Lebanese Stuffed Peppers

Lebanese stuffed peppers are a comforting dish of tender bell peppers filled with aromatic rice, lentils, and fragrant spices, then baked in a rich tomato sauce.

Every time I think of this dish, I can vividly picture my childhood oven with my mom placing the prepared stuffed bell peppers inside. The aromas that filled the air while they were baking were divine. She would stuff them with a meat and rice filling, and I’ve taken her amazing recipe and adapted it to make it vegan to fit my plant-based diet.

Lebanese stuffed vegetables, known as mahshi, include stuffed silverbeet (mahshi silik), vegetarian cabbage rolls, stuffed eggplant, and rice filled zucchini. Vegan Lebanese stuffed peppers, or flayfleh mahshiyeh, are one of my favorite variations and I know you're going to love the flavors of this recipe too.

Ingredients

Bell peppers (capsicum) should be firm when touched. As these are being cut to form a base and lid, it’s best to buy taller ones - I usually go for the extra large size too. You can opt for any colored capsicums you like, I like using different colors too and find it interesting the difference in flavors between them.

Rice, I tend to stick to basmati as it cooks the quickest.

Brown lentils either dry or canned can be used. If using dry lentils, be sure to cook them prior to using them in this vegan / vegetarian stuffed capsicum recipe. The brown lentils will replace the minced/ground meat normally used in Lebanese capsicums.

Olive oil will help keep the stuffing from drying out.

Pine nuts can be swapped with slivered almonds if desired. 

Instructions

Preparing the Peppers

Cut the tops off the bell peppers in line with the core, keeping the tops as lids. Remove seeds and membranes, then finely dice the core to mix into the stuffing later. Arrange the peppers snugly in a deep casserole dish.

Making the Filling

In a dry pan over medium-high heat, toast the pine nuts until golden and set aside. In a saucepan, heat oil and sauté onion, carrot, and garlic until soft. Stir in lentils, then add rice, cilantro, mint, parsley, salt, and pepper. Pour in water, cover, and cook for about 6 minutes until the rice is parboiled. Let it rest for 2 minutes before straining, reserving the cooking liquid for the sauce (this boosts the flavors). Mix the diced pepper cores (I like to minimize waste where possible) and toasted pine nuts into the rice.

Preparing the Sauce

Whisk together the reserved rice liquid, tomato paste, olive oil, ground coriander, water, salt, and pepper. Adjust the consistency if needed.

Stuffing & Baking

Loosely fill each pepper with the rice mixture, leaving about 1 cm from the rim. Avoid packing it too tightly—this helps the rice cook evenly.

Pour sauce into each pepper until just below the rice, then add the remaining sauce to the casserole dish, ensuring a 1 cm depth to create steam and prevent burning. Place the tops back on.

Cover and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (360°F) for 45–60 minutes, checking at 45 minutes. If the peppers are tender and the rice is fully cooked, they’re ready. Let them rest for 10–15 minutes before serving with extra sauce from the dish.

Storage

Vegan Lebanese stuffed peppers freeze well. Once they’ve cooled completely, place each one upright in a snap-lock bag and freeze individually for up to three months. When you’re ready to eat, just thaw and reheat.

For short-term storage, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. Make sure they’ve fully cooled before refrigerating to maintain the best texture.