Ground turkey stuffed peppers are a favorite traditional Italian-style meal turned healthy! This super easy stuffed bell pepper recipe uses 10 simple ingredients and is a beloved go-to flavorful gluten-free family dinner!
We love mini stuffed peppers and since baked stuffed bell peppers were one of our favorite meals for dinner growing up, I had to share my own healthier version. Ground turkey is a wonderful alternative to ground beef and can be used as a filling in ground turkey casserole, acorn stuffed squash, Italian turkey burgers, ground turkey meatballs, and turkey meatloaf.
Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 25 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 40 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 4 people (8 stuffed halves)
- ⚡ Calories: 439kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Savory Italian-style turkey and tomato with melted mozzarella and fresh basil
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our healthy hamburger helper
Quick Answer
Rinse the green bell peppers, slice them in half, and remove the pith and seeds. Cook the rice in boiling salted water according to package directions. In a large skillet, heat olive oil with garlic, chopped mushrooms, and diced onions, add the ground turkey, and cook while chopping the meat into fine pieces. Stir in the tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, cooked rice, and shredded mozzarella. Place the pepper halves upright in a 9x13-inch baking dish, stuff them with the turkey filling, top with extra cheese, and bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 40 to 45 minutes until the peppers are tender and the filling is cooked through.
Jump to:
- Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers
- Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers FAQs
- Other Recommended Ground Turkey Recipes
- Healthy Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers
These healthy stuffed peppers use lean ground turkey meat, a very small amount of rice and a bunch of mushrooms and onions inside the stuffing mixture for added nutrition. My family loves this ground turkey stuffed peppers recipe and the kids do what I did at their age, prefer just the filling without the peppers. No worries there because they are still getting their vegetables inside the filling!
I also have great tips on how to reuse leftovers from this stuffed peppers recipe into other meals.
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Extra lean turkey keeps it light. Extra lean ground turkey is almost 99% fat-free, which makes these stuffed peppers lower in fat and cholesterol than the classic beef version.
- Mushrooms and onions are the stealth vegetables. Sautéed into the filling, they add earthy flavor, moisture, and extra nutrition the kids never notice.
- Pre-cooked rice saves 20 minutes. Cooking rice ahead of time (or using leftovers from earlier in the week) turns this into a much faster weeknight dinner.
- Baking uncovered prevents soggy peppers. Leaving the dish uncovered lets extra fluid from the peppers evaporate, so they come out tender, never mushy or watery.
- Cheese in the filling binds it together. Stirring shredded mozzarella into the warm turkey mixture holds the stuffing so it scoops cleanly instead of crumbling.
- Halving the peppers doubles the servings. Slicing them in half makes 8 stuffed halves from 4 peppers, and the wider opening cooks faster and holds more filling.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- A childhood favorite turned healthy. Baked stuffed bell peppers were one of our favorite meals for dinner growing up, and this is my own healthier version with lean ground turkey.
- Kids get their vegetables. Even when the kids prefer just the filling without the peppers, they are still getting their vegetables inside the filling!
- Leftovers become brand new meals. The filling turns into Italian-style burritos, pasta toppers, and rice bowls later in the week.
Key Ingredients
- Green bell peppers - for a sweeter stuffed peppers dish, you can also use red bell peppers.
- White or brown rice or cauliflower rice (for low carb) - pre cooking the rice saves 20 minutes! Make a large batch ahead of time to eat throughout the week and to use for this filling.
- Ground turkey meat - preferably extra lean for a lower fat and cholesterol meal, also perfect for using in this healthy hamburger helper recipe.
- Mushrooms - crimini or white mushrooms work well to add earthy notes and extra vegetables.
- Onion and garlic cloves - add garlic powder in the end for extra garlic flavor!
- Shredded mozzarella cheese - you can substitute regular cheese for light or dairy-free cheese here.
- Favorite tomato sauce or marinara sauce with Italian seasoning.
- Extra virgin olive oil - used for sautéing the vegetables before mixing into the filling.
- Fresh basil leaves - this is the garnish and I highly recommend using fresh leaves rather than dry leaves.
As always, please see recipe card below for full ingredient list.
Variations and Substitutions
- Sweeter peppers. Use red, yellow, or orange bell peppers instead of green for a sweeter dish.
- Swap the meat. These instructions also work with regular organic ground beef or ground chicken, which is usually also a leaner meat.
- Low carb. Use cauliflower rice in place of white or brown rice.
- Dairy-free. Substitute the mozzarella for your favorite light or dairy-free cheese.
- Craving a different stuffed dinner? Try our Mexican stuffed sweet potatoes for a vegan spin on the same idea.
How to Make Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers
Please see recipe card below for full instructions.
1Prepare the green bell peppers by rinsing them off, slicing them in half, and removing the pith and seeds.
2Cook the rice in boiling salted water according to package directions, about 20 minutes.
3In a large skillet, sauté the olive oil, garlic, chopped mushrooms, and diced onions. Add the ground turkey and chop the meat into very fine pieces while it cooks.
4Add the tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, cooked rice, and shredded mozzarella cheese to the turkey mixture and stir. Turn off the heat.
5Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the peppers upright in a 9x13-inch baking dish, stuff them with the filling, and top with extra cheese.
6Bake uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes, until the peppers are tender (not soggy or watery) and the filling is cooked through.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Batch the rice. Cook 2 cups of dry rice at the beginning of the week and save the leftovers for other meals like jambalaya too.
- Chop the meat fine. Using a spatula, chop the turkey into very fine pieces while it cooks so the filling stuffs and scoops evenly.
- Add oil if it sticks. If the meat seems dry or starts to stick during cooking, add more olive oil (or avocado oil).
- Bake uncovered. Keeping the dish uncovered releases extra fluid from the peppers so they bake up tender instead of watery.
- Finish like an Italian. When they are done cooking, add extra cheese on top and freshly torn basil for a little extra flaaaaava!
- Make ahead. Stuff the peppers now and bake them another night (within 3 days), or bake now and reheat later for a 20 minute weeknight dinner.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
This recipe makes eight halves. For our family of four, we usually have leftovers and have gotten pretty creative with how we use it. Don't worry, you don't have to waste food if you are not a big leftover fan! Turn the leftovers into:
- Slice the green bell peppers and add the filling to a tortilla and wrap with extra cheese for an Italian-style burrito! Might sound strange but this is extremely delicious and makes for a quick lunch the next day!
- Add it to pasta! Chop up the leftovers and add it to your favorite pasta noodles.
- Rice bowls anyone? Serve the stuffed bell peppers chopped over a bed of extra rice.
- Leftover uncooked rice grains? Turn it into rice flour for a baking recipe!
On the side, a crisp chopped kale salad or a simple cucumber tomato salad balances the rich, cheesy filling perfectly.
Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers FAQs
Yes, meat should always be cooked before stuffing it into bell peppers. This prevents foodborne illness from undercooked meat. Ground beef and ground turkey meat also should be broken into small pieces to be used as a stuffing, which is done during the cooking time over the stove.
Uncooked stuffed peppers can be frozen. Rinse half the bell peppers and pat them until completely dry. Place them in a freezer safe dish and wrap them individually with freezer-safe plastic wrap. Place them in a plastic freezer container, seal it with a lid and freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw completely before cooking.
Cook ground turkey stuffed peppers at 350 degrees F in a casserole dish for 40 to 45 minutes. Keep the dish uncovered to release extra fluid from the peppers.
Bake until the peppers are tender and not mushy or watery and the filling is cooked through. When they are finished cooking, add extra cheese on top and freshly torn or chopped basil.
These stuffed peppers reheat really well. Reheat them at 350 degrees F, covered, for about 20 minutes or until heated through. You can also stuff them ahead and bake them fresh another night within 3 days.
Roasted Brussels sprouts, potato wedges, pesto cauliflower, a chopped kale salad, or a cucumber tomato salad all pair beautifully with stuffed bell peppers.
Other Recommended Ground Turkey Recipes
If you make this super easy and healthy ground turkey stuffed peppers recipe from Delightful Mom Food I would love to see your creations and share it! Follow along with me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for a feature and more recipe inspiration! And don't forget to rate the recipe in the recipe area and leave a comment below.
Healthy Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers
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Ingredients
- 4 green bell peppers
- ½ cup white or brown rice dry
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 ounces mushrooms chopped
- 1 onion diced
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 lb. ground turkey meat preferably extra lean
- 25 ounce jar tomato sauce or marinara sauce use a really good kind for maximum flavor
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded plus extra for topping
- fresh basil leaves Optional for garnish, chopped or torn
Instructions
- Prepare the green bell peppers by rinsing them off then slicing them in half horizontally and removing the pith and seeds. They should appear open-faced. Set aside until ready to use.
- Cook the rice in boiling salted water according to package directions, about 20 minutes.
- In a large skillet, heat on medium-heat the olive oil, garlic, chopped mushrooms and diced onions. Add the ground turkey meat to the pan. Using a wooden spatula, chop up the meat into very fine pieces while it is cooking. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the turkey meat is cooked through. If the meat seems dry or starts to stick during cooking, add more olive oil (or avocado oil).
- Add the tomato sauce to the turkey mixture, Italian seasoning, cooked rice and shredded mozzarella cheese. Stir to combine and turn of the heat.
- Preheat the oven 350 degrees F. Use a 9x13-inch baking dish and add the green bell peppers upright. Stuff the peppers with the ground turkey filling. There will be extra stuffing which can be placed around the filled peppers. Top with extra cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes or until the peppers are tender and not soggy or watery and the filling is cooked through. Remove from the oven and serve right away garnished with fresh basil and extra cheese.
Notes
- Quick Tip: Cook the rice ahead of time for convenience.
- Reheating: This dish can also be made and baked in advance, then reheated. To reheat stuffed peppers, heat the oven to 350 degrees F, cover and bake for about 20 minutes or until the centers are warm.
- Freezing: Uncooked stuffed peppers can be frozen. Rinse half the bell peppers and pat them until completely dry. Place them in a freezer safe dish and wrap them individually with freezer-safe plastic wrap. Place them in a plastic freezer container, seal it with a lid and freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw completely before cooking.
- For any extra filling, added it around the ground turkey stuffed peppers and cooked together.
- The peppers can also be prepared and cooked whole. To do so, slice off the tops and scoop out the seeds and insides. Stuff it with the filling, top with extra cheese and cook according to directions.
JMS Steen says
This is a staple in our household. I prepare a double batch and freeze them, this is a tasty and easy recipe. I like using the turkey rather than beef. We bake them 60 minutes rather than 45.
Danielle Fahrenkrug, Certified Health & Nutrition Life Coach says
Thank you for your comment. I love that you love this recipe, and appreciate you sharing this!
Myles Ruehling says
I have been reading out some of your articles and i can claim pretty nice stuff. I will definitely bookmark your blog.
Dolly says
Hi can you use colorful bell peppers as well
Danielle Fahrenkrug says
Yes, definitely!
Kathleen says
delicious....
Danielle Fahrenkrug says
Thank you!
Noelle says
Hi, this recipe looks great and I’m planning to make this Friday but I was wondering about the calorie count. This may seem like a stupid question but is the calorie count you stayed for the whole dish or per serving?
Danielle | Delightful Mom Food says
Thank you Noelle! The calories were for the whole pan. I just updated the calorie count to show each serving, serving 8. It serves 8 bell pepper halves filled. We are a family of 4 and half of this leftover:-) If you are a family of teenage boys the whole dish will most likely be devoured:-).
Brian says
Recipe sounds great but needs some clarification. The steps never mention what to do with the rice and the cooking process with the extra stuffing is vague. Thank you nonetheless!
Danielle | Delightful Mom Food says
Hi Brian! Thank you for your comment. Add the rice when you add the pasta sauce and cheese. I also clarified the (dry) rice quantity if you are using the exact amount for the recipe. Let me know if you have any more questions, enjoy!