Air Fryer Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

 One of the best comfort foods is a stuffed pepper. It makes for a perfect meal - a tasty mix of proteins, grains and veggies. Yet making a few of them for dinner can be a bit too much if you use the oven. That's when the air fryer comes in.

A friend gave me autumn peppers from her lush Princeton garden. 

They were perfect for stuffing and I knew the easiest way to cook them . Their tops were cut off and minced to be added to the stuffing. They were easy to core too.

I used the recipe from Air Fryer Fanatic's blog.. I tweaked it a bit and made it vegetarian - with the addition of Morningstar Farms crumbles. These were sauteed with minced onion and garlic.  with about two good glugs of olive oil.

                      I used the entire package because I wanted to use the filling as a leftover dish  for tomorrow.

 The original recipe called for sage and Italian seasonings. I preferred dried parsley and rosemary for the ultimate flavor.

As for the tomato sauce, I added a cup and a half  a half cup more than required but again, I wanted extra.

I used Stop & Shop's brand .

This was simmered for about fifteen minutes. It was then cooking the rice. I made three cups of it.

It was time to stuff the peppers.

The filling should have been mixed but i decided to layer them. It was a base of  two to three tablespoons of rice followed by two to three tablespoons of the sauce. 

The recipes calls for cheese or breadcrumbs.I opted for the breadcrumbs with a dollop of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter to get the topping nice and crispy.

Set your air fryer at 360 degrees Farenheit for five minutes. Check on them during this interval.

Then lower the heat to 350 degrees Farenheit and cook for another seven to eight minutes until the topping is browned.

                                                     This is the green pepper. the topping is perfectly crisped.

                                                          This is the red pepper dug into.

I was never a big stuffed pepper fan but these turned out good. I loved the crunchy topping and the still fresh taste of the peppers. The sauce and rice was good and I liked them combined on their own. The mix will make a nice Sunday lunch tomorrow.

This is the time for comfort food. Make these air fryer stuffed peppers for a cozy meal on a nippy day. The flavor alone will warm you to your heart.