Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers

Light and healthy Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers filled with seasoned ground turkey, brown rice, corn and black beans all topped with melted cheese!

Oh how I LOVE stuffed veggies and these bell peppers are delicious!  Not only are they super easy to make, but they’re even more fun to serve.  Mexican stuffed bell peppers are a delicious combination of simple ingredients like lean ground turkey, brown rice, a variety of spices, corn and black beans all stuffed into tender bell peppers, doesn’t get much tastier than that!

Truth be told this is essentially the same filling I use in my turkey taco lettuce cups   I seriously love that recipe so much that I knew it would be the perfect filling for all these bell peppers!  I did throw in some brown rice to make this more of a complete meal along with some gooey Monterey Jack cheese, but feel free to swap out the brown rice for either white rice, quinoa or skip the grains altogether for a lower carb meal!

INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED:

• Bell peppers – choose any assortment of colors you’d like!  I also like to choose peppers that are all about the same size.
• Ground turkey – I used lean ground turkey to keep this as healthy as possible, but you could of course use ground beef, ground or shredded chicken, OR feel free to leave the meat out entirely to keep this vegetarian!
• Brown rice – added rice just makes this a much more filling dish and did you know you can easily use your Instant Pot to make PERFECTLY cooked brown rice every single time!  You can also swap the rice for quinoa, cauliflower rice or simply leave it out altogether.
• Chopped onion
• Fresh garlic
• Tomatoes and SALSA – yes adding salsa is a must in this recipe and it even adds an extra layer of flavor!  I add about one cup of salsa in the turkey mixture while reserving a 1/2 cup to spoon on top of the peppers right before baking.
• Black beans and corn – you can use fresh or frozen corn and, of course, make sure to drain and rinse the black beans before adding into the turkey mixture.
• Taco seasonings – an assortment of spices like chili powder, cumin and oregano.
• CHEESE – I topped these peppers with Monterey Jack cheese, but feel free to use any type of shredded cheese you’d like!

Yes I realize this seems like A LOT of ingredients, but trust me when I say they are totally worth it and I promise you’ll thank me later!

HOW TO MAKE MEXICAN STUFFED BELL PEPPERS:

• Make the turkey filling.  Sauté your onion and garlic, brown the meat, add your seasonings and mix in the rest of the ingredients!  So easy right??  Everything cooked right in one pan for an easy weeknight meal
• Stuff the peppers.  Slice the tops of the bell peppers off, scoop out the ribs and seeds then stuff generously with the turkey filling.  Arrange the peppers in a baking dish, top with additional salsa and pour about a cup of water in the bottom of the dish and cover with foil.  The water is important to help the peppers steam while baking in the oven.
• Bake!  Pop your stuffed peppers in the oven for about 35 minutes, until peppers are nice and tender, then remove the foil and top with shredded cheese.  Bake an additional 5 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly!
• Additional toppings.  Feel free to top these cheesy peppers with additional cilantro then serve fresh out of the oven with some avocado slices, sour cream and additional salsa.  You can also add some heat to these with some slices of jalapeño!

Stuffed peppers also re-heat really well so they’re perfect for meal prep and they also make for a great freezer meal!  Simply store them in a sealed container for up to 3 months in your freezer and thaw overnight when you’re ready to bake.

Hope you all enjoy these Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers as much as we did and if you do decide to make this or any other Eat Yourself Skinny recipe, please make sure to tag me on Instagram so I can see all the yummy things you’re eating!

Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers

 

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Serves: 6 Servings

Ingredients

• 6 bell peppers, any color
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• ½ medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 1½ tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1½ cups salsa, divided
• 1½ cups cooked brown rice (3/4 cup uncooked)
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro + more for topping
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or cheese of your choice)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Trim the tops of each bell pepper and scoop out the ribs and seeds. Set aside.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, drizzle olive oil and sauté onion and garlic until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add ground turkey and cook until crumbled and slightly brown, draining excess liquid as necessary. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano and salt and continue cooking until turkey is browned and completely cooked.
4. Stir in tomatoes, 1 cup salsa (reserving a ½ cup for later), rice, corn, black beans, salsa and cilantro. Cook about 5 more minutes until heated through.
5. Divide turkey rice mixture among each bell pepper and arrange in a 9x13-inch baking dish and spoon the reserved salsa over top of each pepper.
6. Pour about one cup of water in the bottom of the dish, to help steam the peppers, cover with foil and bake for about 35 minutes, until peppers are tender. Remove foil, top with cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
7. Top with additional cilantro, serve and enjoy!

Nutritional Information

Serving Size: 1 stuffed bell pepper • Calories: 378 • Fat: 10.2 g • Saturated Fat: 4.3 g • Carbs: 44.5 g • Fiber: 9.6 g • Protein: 30.3 g • Sugar: 9.6 g

3.5.3218

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