I am excited every time we get cauliflower in our share! I love cauliflower. It’s such a versatile vegetable. It is wonderful steamed or roasted, can be made into mash, rice, or a dairy-free cream sauce (just to name a few options). This time around, I had some fun trying out a new recipe.

Grain-free Stuffed Peppers.

I gave up grains some time ago, but I occasionally crave dishes that I used to make when I ate grains. One of those dishes I loved to make was Stuffed Peppers. Since a traditional stuffed pepper has a mixture of meat and rice in it, I decided that using my cauliflower as a rice substitute would be a great idea! I was not disappointed.

Grain-free Stuffed Peppers

6 bell peppers, lids taken off and de-seeded (any color will do. I like to mix mine up)
1 lb ground meat (I used ground turkey, but any ground meat would work)
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1 cup water (you could also use chicken broth, but I didn’t have any on hand)
2 tsp granulated garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Start by browning your meat in a large skillet. Add your spices to flavor your meat while it browns. While this is going, take your cauliflower florets and pulse them in your food processor or blender until they are “riced”, or processed into small pieces. After your meat is about halfway browned, throw the cauliflower “rice” into the skillet and throw a lid on the pan to help steam the rice while the meat continues to brown. I also took this opportunity to throw in some tomatoes and spinach I had on hand, just to give the mixture more flavor and depth. You could add whatever you would like. Once the mixture is cooked through, fill your peppers to the top with your mixture. Arrange your newly stuffed peppers in a baking dish, and add your water (or broth) into the dish to help keep the peppers from drying out while baking. Set your oven to 375 and bake for about an hour, or when the peppers look fully cooked and tender.

These are pretty filling, so I usually just serve them with a salad on the side. If you eat dairy, some feta or parmesan on top would be delicious as well.

Bon appetit!