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Home / Recipes / Meat & Seafood Recipes

Turkey Stuffed Peppers 

Published: May 1, 2023 · Modified: Jun 5, 2025 by Sujatha Muralidhar · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

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turkey stuffed peppers served in a plate

Meet my favorite recipe: Turkey Stuffed Peppers. These peppers are delicious and satisfying, loaded with ground turkey, spinach, rice, and cheese—they're too good to resist!

Close-up of turkey stuffed peppers cut in half, showcasing the colorful filling.

My family loves stuffed peppers, so I keep making variations(check my eggplant stuffed peppers).

There is something special about these turkey-stuffed peppers. The ground turkey is loaded with a flavorful, tomato-based sauce. That sauce is perfectly balanced with cooked rice and served in a bowl of peppers, making it an incredible experience.

If you're a fan of stuffed dishes or have never tried stuffed peppers, I'm sure you’ll adore this recipe's multiple layers of flavors and textures.

Jump to:
  • Why You'll Love This Recipe?
  • Ingredients
  • How to Make Turkey Stuffed Peppers
  • Storage & Reheating
  • FAQ
  • More Stuffed Pepper Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe

Why You'll Love This Recipe?

⭐️A flavorful and savory dinner.
⭐️Customizable and reusable filling.
⭐️ An excellent meal prep recipe and fantastic for leftovers as well.

Ingredients

Ingredients for turkey stuffed peppers: bell peppers, ground turkey, rice, tomatoes, spinach, and spices.
  • Ground turkey: I've used lean ground turkey(93% lean and 7% fat). However, you can also use ground turkey breast or high-fat ground turkey.
  • Rice: You can use the leftover cooked rice straight from the refrigerator. But avoid adding the hot rice, as it may turn mushy.
  • Diced tomatoes: I used canned diced tomatoes. You can substitute with fire-roasted diced tomatoes or pureed fresh tomatoes.
  • Bell peppers: Choose multiple colors to make the dish more visually appealing. You can substitute with other mildly hot chili peppers, like poblano and banana peppers.
  • Spinach: You can use fresh or frozen spinach.
  • Garlic powder: Easy and convenient, you can also use minced fresh garlic.
  • Smoked paprika: This spice adds subtle heat and a bright color to the filling.
  • Cilantro: Cilantro provides a refreshing flavor that melds well with the other ingredients.
  • Sharp cheddar cheese: Cheddar cheese complements the pepper flavors nicely.

How to Make Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Prepping bell peppers by removing tops and seeds for stuffing.
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Slice the bell peppers, remove the seeds, blanch them in boiling water for 2 minutes, and place them in a baking tray.
Cooking ground turkey in a pan until fully browned and cooked.
  1. Cook ground turkey over medium heat, then mix in diced tomatoes, spinach, cooked rice, parsley, salt, and paprika.
Mixing filling ingredients: diced tomatoes, spinach, rice, and spices in a bowl.
  1. Sauté until liquid evaporates. Remove from heat and stir in ¾ of the grated cheddar cheese.
Assembling stuffed peppers by packing the turkey mixture tightly into each pepper.
  1. Stuff the peppers with the turkey mixture, packing it tightly. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese on top. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the center reaches 165°F.
Delicious turkey stuffed peppers fresh out of the oven, topped with melted cheese.

Storage & Reheating

This recipe makes three whole peppers or six halves, but the size of the peppers can vary; sometimes, you may have some leftover filling.

No worries, You can repurpose this filling to make deconstructed stuffed peppers or make stuffed peppers again.

You can store the filling and stuffed peppers in an airtight container for up to four days in the fridge or four months in the freezer.

Reheat in the oven at 350°F for 25 minutes or microwave for 2-3 minutes until warm.

turkey stuffed peppers served in a plate garnished with cilantro

FAQ

What to serve with?

Pair stuffed peppers with a simple side salad or roasted vegetables for a balanced meal. For extra flavor, add soup, bread, or salsa(like this tomatillo red chili salsa).

Why do I need to blanch the bell peppers?

Blanching softens the peppers, making them cook evenly and quickly. This process also allows the peppers to absorb the flavors better.

What can I substitute with rice?

In this turkey stuffed peppers recipe, you can swap rice with other grains like quinoa or brown rice.

Can I use other vegetables?

Other vegetables, such as zucchini, mushrooms, or squash, work perfectly in this turkey stuffed peppers recipe.

More Stuffed Pepper Recipes

  • These stuffed salmon peppers are very easy and versatile. Made with zucchini, salmon, and brown rice, the combo with peppers tastes fabulous!
    Salmon Stuffed Peppers
  • This eggplant stuffed peppers is vegan that's effortless to make, and it tastes delicious also Made with rice and a delicious tangy sauce.
    Eggplant Stuffed Peppers
  • how to reheat the stuffed peppers text in a pepper at the background
    How To Reheat Stuffed Peppers
  • Let's learn about freezing stuffed peppers perfectly with this step-by-step guide. More instructions for thawing and reheating.
    Freezing Stuffed Peppers

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know your thoughts in the 📝 comments section below the recipe.

📖 Recipe

turkey stuffed peppers are ready to enjoy as a meal

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Meet my favorite turkey stuffed peppers. These peppers are delicious with the multiple layers of flavors - they're simply too good to resist!
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
20 minutes minutes
Servings: 6 Servings
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Ingredients

  • 6 bell peppers any color
  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • ½ cup cooked rice
  • 14 oz diced tomato
  • 1 cup spinach tightly packed
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • ¼ cup parsley /cilantro-minced
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese grated

Instructions

Prepping

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. And place a pot filled with water over high heat, and allow it to boil.
  3. Chop the stem and remove the core and the seeds gently.
  4. Add the bell pepper to the boiling water and allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes(blanching) or until the peppers turn slightly soft.
  5. Drain and place them in the baking tray with the hollow side facing up. And set aside.

Make the filling

  1. Place a pan over medium heat. Add ground turkey and garlic powder. And cook until it is done.
  2. Stir in a can of diced tomato(14oz) along with this liquid.
  3. Now add spinach, cooked rice, chopped parsley, salt, and paprika.
  4. And sauté until non-liquid is seen.
  5. Remove it from the heat. And now toss in ¾ quantity of the sharp cheddar cheese.
  6. And mix them gently.

Assemble

  1. Next, fill the pepper's cavity with the turkey mixture by packing it tightly.
  2. Now sprinkle the remaining ¼ quantity of the cheese over the top.

Baking

  1. And bake the peppers for about 20-30 minutes or until the edges wilt and the center of the stuffing turns warm(until it reaches 165°F).
  2. ENJOY!!

Notes

  • Leftover filling can be used to make deconstructed stuffed peppers or use it to make stuffed peppers again.
  • Store leftover turkey stuffed peppers in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 4 months.
  • Reheat stuffed peppers at 350°F in the oven for 25 minutes or microwave for 2-3 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 187kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 311mg | Potassium: 666mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 4760IU | Vitamin C: 163mg | Calcium: 109mg | Iron: 2mg

Additional Info

Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sujatha Muralidhar
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Comments

    5 from 2 votes

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Sara Welch says

    July 02, 2024 at 4:01 pm

    Enjoyed these for dinner last night and it was a savory success! Easy, hearty and delicious; loved the balance of flavors and textures!

    Reply
  2. DK says

    July 02, 2024 at 5:29 pm

    Fantastic recipe! I added a little bit of bacon to my stuffing cause I wanted that fatty goodness and they turned out just great!

    Reply
The author image of the food blog pepperbowl.com

Hi, I'm Suja! I'm the person behind PEPPER BOWL, based in Pennsylvania. I focus on easy, simple-to-make recipes inspired by rich flavors with a hint of heat. I enjoy simplifying recipes with minimal ingredients to suit today's busy lifestyle.

More about me →

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