. It seriously doesn't get any easier than this (okay, I cheated and bought a can of pre-made pesto so that's part of what made it so easy) and it really tasted like restaurant quality food. I'm making it again tonight and adding in some whole pine nuts because can you ever have too many pine nuts? Thanks for this delicious, simple recipe!
    • I will/would do store bought pesto too ;) I also love the idea of adding pine nuts too!
  • A very flavorful dish!
  • This looks awesome and I love all the great feedback! I'm a meat eater so I may add some ground Italian turkey sausage to mine. Your wedding pics are beautiful!