Zucchini baby food instant pot

8 Easy Instant Pot Baby Food Recipes

Feeding your baby healthy meals has never been easier. Learn how to use a pressure cooker to turn fruits and veggies into nutritious Instant Pot baby food.

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Applesauce

Most babies love apples. And this recipe only contains apples and water (AKA no added sugar!), so it’s safe and healthy for baby to eat. To make, wash and roughly chop six organic apples with the skin on, discarding the core. Add apples and 1/3 cup of water to the Instant Pot. Choose the manual high setting for 6 minutes. When the Instant Pot is done cooking, let the pressure release naturally. Puree the cooked apples with an immersion blender or transfer to a regular blender. Psst! Get more tips on making baby food here.

Don’t already have an Instant Pot? Our Test Kitchen recommends the Instant Pot DUO 6-Quart Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker ($100) for its size and versatility. Find out which Instant Pot is right for you with our handy buying guide.

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Carrot Mash

When it’s time to start feeding your baby solid foods, carrots are a great choice. They’re full of vitamins and are easy for baby to digest. To make a quick batch in your Instant Pot, peel a pound of carrots and cut them into thirds so they fit in the pressure cooker. Stack the carrots on top of the Instant Pot trivet and add 1 cup of water. Cook on high for 4 minutes. Perform a manual release of the pressure, drain and puree until smooth with a blender. Yum!

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Zucchini Puree

Have a bumper crop of zucchini in the garden? It’s a perfect snack for baby! Start by cutting four to six zucchini into cubes and placing them on top of the Instant Pot trivet or a steamer basket. ($14) Then, add 1 cup of water and close and lock the lid. Cook on high for 3 minutes. Perform a manual release of the pressure, drain and puree until smooth with a blender.

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Sweet Potato Quinoa Mash

This fiber-rich recipe combines sweet potatoes (one of our fave stage-1 baby foods) and quinoa for a delicious baby-approved meal. Add to the Instant Pot: 1 cup diced sweet potato, 1/2 cup quinoa and 1/2 cup of water. Lock lid and cook on high for 3 minutes. Perform a manual release of pressure and puree in a blender.

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Green Bean Puree

Studies show introducing your baby to a variety of fruits and vegetables will lead to healthier eating habits as they get older. So don’t shy away from those greens! To make green beans in the Instant Pot, trim two pounds of beans and cut them into 1-inch pieces. Kitchen shears work great for this. Add 2/3 cup of water. Lock the lid and cook on high for 3 minutes. Perform a manual release of pressure and puree in a blender. P.S. If baby is a picky eater, read up on our tips for introducing your little one to solid food.

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Banana Pear Puree

Mix and match your baby’s favorite flavors in one tasty dish. Start by coring and chopping two pears. Then, add pears and 1/2 cup of water to the Instant Pot. Lock lid and cook on high for 5 minutes. When cooking is done, manually release the steam. Remove pears from the water and add to the blender with a banana. Puree until smooth, adding a little of the reserved pear water to reach your desired consistency. This is the easiest way to ripen bananas quick.

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Broccoli and Pea Mash

Baby will get plenty of fiber and vitamins from this quick recipe. Add two cups of broccoli florets and two cups of peas to the Instant Pot with 1/2 cup of water. Lock lid and cook on high for 8 minutes. Manually release the pressure and drain excess liquid into a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the vegetables and blend with an immersion blender or regular blender until smooth, adding reserved liquid as needed. If you’d rather buy baby food, these are our favorite brands.

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Blueberry Puree

Did you know blueberries are a baby superfood? They are rich in nutrients such as magnesium and zinc, plus vitamins A, E, K and B-complex. Prep berries for baby by adding 1 cup of fresh blueberries and 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot. Lock the lid and cook on high for 4 minutes. Manually release the pressure and remove the blueberries. Blend until smooth, adding reserved liquid if needed. Don’t accidentally make one of these 5 common mistakes with your Instant Pot.

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Originally Published: June 14, 2019

Erica Young

Erica is a cleaning and home décor expert. She knows exactly how to tidy a filthy kitchen and straighten out a mixed-up pantry! When she's not writing you'll find her organizing a closet, buying more bins she doesn't need or bingeing her latest TV show obsession.

Easy Homemade Baby Food in your Instant Pot

Jump to Recipe

Did you know that you can make healthy, nutritious baby food right in your Instant Pot? Instant Pot Baby Food is a cost-effective and low-effort method for cooking nutritious meals for your baby at home.

My little munchkin is now almost eight months old. I started her off with pureed baby food that I made in the instant pot at about 6 months, and now slowly transitioned her to enjoy more textured food.

With my older one 6 years back, there was no instant pot, and I can say for sure that making baby food in the instant pot has saved me so much time.

Instant Pot Baby Food is a fantastic way to offer your baby a variety of nutritious foods while saving both time and money. In this post, I'll share how to make an array of stage 1 baby foods as well as a few ways to combine purees to please your little one's palate. If you're looking for more baby-friendly pressure cooker recipes, check out my post on how to make simple homemade yogurt in your Instant Pot.

Jump to:

Why make Homemade Baby Food?
When to Give Baby Food?
How to Offer Homemade Baby Food?
What kind of veggies and fruits can you include for Stage 1 Baby Food?
How to Use the Instant Pot to Make Baby Food
What bowls can I use in the Instant Pot?
Tips for Pureeing Baby Food
Storing Baby Food
Homemade Instant Pot Baby Food Blends
Other Homemade Instant Pot Baby Food Recipes to Try
What to Avoid When Making Baby Food in Instant Pot
How to thaw and reheat frozen baby food?
Instant Pot Baby Food

Why make Homemade Baby Food?

There are so many reasons to make your baby's food at home in your Instant Pot. Not only will you save money (the price of those jars and pouches can really add up), but you'll be able to control the ingredients that go into your baby's food.

Plus, you'll be surprised at how many servings you can get from just one vegetable or piece of fruit, and if you plan well, you can make a big batch of baby food at a time, which will save you time in the long run.

When to Give Baby Food?

When your baby's pediatrician has given you the green light to begin letting your baby try solid purees it can be both an exciting and overwhelming time.

There's a lot of conflicting information on the web these days about when it's appropriate to begin feeding your baby solid foods and whether you should try baby-led weaning or purees. The most important thing to remember is that your baby is unique. It's best to make a decision that is right for your baby and your family.

If you do decide to follow the traditional route of feeding your baby purees, it's best to begin with thinly pureed vegetables and fruits. These are called stage 1 foods, and they're a great way to offer your baby new tastes and nutrients while teaching them the very early fundamentals of self-feeding.

As I mentioned earlier, I started off my daughter with purees (I did look at baby led weaning, but preferred to start with purees), then quickly transitioned to more textured foods.

How to Offer Homemade Baby Food?

My baby is now 8 months and I have been using the Instant Pot to make baby food. We started by introducing one new food at a time, making sure there are no allergies, then zing a new food every 2 days.

The biggest thing to remember when starting your baby on new foods is that you'll need to start slowly. Not only does this give your baby a chance to learn without overwhelming, but it also helps to identify potential allergens so that you can avoid those foods in the future and come up with an appropriate action plan in case your child would come into contact with those foods in the future.

To start offering your baby new homemade baby foods stage 1, start with one single puree at a time, waiting a minimum of 24-48 hours before trying a new puree. Keep an eye on your baby's skin to identify potential rashes, hives, or other changes that could indicate an allergy. Additionally, it's helpful to notice any changes in your baby's breathing or swelling inside his or her mouth.

When in doubt, contact your pediatrician if you are unsure of whether you're seeing something that could indicate a food allergy.

What kind of veggies and fruits can you include for Stage 1 Baby Food?

There are lots of options to start with when making stage 1 baby food recipes in the Instant Pot. Here are some ideas:

carrot
squash
peas
sweet potato
apple
pear
green beans
broccoli
zucchini
beets
peaches

How to Use the Instant Pot to Make Baby Food

Dice your choice of fruits and veggies into small, uniform pieces.
Pour 1 cup water into your Instant Pot's steel insert, then place a low trivet in the bottom. Place 4 ramekins (or other oven safe bowls) filled with the diced fruits & veggies on the trivet.

If there is space, repeat with a second layer of ramekins. You can also add a separating steamer basket between the 2 layers. Close the lid and set the vent to the sealing position. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally.

Remove the bowls with fruits & veggies carefully. Puree each ramekin separately to the desired consistency, then store as directed.

What bowls can I use in the Instant Pot?

It is recommended to use oven-safe bowls such as these ramekins in the instant pot for pot-in-pot cooking as shown above. I also like to use small steel bowls for cooking in the instant pot.

Learn more about the instant pot pot-in-pot method with this comprehensive guide!

Tips for Pureeing Baby Food

Some purees are thicker and some thin depending on the water content of the fruit or vegetable. For example, sweet potatoes will render a much thicker puree while pureed zucchini is much thinner and more watery.
It is best to add the least amount of water needed when pureeing so that you can add breastmilk or formula or water when serving as needed.
Use a Baby Bullet, small blender, or food processor to blend the veggies and fruits.

Storing Baby Food

You can store your homemade Instant Pot Baby Food in the fridge or freezer. Follow these guidelines for storing baby food safely:

In the fridge: Baby food should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container with a lid. I like to use small glass containers with lids for individual portions. It's easy to see what's inside each container and I can quickly grab a portion of baby food out of the fridge when I'm in a hurry.
In the freezer: Spoon purees into ice cube trays, then cover and freeze for at least 24 hours. When the baby food is frozen, pop the cubes out of your ice tray and place them into zip lock baggies labeled with the type of food and the date the food was cooked. Frozen baby food will stay fresh for up to 3 months.

Homemade Instant Pot Baby Food Blends

You can also play with blending two or more flavors of purees to mix up your baby's meals. Here are some flavor pairings that go well together:

Apple & carrot or butternut squash
Squash and peas or green beans
Pear & zucchini or apple & zucchini
Sweet potato & apple
Beets and butternut squash

Again, you can always add breast milk or formula to your homemade baby food purees for added liquid, fat, and nutrients. You can also add a small amount of unsalted butter to starchy foods like sweet potato & white potato for a little added flavor & fat.

Other Homemade Instant Pot Baby Food Recipes to Try

After working your way through the list above, you can start to play around with different blends, flavors, and textures.

To add a little excitement to your baby's pureed apples, try my 4-ingredient Instant Pot Applesauce recipe.

You can also do potatoes as long as they are boiled to soft, then mashed or whipped with enough liquid to make them smooth. Check out my tutorial for boiling potatoes in the Instant Pot, and try adding a little breast milk or formula to get a smooth consistency.

Tip for making potato baby food: Keep in mind that you should be careful not to over-process your boiled potatoes, or they will turn into a glue-like paste. I recommend mashing them by hand or with an electric hand mixer rather than placing them in a blender or food processor.

Another great option is lentils, but be sure to puree them first before feeding them to your baby. He or she might not be ready for whole lentils even if they are cooked super soft.

Finally, you can also feed your baby pureed soups as long as they are not spicy.

What to Avoid When Making Baby Food in Instant Pot

While it might be tempting to season your baby's food, especially when making purees, it's best to wait until your baby is a little older before introducing any additives other than breast milk, formula, or a little added butter during cooking.

Remember that babies have sensitive tummies and their digestive systems may not be ready to handle things like chili and other spicy substances. Skip the salt & pepper too - they're unnecessary during infancy.

It is also best to avoid sugar and especially honey, as it can cause serious food borne illness in babies under 1 year of age.

How to thaw and reheat frozen baby food?

Take out as many cubes of food that the baby will eat within 1-2 days (do not refreeze thawed food). Thaw then in an airtight container (I prefer glass containers) and let them thaw in the refrigerator.

You can also microwave the food in the container or transfer to a small pan to warm on the stovetop. Make sure to stir the food well and check that the temperature is right before serving to the baby.

Hope you enjoy the benefits of making baby food in your instant pot!

Tried this recipe?Give a rating by clicking the ★ below

Instant Pot Baby Food

Meeta Arora

4.89 from 18 votes

Servings: 10

Calories: 26

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Method: Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 30 mins

Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker
Ramekins

▢ ½ cup Carrot peeled and diced
▢ ½ cup Squash
▢ ½ cup Green peas frozen
▢ ½ cup Sweet potato peeled and diced
▢ ½ cup Apple diced (you can leave the peel on or remove it)
▢ ½ cup Pear diced (you can leave the peel on or remove it)
▢ ½ cup Green beans trimmed and diced
▢ ½ cup Broccoli diced
▢ ½ cup Zucchini chopped
▢ ½ cup Beets peeled and diced

Pour 1 cup water in the instant pot steel insert. Place a low trivet in the bottom.
Place 3-4 ramekins (or other oven safe bowls) filled with the diced fruits & veggies on the trivet.
If there is space, you can repeat with a second layer of trivets. You can also add a separating steamer basket between the 2 layers.
Close the lid with the vent in sealing position. Press the manual or pressure cook mode on high pressure for 5 minutes. When the Instant Pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally.
Remove the bowls with fruits/veggies carefully. Puree each food separately to your desired consistency, then refrigerate or freeze.

Tips for Pureeing Baby Food

Some purees are thicker and some thin depending on the water content of the fruit or vegetable. For example, sweet potatoes will render a much thicker puree while pureed zucchini is much thinner and more watery.
It is best to add the least amount of water needed when pureeing so that you can add breastmilk or formula or water when serving as needed.
Use a Baby Bullet, small blender, or food processor to blend the veggies and fruits.

Storing Your Homemade Instant Pot Baby Food

In the fridge: Baby food should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container with a lid. I like to use small glass containers with lids for individual portions. It's easy to see what's inside each container and I can quickly grab a portion of baby food out of the fridge when I'm in a hurry.
In the freezer: Spoon purees into ice cube trays, then cover and freeze for at least 24 hours. When the baby food is frozen, pop the cubes out of your ice tray and place them into zip lock baggies labeled with the type of food and the date the food was cooked. Frozen baby food will stay fresh for up to 3 months.

Note: Nutrition facts are for 1 cup of carrots only.

Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

Calories: 26kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 44mgPotassium: 205mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 10692IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 21mgIron: 1mg

Keyword baby food instant pot recipes, instant pot baby food

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top 10 best zucchini recipes

Zucchini contains no less water than cucumbers - almost 90%, but their benefits should not be underestimated. There is a lot of potassium in the pulp of zucchini - necessary for intestinal motility and the work of the heart muscle, there is beta-carotene, ascorbic acid, vitamins of group B. Zucchini is easily digested, does not cause allergies - due to this, the vegetable is recommended for baby food. And thanks to the neutral taste of zucchini, you can cook all kinds of dishes - even desserts!

Courgette boats

2 small marrows
400 g chicken fillet
1 bulb
1 tomato (medium)
80 g hard cheese
2 tbsp. spoons of sour cream
salt, pepper, spices to taste

Wash the zucchini, peel (optional) scoop out the pulp with a spoon. Place the resulting blanks in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
Cut the chicken fillet into small pieces, lightly fry in a pan, add chopped onion and tomato, add salt, pepper and seasonings, simmer over low heat for 5-7 minutes. Cool slightly, add sour cream and mix everything.
Stuff the cooled zucchini boats with the resulting mixture, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake at a temperature of 190 degrees until the cheese is browned.

Zucchini spread

1-2 zucchini depending on size
1 carrot
1 bulb
150 g soft cheese
Dill
Salt to taste

Finely chop the onion, grate the carrot on a coarse grater, fry until soft. Peel the zucchini, cut into small cubes (can be grated on a coarse grater), add to the pan to the onions and carrots, salt and fry over low heat until the zucchini is soft for 10-12 minutes.
Allow the mixture to cool slightly, add soft cheese (quality processed cheese is suitable), chopped dill and grind with a blender until smooth.

Zucchini rolls with fish

1-2 zucchini
Canned fish tin
1 bulb
150 g curd cheese
Dill, parsley, basil
Salt, dry garlic
1 st. l. 9% vinegar
Sesame

Finely chop the onion, add vinegar and water and marinate for 10-15 minutes.
Peel the zucchini, cut lengthwise into slices, about 3 mm thick, sprinkle on both sides with salt mixed with dried garlic and fry in a dry frying pan.
Filling: mash canned fish with a fork, add curd cheese, pickled onions, finely chopped greens. Salt everything and mix well.
Put the filling on the slices and wrap in the form of rolls, you can sprinkle with sesame seeds on top.

Stuffed zucchini with turkey

2 zucchini
400 minced turkey
1 bulb
1-2 tomatoes
150 g hard cheese
Salt, spices - to taste

Zucchini cut in half lengthwise - if the zucchini is young, the peel can be left on. Remove the pulp with a spoon, leaving a dense base.
In a frying pan, fry finely chopped onion, add minced turkey, salt, pepper and simmer, stirring, until the minced meat is ready. If children eat, the meat can not be salted or peppered.
Salt the prepared zucchini boats, put the minced meat, sliced tomatoes on it, bake at 190 degrees 35-40 minutes. 5 minutes before the supposed readiness, sprinkle the zucchini with grated hard cheese.

Courgette fritters with cottage cheese and cheese

2 courgettes
2 eggs
100 g firm cottage cheese
60 g hard cheese
1 cup flour
salt and dill to taste

Coarsely grate zucchini, salt and leave for 10 minutes, then squeeze, drain the juice that has come out - we won't need it.
Add eggs, cottage cheese, grated hard cheese, chopped dill, salt to the zucchini. Fry in a preheated pan with a small amount of vegetable oil over medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side.

Zucchini casserole from Evgeny Klopotenko

2 zucchini
1 lemon
5-7 sprigs of thyme
50 g walnuts
250 g cottage cheese
200 g mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut zucchini into thin slices using a shredder or vegetable peeler, add lemon zest, drizzle with lemon juice, salt, pepper, add thyme and mix. Leave for 10-15 minutes, drain excess liquid.
Put half of the zucchini slices in a greased baking dish, lightly squeezing out the juice. Mix cottage cheese with grated mozzarella, put half of the mass on zucchini. Then repeat everything - a layer of zucchini, a layer of cottage cheese with mozzarella. Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top.
Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Instant marinated zucchini

2 medium zucchini
1 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves
1 bunch dill
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons 9% vinegar
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons of liquid honey.

Zucchini cut into thin slices, sprinkle with salt and leave for half an hour. Then drain the juice that stands out.
For the marinade, you need to mix all the remaining ingredients, pour over the zucchini slices and let marinate for 3-4 hours. You can leave it all night - it will be even tastier. Keep refrigerated.

Courgette soup

2 courgettes
1 bulb
1 carrot
1 bell pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 potatoes
50 g processed cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Lightly fry the finely chopped onion in a frying pan with olive oil, add the carrots grated on a coarse grater and simmer the chopped bell pepper for another 5 minutes, and then put the mass into a saucepan.
Cut the potatoes and zucchini into small pieces, put the same saucepan, pour boiling water so that the water only covers the vegetables, and cook under a lid over medium heat until the potatoes are ready. 5 minutes before readiness add cheese, salt, pepper.
Grind the hot soup with a blender until smooth puree and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Serve with crackers.

Zucchini jam

2 kg young zucchini
1 orange
1 lemon
800 g sugar

Peel the zucchini, cut into random pieces and grind with a blender. Put in a saucepan with a thick bottom, add sugar, bring to a boil and cook over low heat for 20-30 minutes. It is better to cover with a lid, as the puree will splatter.
Remove the zest from the lemon and orange, without touching the white part under the peel, squeeze out the juice. Mix citrus juice with zest and beat with a blender until smooth.
Add citrus puree to the boiling squash mass and cook over low heat for about two hours, stirring occasionally. The jam is ready when the liquid has noticeably evaporated and the mass has thickened.
Arrange the jam in pre-sterilized jars and tightly close the lids.

Zucchini jam

1 kg marrow
600 g sugar
100 ml water
1 lemon
Vanilla sugar

Cut zucchini into small cubes, sprinkle with sugar and add water. Bring the mass to a boil, and cook over low heat for 20-30 minutes. Add chopped lemon pulp and vanilla sugar and continue to cook until the syrup thickens.
Arrange the finished jam in sterilized jars.

Recipes for stuffed sweet peppers and zucchini

The Roskachestvo expert shares recipes for cooking seasonal vegetables - sweet peppers and zucchini.

Maria Kovaleva

food photographer, blogger, cookbook author

- Fleshy sweet peppers (also called bell peppers), zucchini, juicy fragrant tomatoes, fragrant greens - all these seasonal vegetables and herbs can be used to make delicious and healthy casseroles, stuffed zucchini and peppers. Before you get down to business, read my tips that will make the process more enjoyable, and the dishes themselves will look appetizing.

Zucchini: tips and life hacks

Whatever you cook, choose small, thin-skinned zucchini. Important! Remove such zucchini from the heat a little before full readiness (otherwise they will boil).
Slightly pickled zucchini feel great in salads.
Slice baby zucchini into strips, wrap cream cheese with lemon juice, zest and maybe a pinch of dried mint – drizzle with olive oil, add ground pepper – for a quick and easy summer snack.

Sweet pepper: the subtleties of cooking

Both medium-sized green and yellow sweet peppers and large ones are suitable for stuffing.
To speed up the cooking time, peeled peppers can be blanched. After that, they need to be thoroughly dried, and then used according to the recipe.
Stuffed peppers with rice and minced meat can be called a real classic. Often cooked in sour cream sauce, and this option is probably well known to most. But in the Soviet culinary book of 1957, the Book of Tasty and Healthy Food, it was proposed to first simmer peppers in tomato, and then serve them with sour cream sauce. This also makes sense: those who do not feel like eating sour cream sauce can simply not put it on their plate.

Recipes:

Zucchini stuffed with turkey

Ingredients : 2 courgettes, 250 g turkey fillet (thighs), 100 g sour cream 15%, 60 g tomatoes, 1 onion, 0.5 tbsp. l. flour, oregano or basil (can be dried), frying oil (vegetable or butter), salt, pepper.

Cooking

Peel the onion, finely chop, then simmer in vegetable or butter over low heat until golden brown. Finely chop the turkey, mix with the onion. Fry lightly.

Cut the zucchini lengthwise, using a spoon, take out the middle to make boats. Cut the pulp of zucchini and tomatoes into small cubes, add to the turkey and sweat a little all together.

Mix sour cream with flour, add to the pan with vegetables and turkey. Stir in the basil and oregano and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Warm up the sauce. Spread the filling over the zucchini boats and bake at 180 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Try like this

Instead of tomatoes, you can add the pulp of baked eggplant or pasta from grilled vegetables.

Peppers stuffed with cheese

Ingredients : 5 sweet peppers (small), 300 g feta or cheese, 400 g mashed tomatoes, 2 garlic cloves, lemon juice and zest, herbs to taste, olive oil, salt, pepper.

Cooking

Clean the peppers by removing the seeds. Mash the cheese with a fork, mix with garlic, peeled and passed through a press, lemon juice, zest, herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper, if desired, put most of them in a baking dish. Stuff the peppers with the cheese mixture and also put in a mold. Scatter the remaining tomatoes on top. Drizzle with olive oil and bake at 180 degrees for 40-50 minutes. If desired, the form can be covered with foil.

The amount of tomato sauce can be varied to taste by adding 200 to 400 g of mashed tomatoes. If the tomatoes are too watery, they can be pre-steamed over low heat to evaporate the excess liquid.

Try like this

Mini peppers slightly larger than a walnut are not so common in stores, but if you manage to buy them, you can make a quick snack (you don’t have to bake it). Peppers need to be cleaned (if desired, they can be blanched) and stuffed with cheese mixture, put in a jar of herbs and garlic, pour olive oil and put in the refrigerator for several hours.

Peppers stuffed with minced meat and rice

Ingredients : 6 sweet peppers (small green ones), 400 g minced beef or mixed (pork-beef), 60 g rice, 2 onions, 2 carrots, greens, 70 g tomato paste, a little flour (optional), greens, vegetable oil, water or broth (about 600-700 ml), salt, pepper.

Ingredients for sour cream sauce: 300 g sour cream 15%, 2–3 tbsp. l. flour, 2-3 tbsp. l. vegetable oil, broth (optional), tomato sauce (to taste), salt, pepper.

Cooking

Clean the peppers by removing the seeds. Boil rice until half cooked, cool. Peel onions and carrots, sauté in vegetable oil over low heat until soft and golden brown. Finely chop the greens.

Mix minced meat with rice, onions, carrots, herbs, salt and pepper. Start peppers. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan. Add tomato paste and flour (if using), lightly fry. Pour in the hot broth (if there is flour in the pan, then pour in gradually, stirring thoroughly so that there are no lumps). Warm up everything together.

Put the peppers in a separate deep frying pan, pour them with tomato sauce so that it covers the peppers by about half. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes, turning occasionally. Additional liquid can be added as needed.

For sour cream sauce, fry flour in butter, dilute with hot broth (if used). Add sour cream and stir well. Combine with tomato sauce, season with salt and pepper. Serve peppers with sour cream sauce.

Try like this

Rice can be used both round and long, both more starchy and less. In this case, Basmati was used.
Instead of cooking on the stove, the peppers can be put in a cast iron pot and steamed under the lid in the oven (until soft).
You can add 1-2 onions (peeled, finely chopped and fried) to the tomato sauce.

Zucchini with garlic

Ingredients : 1 courgette, 2-3 garlic cloves, 1 tsp. dried oregano, lemon juice and zest, a pinch of ground chili or paprika, vegetable oil, salt, pepper. Optional: shredded aged cheese, for serving (optional).

Cooking

Cut the zucchini into circles, put in a bowl. Add oregano, lemon juice and zest (to taste), chili and paprika, pepper. Mix and leave for 15 minutes. Then heat vegetable oil with peeled garlic cloves in a frying pan. When the oil absorbs the aroma of garlic, the cloves can be removed.

Fry the zucchini mugs on both sides, transfer to a paper towel to drain excess fat. Before serving, salt and, if desired, additionally pepper, sprinkle with grated cheese.

Peppers stuffed with vegetables

Ingredients : 2 bell peppers, ½ eggplant, 2-3 celery stalks, a handful of cherry tomatoes (or 2-3 regular ones), dried or fresh herbs to taste, olive oil, salt, pepper.

Cooking

Cut off the tops of the peppers, clean the peppers, removing the seeds. Eggplant, celery and tomatoes cut into small cubes, mix with herbs, oil, salt and pepper. Let stand for 15-20 minutes, then lightly fry in a small amount of oil (no more than half cooked). Cool down.

Fill the peppers with the resulting mixture, if desired, cover with “lids” or put them side by side in a mold. Pour some water into the bottom of a baking dish.