• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Katie's Cucina
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Me
    • FAQS
    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Statement
    • Collaborate
  • Recipes
    • Appetizer
    • Asian
    • Breakfast
    • Bread
    • Comfort Food
    • Dairy Free
    • Dessert
      • Cookies
      • Ice Cream
    • Drinks
      • Smoothie
    • gluten free
    • Greek
    • Grilling
    • Holiday
      • Christmas
      • Halloween
    • Instant Pot
    • Italian
    • Katie Original
    • Main Dish
      • Beef
      • Chicken
      • Pork
      • Sausage
      • Turkey
      • Pizza
    • Mexican
    • One Pot Meal
    • Polish
    • Salad
      • Dressing
    • Sandwich
    • Seafood
      • Shrimp
    • Side Dish
    • Slow Cooker
    • Soups and Stews
    • Vegetarian
  • Travel
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Recipe Index
  • About Me
  • Contact
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipe Index
  • About Me
  • Contact
×
Katie's Cucina » Main Dish

Couscous-Stuffed Peppers with Basil Sauce

Published: Jun 21, 2010 by Katie · This post may contain affiliate links

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • Threads
  • WhatsApp

While lounging around the house last weekend I started to watch endless hours of Food Network–that’s when I saw Giada make this dish! My mouth was watering as soon I she started talking about it. I knew I had to try it. I was also intrigued to make this dish because I’ve never cooked with crème fraiche. I had to go on a hunt for the crème fraiche–I finally found it at Whole Foods. If you can’t find it though—don’t worry. You can take a ¼ cup of heavy whipping cream and a ¼ cup of sour cream; whip until well blended and fluffy and it will taste pretty darn close to the real thing. I made it this weekend and wowzas–this dish was amazing! My husband does not like couscous what-so-ever, but he will eat it for me… he was a little hesitant about this dish, but after the first bite he fell in love with it! I will definitely be making these again! Because this dish is so hearty you won’t miss meat in this  meal!

Prep: 15 minutes
Total: 1 hours
Serves:
4

Ingredients:

Filling:

  • 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • ¾ cup couscous
  • 1 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
  • ¼ cup dried currants
  • 1 packed cup chopped baby spinach leaves
  • ½ cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 medium red bell peppers
  • 1 medium yellow bell pepper
  • 1 medium orange bell pepper
  • Hot water, as needed

Sauce:

  • 1 packed cup fresh basil leaves
  • ½ cup (about 4 ounces) crème fraiche
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt, plus extra, as needed
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra, as needed

Directions:

  1. Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
    2. Filling: In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken broth and cumin to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the couscous. Cover the pan until the couscous is tender and all of the liquid has been absorbed, about 5 to 6 minutes. Put the couscous in a large bowl and add the beans, currants, spinach, feta and ¼ cup olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir until all the ingredients are combined.
    3. Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all the ribs and seeds. If necessary, cut a very thin slice from the base to help the peppers stand up. Stuff the peppers with the filling and drizzle the tops with olive oil. Put the peppers in an 8 by 8-inch square baking dish. Fill the baking dish with ¾-inch hot water and bake until the filling is golden and the peppers are cooked through, about 55 to 60 minutes. Cooks Note: If the filling begins to brown too quickly, cover the pan with foil.)

    4. Sauce: In a blender, combine the basil, crème fraiche, olive oil, water, garlic, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste.
    Remove the peppers from the oven and arrange on serving plates. Spoon the sauce around the peppers and serve.

« New York Style Cheesecake Recipe
French Toast »

About Katie

Katie is a busy mom of 2 children who loves to feed her family delicious meals that don't take hours to cook! She started her blog 15 years ago as a way to help others get cooking in the kitchen.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katie

    June 22, 2010 at 8:15 pm

    OMG… Deb you HAVE to make them. They are soooooo good!

    Reply
  2. Deb

    June 22, 2010 at 1:28 pm

    LOL! I just saw her make this yesterday and thought they looked super tasty!

    Reply

Did you make this recipe? Let me know! Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

I'm Katie Jasiewicz: home cook, food blogger, and recipe developer. A busy mom of two children who loves to feed her family delicious meals that don’t take hours to cook! My mission is to create easy-to-make modern comfort food for the busy family. (more)

Featured On

brand logos in collaage; food network, MSN, kitchenaid, country living, world market, etc

Most Popular Recipes

  • Glass baking dish filled with peach cobbler resting on a striped dish cloth.
    Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler
  • Broccoli Cheese Casserole spooned out of white baking dish
    Broccoli Casserole with Ritz Crackers
  • Female hand holding a tortilla chip over a bowl of queso dip.
    Velveeta Cheese Dip
  • Glass plate filled with an apple pie with powdered sugar.
    Apple Pie with Streusel Topping
  • White oval dish filled with creamed spinach on a blue and white striped towel.
    Steakhouse Creamed Spinach
  • Dried spaghetti on a countertop.
    KitchenAid Pasta Recipe

Grilling Recipes

  • Skillet filled with pasta, tomatoes, basil, and sliced chicken on a blue and white checkered cloth.
    Bruschetta Chicken Pasta
  • White plate with dots with 2 grilled chicken strips, rice, and green beans on a blue and white checkered cloth.
    Grilled Chicken Strips
  • Thinly slices of steak on a white plate with steak juice on plate.
    Grilled Flank Steak
  • Sliced pork with green beans, and mashed sweet potato on a white and blue checkered cloth.
    Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Footer

logos of places Katie's Cucina has been featured on; food network, KitchenAid, Stonyfield, Country LIving, Women's Health, etc.

COPYRIGHT © KATIE'S CUCINA 2009-2025
AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE I EARN FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES.
PRIVACY POLICY · ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT · DESIGN BY GRACE + VINE STUDIOS