Spicy Stuffed Pasilla Peppers with Cashew Cream Sauce
A healthy dinner recipe featuring roasted pasilla peppers stuffed with a delicious combination of tomatoes, quinoa and ground bison, all topped with a luscious cashew cream sauce.
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 579kcal
Ingredients
For the peppers:
- 6 pasilla peppers tops cut off and seeds/membranes removed from middle
- 1 teaspoon melted coconut oil or coconut oil cooking spray
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ of a yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 pound ground bison or your choice of ground meat/protein
- 1 28- ounce can crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups cooked quinoa
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
For the cashew cream sauce:
- 2 cups raw cashews
- 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups filtered water
Instructions
To make the peppers:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place peppers on a jelly roll pan lined with aluminum foil and brush with coconut oil (or spray with coconut oil cooking spray.) Once oven is preheated, place peppers in to roast for 25 minutes, flipping once halfway through the cooking time. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Once pan is warm, add onion and garlic and sauté until onion is translucent and garlic is fragrant. Add ground bison and continue cooking until meat is lightly browned.
- Once meat is lightly browned, add crushed tomatoes, cilantro, cumin, cayenne and brown sugar. Stir to combine. Turn up heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Add cooked quinoa and season with salt and pepper as needed. Continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes to allow flavors to meld.
- Once filling is done cooking, scoop about 1 ½ cups into each pepper, or enough to fill the pepper right to the top. Set onto a plate to serve and drizzle with cashew cream (see recipe below.)
To make the cashew cream:
- Place cashews in a small mixing bowl. Fill bowl with water, enough to just cover the tops of the nuts. Let soak at least 4 hours or overnight.
- When cashews are done soaking, strain out water and rinse. Place cashews in a high-powered blender with nutritional yeast and salt. Turn blender power on low and slowly increase, streaming in filtered water consistently to get the right consistency. If needed, stop the blender and scrape down the sides every once in a while. You will want to continue running the blender until the cream is smooth and has very little (if any) chunks.
- Remove cream from blender and place in an airtight container (if making ahead) or drizzle directly over stuffed peppers.
Notes
- The cashew cream can be made up to a few days in advance. Just store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Ground bison is full of nutrients and you can find it at most grocery stores (even Costco!) That being said, you're welcome to sub in any sort of ground meat you prefer in this recipe.
- You will most likely have both leftover filling and cashew cream. The good news is, both of these keep and reheat well. Place in airtight containers and keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- This recipe is also freezer-friendly and can be stored in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 579kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 636mg | Potassium: 1232mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 860IU | Vitamin C: 110mg | Calcium: 100mg | Iron: 8mg