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GET IT NOWGround turkey stuffed peppers are one of those meals I keep coming back to—they’re easy, satisfying, packed with flavor, and lighter than beef. You can make stuffed peppers with ground turkey using many different add-ins, but this version is my fave. It reminds me of tacos or my taco salad, except baked into a warm, cheesy dish. Make them with me next time you want to change up your Taco Tuesday!
Why You Need My Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers Recipe
- Taco night, reinvented – If you love tacos, my ground turkey stuffed peppers are a flavor-packed upgrade! It’s like taco night, but with fewer dishes, a built-in veggie, and a melty, cheesy finish.
- Light and filling at the same time – Many recipes have heavier components like brown rice or beans. Mine is lighter, focused on protein and vegetables, but still very satisfying.
- Easy to make – You can have a healthy dinner on the table in well under an hour with this recipe, and I love that I usually have the ingredients on hand.
- Meal prep hero – I often make a double batch, because these store and freeze beautifully. And my kids like helping stuff the peppers!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best ingredients for my ground turkey stuffed peppers, what each one does in my recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.
- Bell Peppers – Any color you want! I used red and yellow bell peppers for their sweetness and color variety.
- Ground Turkey – I prefer 93% lean ground turkey, but 99% fat works too because the diced tomatoes (below) still keep it moist. And while these are turkey stuffed bell peppers, there’s no reason you can’t make them with ground chicken, ground beef (like a more classic taco meat), chorizo, or even barbacoa.
- Canned Diced Tomatoes – For flavor and to keep the stuffing moist. I usually have regular diced tomatoes around, but you can swap in fire-roasted tomatoes for a smoky taste or even diced tomatoes with green chilies for a kick.
- Red Onion – White or yellow onion works, too. Sometimes I add a few cloves of minced garlic with it.
- Seasonings – I use my homemade taco seasoning (you can make it in 5 minutes), but feel free to use store-bought. Fajita seasoning works, too. You’ll also need water (or any broth you like for extra flavor) to add moisture with the seasoning, and salt for the peppers.
- Shredded Cheese – For the melty layers! Cheddar cheese is my fave, but Monterey jack, pepper jack, or Mexican cheese blend would also work well.
- Olive Oil – For roasting the peppers and browning the ground turkey. Avocado oil or any oil you’ve got is fine.
How To Make Stuffed Peppers With Ground Turkey
I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.
- Prep the peppers. Slice off the tops and scoop out the seeds and ribs. Trim a thin layer off the bottoms (without cutting a hole) so they stand upright.
- Bake to soften. Arrange them upright in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until they’re tender and the edges look slightly puckered.
- Sauté the onions. While the peppers are in the oven, heat the oil in a large skillet and cook the diced onions, until they’re soft and golden.
- Brown the ground turkey. Add it to the pan and cook, breaking it apart, until it’s browned and cooked through.
- Season the meat. Stir in the taco seasoning and water, letting it simmer until the liquid evaporates. Mix in the drained diced tomatoes.
- Fill the peppers. Spoon the turkey mixture into the peppers, layering it with the shredded cheddar. Repeat until the peppers are full.
- Final bake. Pop the ground turkey stuffed peppers back in the oven, just long enough to melt the cheese.
My Recipe Tips
- The perfect-sized baking dish will help the peppers stay upright. I love this oval dish because it’s just the right size for all 6 bell peppers to fit without space for them to fall over.
- Choose your skillet based on how you like your turkey. I used this hard-anodized one, which is my fave nonstick kind because it’s non-reactive, and it keeps the turkey moist. Cast iron (I like this enameled one for no maintenance) is better if you want darker browning with crispy edges on your ground turkey.
- My meat chopper makes breaking up the turkey so much faster and easier. It’s one of those tools I didn’t know I needed until I tried it!
- Forgot to drain the diced tomatoes? No problem—just simmer off any extra liquid.
- The ideal amount of filling can vary, but it doesn’t really matter. Depending on the size of your peppers, sometimes they end up full to the top and sometimes the filling is a little lower than the edge. When I have extra space on my ground turkey stuffed peppers after baking, I just use that as an excuse to load up extra toppings!
- Want to make them more hearty? Reduce the amount of turkey to 1 pound and the taco seasoning to 2 tablespoons. Then, add 1 cup of cooked rice (or cauliflower rice), beans, or corn (so good with leftover Mexican street corn!) to the ground turkey mixture before filling.
- Want to pack in more veggies? Reduce the amount of turkey like I explained above, and saute a cup of other vegetables together with the onions. I like zucchini or carrots!
Topping Ideas
I topped my ground turkey stuffed peppers with jalapenos, avocado cubes, and fresh cilantro, pictured above. Feel free to get creative with your favorite taco toppings, like sour cream, guacamole, salsa (try my salsa verde or fresh salsa), or shredded lettuce.
These also pair nicely with a bowl of homemade tortilla chips to scoop up any extra filling, my fresh avocado corn salad on the side, and even a skinny margarita when it’s one of those days.
More Easy Ground Turkey Recipes
If you like these stuffed peppers with ground turkey, you’ll love my other recipes using this protein:
Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers
My ground turkey stuffed peppers pack tender bell peppers with a taco filling and melty cheese. Perfect for an easy dinner or meal prep!
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Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C).
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To prepare the peppers, chop off the tops and scoop out the seeds and ribs inside. Slice a tiny layer off the bottoms (without making a hole if possible) so that the peppers are stable standing upright.
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Place the peppers into a stoneware baking dish, open side up. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
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Bake peppers for about 15 minutes, until they are soft and the edges are slightly puckered. Blot any extra liquid inside the peppers using paper towels.
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Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a large saute pan, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced red onions and saute for 5-10 minutes, until translucent and slightly golden.
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Push the onions to the sides of the pan and add the ground turkey in the center. Cook, breaking apart with a spatula (or for a more effective way, use a tool like this), for 8-10 minutes, until cooked through.
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Add the taco seasoning and water to the pan. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, until the extra liquid evaporates.
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Stir in the diced tomatoes.
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Once the peppers are done baking, remove from the oven and reduce heat to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). If there is any liquid inside the peppers, blot it dry with paper towels. Spoon the meat filling into the pepper cavities, filling them halfway.
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Sprinkle with shredded cheese on top, about 2-3 tablespoons (10.4 – 15.6 grams) per pepper. Top with the remaining meat filling and remaining cheese.
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Return to the oven for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
LAST STEP: Leave a rating to help other readers, or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram. I’d love to hear from you!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 ground turkey stuffed pepper
- Tips: Check out my recipe tips to help your peppers stay upright, shortcuts for cooking the turkey, variations to make them more hearty or add extra veggies, and more.
- Toppings: If you’d put it on a taco, it’s great for these ground turkey stuffed peppers! Check out my topping ideas above.
- Store: Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- Meal prep: There are so many ways I’ve made these ahead! Sometimes I just cut and empty the peppers. Sometimes I pre-bake them and cook the filling. But most often, I assemble them completely and just bake the day-of.
- Reheat: These reheat well in the microwave (great for lunch!), or you can bake them at 350 degrees F.
- Freeze: You can freeze these before or after baking, for up to 3 months. You can bake them from frozen, but it’s much faster if you thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
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Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers
19 Comments
Mohammed
0Yes, Chrissy! I also adored it. I appreciate you sharing this cake pan tip; it’s a great idea!
~Chrissie O.
0One of the things I love about stuffed peppers is that you can wax to many different flavor profiles: Use turkey Italian sausage, add some Italian-seasoned diced tomatoes, fresh basil, and an Italian Cheese blend. Use turkey chorizo, Rotel/generic equivalent, a little chipotle and cumin, and pepper jack. Or go classic. My #lifehack is to cook these in a Texas-sized muffin tin – the pepper stands perfectly upright when stuffed and has no opportunity to slouch as it cooks!!! You’re welcome! lol ~Chrissie
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Absolutely, Chrissie! I love that, too. Thank you for sharing that hack with the muffin tin, what a great idea.
Kathryn
0This was fantastic! Will definitely keep it in the rotation!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Kathryn! Hope you make them again soon.
Ofelia
0This recipe is one of fav, my family learn to eat healthy ..love love it..
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you so much, Ofelia! Enjoy!
Beth
0This was absolutely delicious. My husband loves stuffed green peppers, honestly I don’t typically care for them. I made this and used spicy taco seasoning and it was absolutely delicious. Can’t wait to eat my leftovers today. I put a little dollop of sour cream on the top of mine, and absolutely delicious. Thank you so much for this recipe.
MaryAnne
0Made this last night for my husband and myself. We both enjoyed it and I will be making it again. Both enjoyed it. I am thinking that I will make multiple servings of the stuffing and use my vacuum sealer to put the meat in portion sizes for us. We are both in our 70s appetite isn’t as big as it used to be and this way I can control how much I put out thank you.
Alan
0Sounds good. Thought you had a recipe for Air fryer bell peppers but can’t find it.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Alan, I don’t know which recipe you are talking about but here are all my bell pepper recipes.
Mich
0I used Pablano Peppers and Rotel tomatoes. It was delicious!
Gayle
0Where do all the calories come from in this recipe? I can’t believe how high it is in calories. Is there any way to reduce the calories?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Gayle, The calories are mostly from the ground turkey and the cheese. If you would like to reduce the calories per serving, then I recommend cutting back on the amount of cheese used in the recipe.
veenaazmanov
0This is such a unique and perfect dish. Love the creativity and tasty filing . The flavors are so perfect. Love that it is cheesy too.
Andrea Metlika
0Love that you used sweet peppers for this. The peppers not only look wonderful but filling sounds delicious too!
Shelley
0Super healthy, easy and delicious – the three things I look for in a recipe! And, as always, your photos are just gorgeous! Great idea to serve with cauliflower rice as a side dish! Oh – and I’m super excited about your make-ahead tips and that these can even be frozen … I guess make-ahead options are actually the fourth thing I look for in a recipe lol! Thank you!
Gail Montero
0Love that you used turkey making this stuffed peppers lower in fat and healthier! What a delicious option for dinner every time!
Heidy L
0These ground turkey stuffed bell peppers were so wonderful! I loved all the flavors and so did the family. We have added this to our dinner rotation and can’t wait to have them again. Looking forward to your next recipe.