Before I left to a few conferences, I made these healthy Instant Pot stuffed peppers twice in a week. Who am I kidding?! I made a whole batch of healthy freezer meals for my husband.
I’m turning into you – those who work full-time not from home and are like “What’s for dinner?” at 5 PM. I have been living off of my healthy Instant Pot recipes because life has been crazy with the move, renovations and work travel.
We loved this Instant Pot stuffed bell peppers recipe A LOT – easy, one pot and tasty!
What Are Instant Pot Bell Peppers Ingredients?
- Ground turkey
- Quinoa
- Onion
- Tomato sauce
- Simple seasonings
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 Long to Cook Pressure Cooker Stuffed Peppers?
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.
Can Stuffed Peppers Be Made Ahead and Frozen?
Yes.
- Assemble stuffed peppers and do not cook.
- Freeze uncooked in a gallon size Ziploc bags – let out as much air as possible before sealing.
- Cooking frozen stuffed peppers: cook from frozen following recipe’s instructions increasing time to 20 minutes. Do not thaw.
How to Make Stuffed Peppers in Instant Pot
- 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).
More Easy Healthy Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot chicken and rice kids can’t get enough of!
- Instant Pot chicken and potatoes with lots of leftovers.
- Instant Pot bolognese sauce with half less meat.
Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers
You don’t have to pre-cook rice for these healthy Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers. One pot dinner and can be a freezer meal easy-peasy.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- 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.
