Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers
These fast and easy ground turkey-stuffed peppers have all the classic flavors of a stuffed pepper, plus a tasty Mediterranean twist. They feature a tomato base flavored with oregano and fennel seeds, lentils instead of rice, and a sprinkle of feta cheese.
This healthy, high-protein meal will surely become one of your favorite dinner recipes, and you should definitely make extra because these peppers freeze beautifully.
If you love stuffed peppers, try my Mediterranean tuna stuffed peppers and vegetarian stuffed peppers too! And for another delicious freezer-friendly dinner, try chicken pot pie casserole.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Recipe Ingredients
Here are the key ingredients needed to make ground turkey stuffed peppers. Substitutions and variations are in the section below.
Be sure to check out the recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients with measurements.
Peppers. I love to use all of the colors because you eat with your eyes. Red peppers are the sweetest, followed by orange, and then yellow. Green peppers have a grassier, slightly bitter flavor. Use your favorites. They’re all healthy!
Ground turkey. Regular ground turkey usually includes dark meat and skin. For the leanest, lowest-fat option, look for ground turkey breast or extra lean ground turkey.
Pureed tomatoes. I prefer a smoother sauce, so I use canned, pureed tomatoes. Buy these, or whole peeled tomatoes, and blend them.
Tomato paste. A dab adds lots of rich, tomato-umami flavor and enriches the sauce.
Lentils. These add a nice, chewy texture and even more protein. Brown lentils hold their shape better when cooked. Red and yellow lentils cook faster, in about 15 minutes, but they also break down when cooked.
Feta cheese. This adds a nice, salty, Mediterranean flavor.
Substitutions and Variations
- If you don’t have lentils, substitute brown rice, farro, or quinoa. Note that brown rice and farro take longer to cook than lentils or quinoa, so simmer the sauce for about 30 minutes before stuffing the peppers.
- Swap tomato sauce for the pureed tomatoes (check to make sure it doesn’t have added sugar) or crushed tomatoes.
- Swap grated Parmesan or cheddar for the feta.
- Omit the cheese for a dairy-free option.
- If your summer or fall garden is overflowing with basil, sprinkle fresh sliced basil on top.
- For other flavor variations, omit the fennel seeds and add chili powder and cumin for a southwestern twist. You can also swap black beans for the lentils here. Or add minced Greek olives and fresh mint to the original recipe for a Greek flavor.
Step-By-Step Instructions
1. Brown the ground turkey. Heat a skillet with olive oil and add the turkey. Break it up a bit and then don’t disturb it for at least four minutes or until the turkey starts to turn brown on the bottom side. Stirring the turkey will cause it to steam, and it won’t brown, so be patient. Once it’s brown in spots, add the onions and garlic, stir, and cook for another three minutes or until the vegetables are wilted.
2. Toast the tomato paste and spices. Add these to the pan and stir for about 30 seconds to bring out the flavors.
3. Add the tomatoes and lentils. Stir these in well, with about 1/4 cup of water, then reduce the heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes to allow the lentils to soften. The sauce should be fairly thick, but if it’s too thick, add another 1/4 cup of water. While this cooks, prep the peppers by cutting them in half lengthwise or cutting the tops off. Remove the seeds and white membranes.
4. Stuff the peppers. Divide the filling evenly among the peppers. Place them in a 9×13 casserole dish and add about ⅓ cup of water to the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan with foil and bake for about 45 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes to allow the cheese to melt and the sauce to concentrate. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and additional feta.
Expert Tips
When cutting the peppers, you can either cut the tops off and stand them upright in the pan or cut them in half lengthwise and lay them flat in the pan. They will cook faster if you lay them flat. I also like this method if your peppers are different sizes and heights, because they cook more evenly.
Add honey to balance the acidic or metallic taste from canned tomatoes. Taste your sauce first to determine if you need a sweetener, and then add a little at a time until you achieve the right tomato flavor.
Don’t waste the sauce. Some recipes call for adding sauce to the bottom of the pan, but I like to use all of it for the pepper stuffing. Instead, add a little bit of water to the pan and cover the pan with foil as it cooks. You’ll end up with a delicious sauce to spoon over the peppers when cooked.
To freeze this recipe, transfer the cooked peppers to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to three months. Let them thaw in the refrigerator and heat them in the oven or microwave. You can also prep the turkey-tomato mixture, stuff the peppers, and freeze them before baking. Thaw them in the refrigerator and bake according to the directions, adding about 10 extra minutes.
What to Serve With Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers
These recipes are delicious with stuffed peppers:
- A cucumber and tomato salad
- A corn and tomato panzanella salad
- Slow-roasted grape tomatoes (if you have some in the freezer, heat them and spoon them over the top of the peppers)
- No-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies for dessert
Recipe FAQs
Preboiling your peppers can make they too soggy, so I don’t recommend it. Also, too much tomato puree or water can make the peppers and filling watery, so make sure your sauce has the correct amount of liquid. If the sauce seems watery, let it cook on the stove for up to 30 minutes to reduce and concentrate it.
Canned tomatoes may have a metallic or bitter taste, and green peppers can also taste bitter. To counteract this, add up to one tablespoon of sweetener, like sugar or honey, to your sauce.
Yes! Sweet bell peppers are a great source of vitamin C, beta carotene, potassium, folic acid, and fiber. Ground turkey and lentils are packed with protein, and cooked tomatoes (or sauce) are full of the cancer-fighting antioxidant lycopene.
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Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 large bell peppers
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground turkey breast
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 28 ounces pureed tomatoes
- 1/4 cup dried lentils
- 1 tablespoon honey optional, if tomatoes are too acidic
- 3 ounces crumbled feta cheese divided
- 3 tablespoons minced parsley divided
Instructions
- Heat a saute pan over high heat. Add the olive oil and turkey. Break up the turkey and then let it cook, undisturbed, for about four minutes or until it starts to brown on the bottom. Once it's evenly brown, break it up more and add the onions and garlic. Cook for about three more minutes or until the onions are translucent.
- Add the oregano, fennel seeds, salt, and tomato paste. Stir well to combine and let this cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add the pureed tomatoes, lentils, and 1/4 cup of water. Stir well to combine all the ingredients, and then bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer for about 15 minutes or until the lentils start to soften. If the sauce seems too thick or stiff, add another 1/4 cup of water.
- Taste the sauce as it cooks. If it's too acidic or has a metallic taste from the canned tomatoes, add up to one tablespoon of honey. When the sauce is nearly cooked, add about half of the feta cheese and half of the minced parsley to the pan. Stir well.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ when the sauce has about 10 minutes left to cook.
- While the sauce simmers, prepare the peppers. Either cut the tops off or cut each pepper in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and white membranes. Lay the peppers in a 9×13 casserole dish or baking dish.
- Spoon the meat-lentil filling into the bell peppers.
- Pour about 1/3 cup of water into the bottom of the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes or until the peppers are tender when pierced with a knife. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes of bake time.
- Sprinkle the remaining feta cheese and minced parsley over the cooked peppers and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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