I’m back from attending Tastemaker conference in Salt Lake City. I finally shared our new house. Now we can get back to cooking…right before I leave again. I also posted those healthy freezer meals I made for Alex before I left. And making 5 more this week.
Before I left, I made Instant Pot stuffed peppers recipe twice in a week: with ground turkey, quinoa and fried in the same pot pepper tops and onion (nothing goes to waste). We loved them a lot – easy, one pot, no pre-cooking, juicy, delicious! I have been living off of my healthy Instant Pot recipes because life has been crazy with the move, renovations and work travel.
I’m turning into you – those who work full-time not from home and are like “What’s for dinner?” at 5 PM. Wait until I post my freezer meals. We will be all saved!
MY LATEST RECIPESHow Long Do You Cook Stuffed Peppers in Pressure Cooker?
You know how stuffed peppers take 45-60 minutes in the oven? I don’t even know exactly how long they take because I haven’t made them in a while since they take long. In a pressure cooker, you can place peppers with raw meat and completely uncooked quinoa and have dinner on the table in 25 minutes. They take 15 minutes to cook + pressure build up and 2 minutes quick release time. Genius! I’m honestly obsessed with my Instant Pot!!!
How to Turn Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers into a Freezer Meal
Assemble the peppers and freeze uncooked in gallon size Ziploc bags. When ready to cook, cook from frozen following recipe’s instructions increasing time to 20 minutes. Do not thaw.
Check out my full list of healthy freezer meals. I’m obsessed!
Can I Replace Quinoa with Uncooked Rice?
If you are not a fan of quinoa you can substitute it with buckwheat. And if you are not a fan of buckwheat you can use any 12-15 minute cooking grain. And if none fit your “likes list” you can use pre-cooked rice. As for uncooked rice, that’s my next test and I will report back when I try. That’s why I used quinoa because I knew for sure it’s a quick cooking grain/seed.
How to Make Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers
- Cut the tops off of peppers and remove + discard the seeds. From the cut off tops remove and discard “the tail” and chop the tops (nothing goes to waste). Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add ground turkey, uncooked quinoa, soy sauce, oregano, thyme, basil, salt, red pepper flakes and ground black pepper.
- On Instant Pot, press Sauté and preheat until it says Hot. Swirl oil to coat, add onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chopped pepper pieces and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
- Press Cancel and transfer sautéed veggies to the bowl with other ingredients. Using a spatula, mix all ingredients really well. Stuff the peppers diving the filling between them equally.
- In an Instant Pot, add water and place the rack inside. Arrange 1 layer of peppers and top with half of the tomato sauce. Lay remaining stuffed peppers in Instant Pot and top with remaining sauce.
- Close the lid, turn release vent to Sealing and press Pressure Cooking for 15 minutes on High. After peppers are cooked, turn the valve to Quick Release and release the pressure.
- Serve with plain yogurt and juices from the bottom of the pot (turkey baster is the best to suck those up).
Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers
Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers Recipe with ground turkey and uncooked quinoa for a quick one pot dinner or turn into a freezer meal. So meaty, juicy and flavourful served with plain yogurt.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American Ukrainian
Ingredients
- 8-9 large bell peppers
- 2 lbs ground turkey
- 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp oregano, dried
- 1 tsp thyme, dried
- 1 tsp basil, dried
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
- Ground black pepper
- 15 oz can tomato sauce, low sodium
- 1 cup water
- Avocado oil, for frying
Instructions
- Cut the tops off of peppers and remove + discard the seeds. From the cut off tops remove and discard “the tail” and chop the tops (nothing goes to waste). Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add ground turkey, uncooked quinoa, soy sauce, oregano, thyme, basil, salt, red pepper flakes and ground black pepper.
- On Instant Pot, press Sauté and preheat until it says Hot. Swirl oil to coat, add onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chopped pepper pieces and sauté for another 3-4 minutes. Press Cancel and transfer sautéed veggies to the bowl with other ingredients. Using a spatula, mix all ingredients really well. Stuff the peppers diving the filling between them equally.
- In an Instant Pot, add water and place the rack inside. Arrange 1 layer of peppers and top with half of the tomato sauce. Lay remaining peppers and top with remaining sauce. Close the lid, turn release vent to Sealing and press Pressure Cooking for 15 minutes on High.
- After peppers are cooked, turn the valve to Quick Release and release the pressure. Serve with plain yogurt and juices from the bottom of the pot (turkey baster is the best to suck those up).
Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
Freezer Meal: Assemble the peppers and freeze uncooked in gallon size Ziploc bags. When ready to cook, cook from frozen following recipe’s instructions increasing time to 20 minutes. Do not thaw.
Make Ahead: Refrigerate stuffed uncooked peppers for up to 2 days and cook when ready.
Notes
I have 8 quart Instant Pot and it’s large enough to cook all peppers at once. If yours is 6 quart, cook in 2 batches.
You can replace quinoa with pre-cooked brown rice or uncooked buckwheat.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.
