Mediterranean Tuna Couscous Stuffed Peppers are the perfect summer meal. A blend of couscous, tuna, zucchini, tomatoes, feta cheese and fresh herbs makes the perfect stuffing for the sweet peppers. These are grilled to create a soft, delicious pepper filled with the flavorful tuna. These are perfect for any summer get-together!
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MEDITERRANEAN TUNA COUSCOUS STUFFED PEPPERS
I am excited to be sharing a healthy, delicious way to use tuna this summer.
These Mediterranean Tuna Couscous Stuffed Peppers are the perfect way to use up those beautiful sweet peppers.
I like to make these and use them throughout the week for lunches or dinners.
We love tuna in our house and use it in many recipes like these Mediterranean Tuna Cakes, Tuna Stuffed Avocado, Italian Style Tuna Salad, Tuna Pasta Salad, Mediterranean Tuna Salad to this Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole.
These tuna peppers use couscous which is also something we like to eat in my house. I add it to a lot of recipes like this Lemon Herb Couscous, Mediterranean Grilled Vegetable Couscous Salad, Kale Couscous Pomegranate Salad or this Israeli Couscous Salad with Lemon Dressing.
The tuna stuffing that is in these peppers could be use in other ways from stuffing bell peppers, zucchini or poblanos.
The nice this about this meal is that is protein packed so you feel satisfied after eating it but it is light enough that it is nice in the warm months.
WHY YOU WILL LOVE THESE ABOUT THESE MEDITERRANEAN TUNA COUSCOUS STUFFED PEPPERS
SIMPLE TO PREPARE: This recipe is so easy to put together! Couscous is a nice grain to use because it only takes about 5 minutes to cook. Once you mix that with your tuna and other stuffing ingredients you are so close to having these stuffed peppers on your plate!
To save time I will prepare the peppers ahead of time by slicing them and removing the seeds, prepare the tuna stuffing and storing both in the refrigerator until I am ready to prepare the peppers.
HEALTHY INGREDIENTS: I love how fresh and healthy these stuffed peppers are to make. This recipe uses tuna mixed with couscous, vegetables, fresh herbs and spices. You will love how light and delicious they are.
LOW-CARB: If you are looking for a low-carb meal stuffed peppers are great. Today’s peppers are low-carb like these Mediterranean Ground Beef Stuffed Peppers, Vegan Stuffed Peppers or these Mexican Stuffed Poblanos.
PROTEIN PACKED: Tuna is low in calories and fat and packed with protein which makes it an almost pure-protein food. Three ounces (or 85 grams) of cooked yellowfin tuna packs about 25 grams of protein and only 110 calories.
It’s also a good source of B-vitamins, plus minerals like magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium.
INGREDIENTS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
SWEET PEPPERS: I use long, sweet peppers for this recipe but the tuna stuffing would also work great in any variety of bell pepper or poblano pepper.
TUNA: You can use canned tuna or you can use fresh yellow fin tuna that is cooked and flaked into small chunks.
I prefer canned tuna because it is easier to quickly make for lunch or dinner.
You can swap the protein and do chickpeas, shredded chicken, ground chicken, ground pork, ground beef or canned salmon or crab.
COUSCOUS: I really like the couscous that is used in this recipe because it is very small and mixes well with the tuna. You could swap that out for a different grain like pearl couscous, bulgur wheat, farro, brown rice, white rice or quinoa.
FETA CHEESE: I enjoy the tangy flavor of the feta cheese in with the other ingredients. You can add it into the tuna mixture or you can sprinkle it on before or after cooking the stuffed peppers.
Other options would be goat cheese, mozzarella cheese or Parmesan cheese.
ZUCCHINI: I added diced zucchini to the tuna stuffing. It is nice in the summer when zucchini is in abundance to add it into recipes like this. You can add other vegetables like carrots, bell peppers or celery. Make sure the vegetables are diced small so they cook evenly.
CHERRY TOMATOES: Any type of tomatoes will work – just make sure they are chopped or diced small enough. You could also use canned diced tomatoes just make sure to drain them. You also can leave them out completely.
RED ONION: Red onion adds flavor and color to the recipe but can be left out of replaced by shallots or chopped sweet onions.
FRESH HERBS: I added fresh parsley, mint and oregano but fresh dill and chives would be great too.
OLIVE OIL: The olive oil helps add moisture to the tuna mixture and binds it together. You can also use Greek yogurt or mayonnaise.
HOW DO YOU MAKE COUSCOUS STUFFED PEPPERS?
PREPARE THE COUSCOUS: Cook the couscous according to the package and set aside.
PREPARE THE PEPPERS: Wash and cut the long peppers lengthwise and remove the seeds.
Lay these on a cutting board to prepare with the tuna stuffing.
MIX TOGETHER THE TUNA STUFFING: In a large mixing bowl mix together the tuna, couscous, feta cheese, zucchini, tomatoes, red onion, mint, parsley, oregano and olive oil and mix well.
Spoon the tuna mixture into each sweet pepper.
GRILL THE PEPPERS: Lay the sweet peppers on the grill and grill for about 5 to 7 minutes and check them. If they appear to be charring a lot on the underside of the pepper you can move them to the top rack of the grill.
Remove from the grill once the sweet pepper is soft. Garnish with green onion and serve warm.
RECIPE TIPS:
CREAMY: If you like the stuffing to be a bit more creamy try adding 1 or 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt or mayonnaise. This will help create that creamy tuna salad texture many people like.
TYPE OF PEPPERS: I used long, sweet peppers for today’s recipe but you can use any pepper you like. This filling would be great for any color of bell peppers, poblanos or even stuffing in zucchini.
REHEATING: I find to reheat these I like to slowly heat them in the oven or heat them in the microwave for a few minutes. I have also reheated these in the air fryer but make sure that you cook them long enough so the tuna is warm.
METHOD OF COOKING: I grilled these stuffed peppers on the grill but they also work great baked in the oven. I would add a small amount of water or tomato sauce to the bottom of the baking dish to help retain moisture and cover with foil.
I bake mine at 400 degrees F for about 15 minutes and check them. The cook time will depend on the size of the peppers you use.
OTHER SEAFOOD RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE:
BLACK SEA BASS
15 MINUTE SHRIMP LINGUINE
MEDITERRANEAN SALMON BOWL
BAKED COD WITH LEMON
GREEK BAKED TILAPIA
AIR FRYER COD
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Mediterranean Tuna Couscous Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 4-5 sweet peppers, sliced the length and seeds removed
- 2 – 5 oz tuna, drained
- 1 cup cooked couscous
- 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 zucchini, diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
- 3 tbsp red onion, minced
- 2 tbsp mint, chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4-5 green onions, white and green parts chopped {for garnish}
Instructions
- Cook the couscous according to the package and set aside.
- Preheat the grill to medium (about 350 degrees F).
- Wash and cut the long peppers lengthwise and remove the seeds.
- Lay these on a cutting board to prepare with the tuna stuffing.
- In a large mixing bowl mix together the tuna, couscous, feta cheese, zucchini, tomatoes, red onion, mint, parsley, oregano and olive oil and mix well.
- Spoon the tuna mixture into each sweet pepper.
- Spray the grill with non-stick spray or brush with olive oil.
- Lay the sweet peppers on the grill and grill for about 5 to 7 minutes and check them. If they appear to be charring a lot on the underside of the pepper you can move them to the top rack of the grill.
- Remove from the grill once the sweet pepper is soft.
- Garnish with green onion and serve warm.
Notes
- If you prefer a creamier tuna stuffing mixture add 1 or 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt or mayonnaise.
- Other options that work nicely with the tuna mixture is olives, artichokes, roasted red peppers, celery, capers, banana peppers or diced bell peppers.
- You can sub in goat cheese or mozzarella or leave the cheese out.
- Instead of tuna you can leave that out of use ground chicken, chunky salmon or ground beef.
- I used couscous but you could sub in rice, quinoa or bulgur wheat.
- These can be cooked in the oven instead of the grill. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the peppers are soft.
- To reheat you can slowly cook them in the oven to warm them at 300 degrees.
- To reheat in the air fryer preheat the air fryer at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes. Turn the air fryer to 350 degrees F and cook for 5 minutes or until warmed through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Today’s post is sponsored by Heinen’s. As always, opinions are 100% my own.
