These ground turkey stuffed peppers are made with lean ground turkey, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, and white or brown rice and are topped with cheese.
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Stuffed peppers are a classic dish with a hearty and flavorful filling. This version, made with ground turkey, is a lighter take on the traditional beef-filled peppers while still delivering on taste. With a mix of vegetables, fire-roasted tomatoes, and melted mozzarella these stuffed peppers are satisfying and delicious.
This delicious ground turkey dish is perfect for weeknight dinners or even serving guests at your next dinner party. The individual portions make it easy to plate, and the colorful presentation adds a special touch.
If you like ground turkey, try my Buffalo turkey meatballs and my ground turkey tater tot casserole.
Recipe Highlights
- Easy to make – Simple steps and common ingredients make this turkey and rice dinner a stress-free meal.
- Light dinner – The combination of lean protein, veggies, and grains makes ground turkey stuffed peppers a well-rounded high protein meal with fiber. Plus, it's a healthy alternative to beef.
- Perfect for meal prep – Stuffed peppers are a great meal prep option! You can prep them in advance, bake them, and then simply reheat them throughout the week.
Jump to:
- Recipe Highlights
- Ingredients
- How to Make Ground Turkey Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Rice: Cooked vs Uncooked
- Pre-Cooking the Peppers
- Substitutions
- Stuffed Pepper Variations
- Equipment
- Leftovers and Reheating
- How to Meal Prep and Freeze Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Tips for the Best Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers Recipe
- FAQ
- More Delicious Ground Turkey Recipes To Try
- What Should I Serve With Stuffed Peppers?
- 📖 Recipe
- Food safety
- 💬 Comments
Ingredients
- Bell peppers – Use your favorite bell peppers. Red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, orange bell peppers, and green bell peppers are all great options. Plus, buying a 3-count pack of tri-color bell peppers is often less expensive than buying peppers individually, so be sure to price check.
- Ground turkey – A lean protein option. You can also use ground beef (see my Substitution notes).
- Olive oil – Used for sautéing and adding richness.
- Yellow onion – Diced onion adds sweetness and depth of flavor.
- Mushrooms – Diced mushrooms add an earthy flavor.
- Zucchini – Diced zucchini is one of those veggies that kinda goes with everything.
- Fire-roasted tomatoes – Fire-roasted diced tomatoes add a deeper, slightly smoky flavor compared to regular diced tomatoes.
- Cooked rice – You can use white or brown rice. See my notes on cooked vs uncooked rice. Personally, I like to use brown rice for a whole grain.
- Italian seasoning – A blend of herbs, typically oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, and marjoram.
- Paprika – Adds a hint of smokiness and color.
- Kosher salt & black pepper – Enhances the flavors.
- Shredded mozzarella cheese – Melts beautifully for a creamy, cheesy topping.
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Ground Turkey Stuffed Bell Peppers
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and place the bell peppers upright in a large baking dish. If the peppers don't stand up on their own, you can slice a sliver off the bottom to create a flat bottom.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the ground turkey, and cook until browned.
Add the onion and sauté until softened. Add the mushrooms and zucchini, cooking until they release moisture, about 5 minutes.
Stir in fire roasted tomatoes, cooked rice, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, and pepper, and cook for about 3 minutes to warm the mixture. Taste the turkey mixture and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Stuff the mixture evenly into the peppers until the peppers are filled, using the back of the spoon to gently press the mixture into the peppers.
Cover the stuffed peppers with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes or until the peppers are fork-tender. If the peppers are not fork tender (soft enough to be pierced with a fork), put the foil back on and stick it back in the over for another 5 minutes.
Remove the foil and top each pepper with mozzarella cheese. Bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Allow the peppers to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Rice: Cooked vs Uncooked
This turkey stuffed pepper recipe calls for cooked rice, which means the rice should be fully prepared before mixing it into the filling. If you’re short on time, you can use parboiled rice, which cooks faster, or frozen pre-cooked rice for convenience. Just make sure whatever rice you use is fully cooked before adding it to the stuffing mixture.
For white rice, You’ll need about ⅓ cup of dry rice to make 1 cup cooked. For brown rice, use ½ cup dry rice since it doesn’t expand as much as white rice when cooked.
Pre-Cooking the Peppers
This recipe does not require pre-cooking the bell peppers before stuffing them (that's what makes this such an easy recipe). The peppers will soften as they bake in the oven, allowing them to retain their shape while absorbing the flavors from the turkey filling. This recipe has a longer baking time to fully cook the ground turkey peppers.
However, if you prefer a softer texture or want to speed up the cooking time, you can pre-cook the peppers by blanching them in boiling water. To do so, simply place the bell peppers in boiling water for 3-5 minutes, then remove and immediately transfer them to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Once cooled, you can dry them and stuff them as directed in the recipe and bake them.
Pre-cooking will result in slightly more tender peppers, but it’s totally optional!
Substitutions
- Bell peppers – You can use any color of bell pepper for this recipe, so feel free to pick your favorite! Red, yellow, and orange peppers are sweeter, while green peppers are more mild. Mixing different colors adds variety and makes the dish even more visually appealing.
- Ground turkey – Use ground chicken, beef, or even lentils for a vegetarian option. If using ground beef, be sure to drain any excess grease.
- Yellow onion – Red onion, white onion, or shallots can be used for a slightly different taste.
- Veggies – I use mushrooms and zucchini because they're so versatile. If you prefer, you can swap them for diced eggplant, chopped spinach, shredded carrots, or bell pepper (use the tops of the peppers minus the stem) for a different flavor and texture.
- Fire-roasted tomatoes – You can use regular diced tomatoes or petite diced tomatoes.
- Cooked rice – Quinoa or cauliflower rice for a low-carb option.
- Italian seasoning – Use a mix of oregano, basil, and thyme.
- Mozzarella cheese – Cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack are two of my favorites. Monterey Jack cheese and mozzarella are more melty.
Stuffed Pepper Variations
- Mexican-style stuffed peppers – Replace Italian seasoning with taco seasoning and add black beans and corn for a Southwestern style pepper.
- Greek stuffed peppers – Use feta cheese, oregano, and chopped olives for a Mediterranean-style stuffed pepper.
- Low-carb version – Swap the rice for riced cauliflower.
Equipment
- Baking dish – A 9 by 13-inch baking dish, or something slightly smaller like a 2-quart baking dish, is perfect for this recipe.
- Large skillet – You need a large skillet to brown the meat and sauté the veggies (or Dutch oven).
- Cutting board and chef's knife – You need a cutting board and chef's knife for dicing the veggies.
Leftovers and Reheating
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, place in a microwave-safe dish and heat in 30-second intervals until warm. You can also reheat in the oven at 350°F for about 15 minutes.
How to Meal Prep and Freeze Stuffed Bell Peppers
Stuffed peppers are great for making ahead your meals. You can prep them in advance, bake them, and then reheat throughout the week.
You can also freeze stuffed peppers. For freezing, wrap individual peppers in plastic wrap and store them in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Tips for the Best Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers Recipe
- Adjust seasoning to taste – Taste the filling before stuffing and tweak the seasoning if needed.
- Use sturdy bell peppers – Choose large peppers that can stand on their own. Bell peppers can have either three or four lobes, with four-lobed peppers often being easier to stand upright because of their more stable, flat base. The three-lobed ones tend to tip over more easily due to their less balanced shape.
- Fill 'em up – Gently press the filling into the peppers when you stuff the peppers.
- Cover while baking – Baking with foil for the first 40 minutes keeps the moisture in to make the peppers tender.
- Add cheese at the end – Wait to add the mozzarella to top the peppers in the last 5-10 minutes when the foil is removed. Otherwise it will cook way too long and the cheese will stick to the foil.
FAQ
Yes! Prepare the stuffed peppers up to the baking step, cover them, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking.
No. Use cooked rice, as uncooked rice won’t soften properly in the oven.
If they don’t stand upright, trim a small piece off the bottom to create a flat surface.
More Delicious Ground Turkey Recipes To Try
If you like ground turkey stuffed bell peppers, try my favorite ground turkey recipes.
What Should I Serve With Stuffed Peppers?
Stuffed peppers are a complete meal on their own, but if you want to round out the meal, here are some great side dish ideas:
- Simple Green Salad – A fresh side with a light vinaigrette balances the hearty peppers.
- Garlic Bread – Perfect for soaking up any juices from the peppers.
- Soup – A light tomato or roasted red pepper soup pairs well with the flavors.
- Coleslaw – A tangy slaw adds crunch and contrast.
- Kale – I like a simple sautéed kale side dish.
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear what you think! Please take a moment to leave a rating and review—it helps me create high-quality recipes and lets others know what to expect.
📖 Recipe
Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers with Rice
Video
Ingredients
- 6 large bell peppers tops removed and seeded
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 8 ounces mushrooms diced
- 1 small zucchini diced
- 1 can fire roasted tomatoes 14.5 ounce can, drained
- 1 cup cooked rice white or brown*
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and place the bell peppers upright in a large baking dish. If the peppers don't stand up on their own, you can slice a sliver off the bottom to create a flat bottom.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the ground turkey, and cook until browned.
- Add the onion and sauté until softened. Add the mushrooms and zucchini, cooking until they release moisture, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in fire roasted tomatoes, cooked rice, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, and pepper, and cook for about 3 minutes to warm the mixture. Taste the turkey mixture and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Stuff the mixture evenly into the peppers until the peppers are filled, using the back of the spoon to gently press the mixture into the peppers. Cover the stuffed peppers with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes or until the peppers are fork-tender.
- Remove the foil and top each pepper with mozzarella cheese. Bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Allow the peppers to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Food safety
- Cook ground turkey to 165°F (74°C) internal temperature.
- Refrigerate promptly or freeze for longer storage.
Kelsey Smith says
I hope you love my stuffed pepper recipe. Don't forget to taste the filling before stuffing the peppers (salt and pepper to taste!). Enjoy.