Air Fryer Recipe
Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers
Embrace the flavours of the Mediterranean with this easy-to-make and undeniably delicious stuffed peppers recipe, perfect for air frying.
Ingredients
- 4 large bell peppers
- 1 cup cooked quinoa or rice
- 200 grams feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup black olives, sliced
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley, chopped
Method
- Preheat your air fryer to 180°C (356°F).
- Slice the tops off the bell peppers and remove the seeds and membranes. Retain the tops.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked quinoa or rice, feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, olives, red onion, garlic, olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
- Fill each bell pepper with the mixture, pressing down gently to ensure they are well packed. Place the tops back on each pepper.
- Lightly brush the outside of each stuffed pepper with a bit of olive oil.
- Place the peppers upright in the air fryer basket. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the peppers are tender and the tops are slightly charred.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve warm.
Why this works in an air fryer
Air-fryer convection dries and blisters the pepper skins while the enclosed filling steams inside the pepper shell. Using cooked quinoa or rice avoids undercooked grains, and feta, olives and tomatoes supply enough salt, fat and moisture to soften the onion and garlic without making the peppers collapse.
Equipment notes
Assumes a 5–6 litre basket holding 4 upright peppers with a little space around each; in a single-drawer model, keep taller peppers towards the centre and rotate them once, while in a dual-zone fryer cook 2 per drawer and expect 2–4 minutes extra if the drawers are tightly loaded.
Common pitfalls
- Peppers tipping over or spilling filling in the first few minutes? Trim a very thin slice from the base to level them, without cutting through into the cavity, and pack the filling below the rim.
- Filling watery at serving, with liquid pooling under the peppers? The tomatoes or olives were too wet; drain olives well, use firmer cherry tomatoes, and leave the cooked quinoa or rice uncovered for a few minutes before mixing.
- Pepper skins charred but flesh still firm? The peppers are too close to the heating element or very large; lower to 170°C and cook 5–7 minutes longer so the walls soften before the tops burn.
- Onion tasting raw after cooking? It was chopped too coarsely for the short air-fryer time; mince it finer next time or soften the onion and garlic briefly in the olive oil before mixing.
Variations & substitutions
- Swap quinoa for couscous for a softer, lighter filling; because couscous dries faster, add an extra tablespoon of olive oil or tomato juices before stuffing.
- Use goat’s cheese instead of feta for a creamier filling; it melts more readily, so pack the peppers slightly looser to avoid the centre becoming dense.
- Add drained chickpeas for more protein; lightly crush some of them so the filling binds, and allow a couple of extra minutes for the centre to heat through.
- Use pointed Romano peppers instead of large bell peppers; they cook faster and may need to be laid on their sides, so check tenderness from about 12 minutes.
Storage & reheating
Keep cooled stuffed peppers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, then reheat in the air fryer at 160°C for 6–8 minutes until the centre is hot.
Nutrition
Calories: 250
