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Taco-inspired Turkey-Stuffed Peppers filled with ground turkey and brown rice, seasoned with cumin and spices, and topped with cheese are my favorite!
Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed bell peppers are my jam! This healthy Ground Turkey-Stuffed Bell Pepper recipe is an oldie and one that I’ve always loved. They are taco inspired, sort of like a burrito with the filling stuffed in a pepper instead of a tortilla and topped with cheese. Some other stuffed pepper recipes you may like are my Santa Fe Turkey-Stuffed Peppers, Chicken Taco Chili Stuffed Peppers, or my popular Stuffed Pepper Soup.
Ingredients
- Bell peppers: Any color bell peppers can be used, I use multi-color or red bell peppers.
- Ground Turkey: Use 93% lean ground turkey, 99% would be too dry. Ground chicken can also be used.
- Cheese: I like to top it with cheddar cheese.
- Spices: I used garlic powder, cumin and salt. You can also use taco seasoning in it’s place.
- Fresh Herbs: Chopped fresh cilantro or fresh parsley, plus more for garnish.
- Rice: brown rice or long grain rice
- Tomato: I use 1 can of tomato sauce.
- Broth: or you can use water to add to the bottom of the pan
How To Make the Best Turkey Stuffed Peppers
These are my favorite turkey stuffed peppers, the one I make most in my house because it’s so good!
- Start with browning ground turkey and cook with onions, garlic and cilantro in a large skillet.
- Add cumin and spices, tomato sauce and simmer with chicken broth until the flavors meld.
- Mix it with brown rice and stuff the peppers. Top with cheese and bake at 400F covered with foil until the peppers are tender, about 45 minutes.
How to Serve Stuffed Peppers
- One bell-pepper half and a big green salad on the side is a very filling lunch for me, but my husband needs two to fill up.
- For picky kids: When my younger daughter Madison was little, she didn’t like bell peppers, so I gave her some filling topped with cheese, and she loved it. She also liked to eat the turkey mixture in a small tortilla with cheese like a mini burrito.
How to Meal Prep and Freeze Stuffed Peppers
These easy turkey-stuffed peppers are great to meal prep and have for leftovers, which will hold in the fridge for up to four days. There are a few ways to meal prep the peppers:
- Stuff the peppers and refrigerate overnight until you’re ready to cook them.
- Make the stuffing and freeze it. When ready to eat, thaw it overnight in the fridge and stuff it in the peppers before baking.
- Bake the bell peppers and freeze any extra. To reheat, warm in the microwave or oven.
Turkey Stuffed Pepper Variations:
- Meat: Swap ground turkey for lean ground beef or chicken.
- Italian seasoning: Swap the cumin for Italian seasoning, the tomato sauce with marinara and the cheddar for mozzarella cheese.
- Grains: Sub quinoa or white rice for brown rice or cauliflower rice for a low-carb option.
- Bell Peppers: If you don’t have red bell peppers, use any color pepper.
- Vegetables: Add chopped zucchini, riced cauliflower or squash to the filling for extra veggies.
- Sauce: If you want a saucier filling, use the whole can of tomato sauce.
- Spice: Add diced jalapeños to the turkey mixture and serve with hot sauce for a spicy kick.
More Ground Turkey Recipes:
- Turkey Taco Stuffed Avocados
- Turkey Chorizo
- Cheesy Turkey Meatball Skillet
- Turkey Cheeseburgers
- Jalapeno Popper Nachos
Turkey Stuffed Peppers
These turkey stuffed peppers filled with ground turkey and brown rice, seasoned with cumin and spices and topped with cheese are my favorite!
Yield: 6 servings
Serving Size: 1 /2 pepper
Equipment
- large baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 medium onion, minced
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3 large sweet red bell peppers, washed
- 1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth, divided
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce
- 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
- Olive oil spray
- 6 tbsp part skim shredded cheddar cheese*
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400°F.
- Lightly spray olive oil spray in a medium nonstick skillet and heat on a medium heat.
- Add onion, garlic and cilantro and saute about 2 minutes, add ground turkey, salt, garlic powder, cumin and cook meat for 4 to 5 minutes until meat is completely cooked through.
- Add 1/4 cup of tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of chicken broth, mix well and simmer on low for about 5 minutes.
- Combine cooked rice and meat together.
- Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise, and remove all seeds. Spoon 2/3 cup meat mixture into each pepper half and place in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Top each with 1 tbsp cheese.
- Pour the remainder of the chicken broth on the bottom of the pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for about 45 minutes, until peppers are tender.
- Carefully remove the foil and serve right away.
Last Step:
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Notes
*check labels for gluten-free
Nutrition
Serving: 1 /2 pepper, Calories: 221 kcal, Carbohydrates: 19 g, Protein: 18 g, Fat: 3 g, Cholesterol: 61 mg, Sodium: 248 mg, Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 1 g
