This couscous stuffed peppers is one of my all time favorites. The combo of savory herbs, feta and sweet cranberries is just to DIE for. I’m sure you’ll love them as much as I do!
Are Couscous Stuffed Peppers Healthy?
Yes! This couscous stuffed pepper recipe is a great way to get your veggies! Each serving has around 2 servings of vegetables between the pepper and spinach in the filling.
They are also a great low sodium option. With only 202mg of sodium per serving, you can easily eat 2 halves (as I usually do!) for a complete, filling meal with only 18% of your daily sodium needs.
These peppers are a perfect plant-based dinner option. You get protein from the garbanzo beans, with a little more from couscous and feta.
Lastly, there is a fantastic 4 grams of fiber per pepper half. Fiber is such an important part of nutrition that most of us are severely lacking!
Key Couscous Stuffed Pepper Ingredients
Low Sodium Chicken Broth
This recipe calls for cooking the couscous in low sodium chicken broth. This helps add a TON more flavor than if cooked in water.
If you can find no-salt added chicken broth*, you’ll lower the sodium even more!
Couscous
I seriously LOVE couscous. It is so much fun to mix up the grain on your plate. Rice, pasta and bread are great – but couscous is WAY more fun!
You can use ANY type of couscous in this recipe. I typically use Moroccan-style white couscous*. But you could also use whole grain* or tri-color* couscous. The larger pearl couscous* works, but it doesn’t hold together quite as well.
Spices
The warm flavor profile of cumin and black pepper in the couscous filling compliments the bright, cooling flavor in the creamy basil sauce beautifully!
Spinach
I love that this recipe has even MORE vegetables IN a vegetable! The pepper AND spinach in the filling “count” as a veggie!
I know that many of you reading are limiting how much oxalate you eat for kidney stones. Spinach is a higher oxalate choice. If you need a low oxalate diet, you can easily swap the spinach for a lower oxalate green such as kale.
Garbanzo Beans
The garbanzo beans in this recipe add some protein, an extra boost of fiber and fantastic texture next to the couscous and pepper.
You can use any bean in this recipe. I like garbanzo beans* best because they tend to hold their texture best, but kidney beans, black beans or cannellini beans would also work!
Whatever bean you choose, I do recommend looking for low sodium or (even better) no-salt-added canned beans. Or, you can use dried beans too! You just have to boil those beans before putting them in the couscous stuffed pepper filling.
Bell Peppers
We obviously need bell peppers for our couscous stuffed peppers! You can use ANY color for this recipe. I like to use a mixture of red, orange and yellow peppers. They tend to be sweeter and juicier than green peppers. But, any color works perfectly!
Feta Cheese
Seriously, who doesn’t love feta cheese*!? The tangy bite goes SO well with the sweetness from the dried cranberries!
Crumbled blue cheese* also works great for couscous stuffed peppers. Goat cheese* does too!
What Should I Serve with Couscous Stuffed Peppers?
I love serving these couscous stuffed peppers with a simple side salad.
A couple low sodium crackers* or fruit like melon cubes or berries also goes nicely.
Can I Freeze Couscous Stuffed Peppers?
Unfortunately, these couscous stuffed peppers don’t freeze very well. The pepper itself just gets SUPER soggy.
I can’t recommend freezing couscous stuffed peppers before or after cooking them.
Other Favorite Stuffed Pepper Recipes
In general, I just love stuffed peppers. I think they are SUCH a fun and versatile dinner and a great way to get in more veggies.
Here are some of my favorites:
- Vegetarian Stuffed Poblano Peppers (from The Kidney Dietitian!)
- Mexican Inspired Stuffed Peppers
- Italian Stuffed Peppers (from one of my favorite cooking blogs!)
- Falafel Stuffed Peppers
- Traditional Stuffed Peppers (with rice and ground beef)
- Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers
- SLOW COOKER Quinoa & Chicken Stuffed Peppers
Happy Eating!
Melanie
Couscous Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 3/4 cup couscous
- 1 15oz can low sodium garbanzo beans rinsed
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup spinach packed
- 1/2 cup feta crumbled
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 4 bell peppers (your choice of color!) halved lengthwise and de-seeded
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Make filling. In a saucepan, bring broth and cumin to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in couscous. Cover and let sit until liquid has been absorbed, 5-6 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork. Add beans, cranberries, spinach, feta,olive oil and pepper. Stir until combined.
- Stuff peppers with couscous filling.
- Fill a baking dish with water until ½ full. Place peppers in water. Bake until filling is golden brown and peppers are cooked through, 55-60 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make sauce by blending basil, sour cream, water, garlic, lemon juice, sugar, salt and black pepper together. Drizzle sauce over peppers before serving.
Hi,
Would poblano peppers be okay to replace bell pepper? Can I add jalapenos?
Poblano peppers would be delicious! They have a similar nutrient profile to bell peppers. And jalapenos would give this a delicious kick!
Is there a particular couscous you use for this? I have a very fine grained couscous and wondering if I should use less or an equal amount is good. This looks like a wonderful recipe!
I usually use the fine grained couscous as well (this is the brand I usually buy) Is this similar to your couscous?
I also LOVE the bigger Israeli couscous, which I’m sure could be substituted. Maybe I will try that next time!
Considering how extremely high spinach is in oxalates, is it really the best green to be using in this recipe????
Hi Theresa – thank you for your concern! Not all of my recipes are necessarily the best for people with kidney stones and who need to limit oxalate. Some are meant for people with kidney disease. You can check out JUST my low oxalate recipes by going to recipes -> low oxalate recipes. Or, click here: https://thekidneydietitian.org/category/recipes/low-oxalate/
Hope that helps!