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Ground turkey stuffed peppers with rice, vegetables, and a saucy, cheesy filling. Exactly what a stuffed pepper should be—comforting and craveable.
These ground turkey-stuffed peppers are lighter than the beef or sausage versions, but meaty enough to satisfy. The mushrooms earn their place here, adding depth that keeps the turkey from feeling like a compromise. Straightforward to put together, which matters on a weeknight.
Want more tasty ground turkey recipes? Check out my ground turkey lasagna or this vibrant ground turkey stir fry with cabbage.
Table of Contents
Ingredient Overview
A quick look at the essentials before we dive into the recipe card:
- Bell peppers: It’s up to you which colors you want to use—just note that green ones are a little bitter, whereas red, orange, and yellow ones are sweeter. I like using all of them for variety.
- Diced tomatoes: I use fresh in this recipe, but you could also use 14.5 oz of canned tomatoes, as I do in my vegetarian stuffed peppers recipe.
- Mushrooms: they’re meaty, soak up flavor, and bulk up the filling.
- Tomato sauce: Use your favorite jar sauce or use a simple homemade marinara.
- Rice: I use long-grain white rice. Arborio or basmati rice also works.
View more summer recipes that use summer produce here!
How to Make Stuffed Peppers With Ground Turkey
Step 1: Roast the Peppers
Preheat the oven to 425ºF with the rack positioned in the middle. Pop your peppers in and let them roast for 20 minutes, or until they’re slightly tender; remove and set them aside.
Step 2: Cook the Rice
Cook the rice according to the package instructions, but if possible, use chicken or vegetable broth instead of water. Better flavor!
Step 3: Make the Filling
Heat oil in a deep skillet. Sauté the onions and mushrooms for about 3-4 minutes, then stir in the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
Add the ground turkey and break it down into crumbles with a spatula or spoon as it cooks. Simmer until the meat is about halfway cooked; season it with salt and pepper.
Add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, then bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Once simmering, stir in the cooked rice and the cheese, then remove it from the heat.
Step 4: Stuff the Peppers
Spoon the meat mixture into the hollowed-out peppers, packing them as firmly as you can. Press the mixture down to secure it, then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
Step 5: Bake Until the Cheese Melts
Transfer the peppers to the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling. If you want some of that nice golden crisp on your cheese, turn the broiler on for a minute or two before removing the peppers. (Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.)
Garnish with freshly chopped parsley.
Substitutions & Variations
- Minute Rice—if ultimate convenience is your jam. In this case, just stir the uncooked rice into the meat mixture along with the tomatoes and sauce.
- Other proteins—ground chicken, sausage, or beef all work well. You could even create a 50/50 blend.
- For a spicy kick—sprinkle chili flakes into the mixture and top the peppers with them before serving.
- Skip the rice—and serve these saucy peppers over quick, creamy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes.
What to Serve Them With
Storage, Freezing & Reheating
- Fridge: Stuffed pepper leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freezer: After they have cooled completely, flash-freeze them on a baking sheet in the freezer for 1-2 hours, then wrap them tightly with plastic wrap and foil. Place them in a freezer-friendly bag and store for up to 3 months. Transfer to the fridge to thaw overnight.
- Reheat: In the microwave for 25-second increments until heated through, or reheat them in the oven at 350ºF in a baking dish for 15-20 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Stuffing them with raw meat—the oven-bake isn’t long enough to cook the meat through.
2. Not pre-cooking the rice—if using Minute Rice, you can skip this. But any other rice needs to be cooked, as the short time in the oven isn’t enough to fully cook it to tenderness.
3. Skipping roasting the peppers—to ensure tender peppers and a nice smoky char, be sure to roast the peppers prior to stuffing.
No, it’s the precooking that’s important, not how. In this recipe, we roast the peppers prior to stuffing. If you prefer, you can blanch the peppers in boiling water for 3-5 minutes instead, which will tenderize them but lack that smoky flavor.
Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers With Rice
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey, A 93/7 lean-to-fat blend is ideal.
- 4 large bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise and gutted
- 1 TBSP avocado oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp cracked pepper
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- 1 cup diced mushrooms
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup uncooked rice
- 1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3 TBSP grated Parmesan cheese
- Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- With a rack positioned in the middle, preheat the oven to 425º F.
- Set the pepper halves on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cut-side down, and roast for 20 minutes, or until slightly tender; remove and set them aside.
- While the peppers roast, cook the rice according to the package instructions, but in chicken or vegetable broth if you can.
- Heat the oil in a deep skillet. Add the onions and mushrooms and sauté for about 3-4 minutes, then stir in the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add the ground turkey to the skillet and break it down into crumbles with a spatula or spoon as it cooks. Simmer until the meat is about halfway cooked, then season it with salt and pepper.
- Stir in the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, then bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Once simmering, stir in the cooked rice and the cheese; remove it from the heat.
- Spoon the ground turkey mixture into the hollowed-out peppers, packing it as firmly as you can by pressing it down to secure it, then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
- Transfer the stuffed peppers to the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese melts and bubbles. For a nice golden crisp on your cheese, turn the broiler on for a minute or two before removing the peppers, but keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn.
- Garnish with freshly chopped parsley or basil, and serve!
Nutrition
View more ground turkey dinner recipes here!
More Stuffed Pepper Recipes
Vegetarian
Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers With Lentils
Appetizers
Healthy Taco Stuffed Mini Peppers
Appetizers
Love the simplicity of this delicious recipe ! The flavours were all there and modifying was easy. No fresh tomatoes, no problem, used a can of diced tomatoes and ground beef instead of turkey.
Thank you Dana for another hit in this house :)
Pauline G.
Would this not serve 8 if you’re halving 4 peppers? I’m making this tonight and will be using 3 peppers. Count as 6 servings?
Hi Kathy! Yes, thank you for catching that. I’d changed the recipe at one point but forgot to change the servings. Thanks for letting me know!
I turned the oven down to 350 degrees after the peppers were roasted. This helped the ingredients to stay moist while cooking the final dish. I had a mushroom marinara I made from the night before, so used that. It was delicious.
I made these for meal prep and boy were they a hit!! Question, are they gluten free?
Hi! I’m so glad they were a hit. The ingredients here should be gluten-free but always check labels (pasta sauce, cheese) to be sure.
They’re very pretty and enticing!
Thank you!
These stuffed peppers were incredibly flavorful and soo easy to make! We will bemakingthrm again very soon!
I’m so glad!
Oh, those stuffed peppers with ground turkey are absolutely scrumptious! I love that they’re packed with veggies and cheesy goodness. I got the perfect balance of flavor and nutrition!
Happy you enjoyed the, Alison!
Love love love these stuffed peppers. My kid even enjoyed them. We can’t wait to make them again
Awesome! I can’t wait until my 4 year old realizes there’s more to life than mac and cheese and eats these ;)
Such a yummy mixture for these stuffed peppers!
Thanks!
Oh. My. Goodness. These Stuffed Peppers with ground turkey completely SLAYED!! Thank you for the incredible flavor these babies packed. I had to make a double batch they were so good!
Awesome to hear, Ned!