Instant Pot Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers With Black Beans

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This Instant Pot recipe for vegetarian stuffed peppers has an entirely southwestern feel to it, with black beans, corn, and cayenne pepper. It makes a perfect and healthy dinner option for vegetarians and vegans but is hearty enough for meat lovers.

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Stuffed Peppers Recipe

My mother wasn’t a great cook. Some days I don’t know where I got my skills from – perhaps it was pure necessity at some point. Cook or starve. Really, though, I think it’s because I actually enjoy cooking. She didn’t.

All that said, one of the few recipes my mother made well was stuffed peppers. She would saute beef and onions and fill a pepper with tomato sauce and rice. I actually really liked this dish. It’s comfort food for me. 

Why Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Although we are not vegetarian, we are always looking for ways to reduce our meat intake. Creating a vegetarian version of stuffed peppers seemed like the perfect way to do this. It also makes the dish easier to cook. There is no need to cook the meat ahead of time or place raw beef into the Instant Pot.

Once I decided to replace the beef with black peppers I wondered if I could make the whole thing a little southwestern. Sort of like a Southwestern black bean chili all inside a green pepper. 

Instant Pot Stuffed Bell Peppers

The problem with cooking a recipe like this inside the oven is trying to get the pepper soft enough without drying out the ingredients on the inside or ending up with a burnt or crispy top.

All of the ingredients for the vegetarian version are already cooked or don’t necessarily need much cooking. That’s why using an Instant Pot makes total sense.

We have the Instant Pot Duo Plus 9-in-1. It has a six-quart capacity, which is more than enough to cook for two people or for a small group. There is also an 8-quart option for families. For this recipe, use the pressure cook function. Three large or four medium sized peppers fit in the smaller Instant Pot.

Check out some of our other easy Instant Pot recipes: 

Instant Pot Cajun Chicken Pasta

Instant Pot Rice And Beans

Instant Pot Borracho Beans – Mexican Drunken Beans

Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans And Rice

Ingredients For Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers In An Instant Pot

There are a lot of modifications and variations for this recipe, all depending on the size of your instant pot and the size of your peppers. We have a 6 quart Instant Pot.

Cooking With Bell Peppers

The green peppers we buy in Spain are also giant, way bigger than they are in the US. We were able to fit 3 peppers into our Instant Pot. The stuffing for this recipe can probably fit inside 4 “normal” peppers, maybe with just a little more white rice. 

Cut the tops off of the peppers. Try to measure so that the base of each pepper is about the same height. Remove any seeds. Use a small knife to devein the inside. This means carefully cutting away the white veins on the inside. Try not to get too close to the edge, or the peppers will be too thin and will collapse during cooking.

Ingredients To Make The Peppers Southwest Style

The addition of drained and rinsed black beans, canned corn, and diced tomatoes makes this recipe feel a little more Southwestern. The corn also adds a nice bright color to the dish. To add more heat, you can also use diced tomatoes with green chilis.

Place the black beans in a colander and rinse with cook water. Be sure to rinse until the water runs clear. This will prevent the rice inside the pepper from becoming too dark because of the black bean liquid.

The seasoning comes from garlic powder, onion, powder, ground cayenne pepper, and crushed red pepper. If you are sensitive to heat, then use a little less of the two peppers. You can also use fresh diced onion and garlic, but I wanted to make this recipe as simple as possible, with pantry staples.

The filling for the stuffed peppers is bound together with cooked white rice. I like to make this recipe when I’ve made a little too much rice for another recipe. Feel free to use any instant rice or even a bag of microwave rice. I also like to add just a bit of bread crumb to the mix to help it bind.

How To Make Electric Pressure Cooker Stuffed Peppers

Rinse and clean the green peppers. Cut the tops off. Try to keep the height of each pepper consistent if possible. Devein the peppers by using a small knife to carefully cut away the white parts.

Put the peppers inside a colander or large bowl to keep them upright and put them aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the black beans, corn, tomatoes, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, and salt and pepper. Add the cooked rice and mix. Add the bread crumbs, using slightly less or slightly more depending on how moist the mixture is.

Using a spoon add the mixture to the peppers filling them to the top, or just under the top. Put the metal trivet inside the Instant Pot with the handles up. Add one cup of room temperature water. Carefully place the peppers inside the Instant Pot.

Close the lid, seal, and check the vent. Set the pot to the pressure cook function for 7 minutes. Once the time is up, allow the pressure to naturally vent for 5 minutes.

Use an oven mitt or towel to manually release the remaining pressure. Carefully remove the lid away from your face. You might need to wait a few minutes for the peppers to cool down in order to remove them.

Carefully remove the peppers and serve as is or with shredded cheese and sour cream. 

Modifications And Variations

There are some options for different versions of this Instant Pot vegetarian stuffed peppers recipe.

There are a lot of modifications and variations for this recipe, all depending on the size of your instant pot and the size of your peppers. We have a 6 quart Instant Pot. The green peppers we buy in Spain are also giant, way bigger than they are in the US.

We were able to fit 3 peppers into our Instant Pot. The stuffing for this recipe can probably fit inside 4 “normal” peppers, maybe with just a little more white rice.

If you are not a vegetarian, the easiest way to add ground beef, turkey, or chicken to this recipe is to brown the meat ahead of time to add it in. You can also substitute kidney beans for the black beans if you have them around the house. 

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