Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Mexican Stuffed Peppers with flavorful ground turkey, rice, corn and black beans baked inside colorful bell peppers with melted cheese on top.

Can be made low carb with cauliflower rice. 🙂

Mexican stuffed peppers are not traditional southwestern dish but our family loves them for their flavor, texture and melted cheese, of course.

And it is all-in-one meal with pantry staples – perfect for weeknights!

You can find a pack of 6 bell peppers at any grocery store year round. They are affordable and their rounded shape is begging to be stuffed with deliciousness.

How to Make Mexican Stuffed Peppers

• Prep: Cut peppers in halves and remove seeds. I also like to remove tails but it’s optional. Get 2 medium-large baking dishes ready and arrange peppers in them.
• Saute meat and onion: Add ground turkey, onion and garlic to a hot skillet and saute breaking into small pieces. It will ensure good stuffing texture.

• Stuff peppers: Combine cooked meat and rice, drained black beans, spices, corn and half tomato sauce. Mix well with spatula and divide evenly among pepper halves. Top with remaining half of tomato sauce.

• Bake: Bake peppers for 35 minutes in preheated 400 degrees F oven. No need to spray the dish or add water. Peppers are ready when knife pierces easily through their skin. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 2-3 minutes just to melt the cheese.

Tips and Serving

• Ground meat: You can use ground beef and I recommend to drain it. Also ground chicken works for more lean version.
• Don’t skip browning: I tried raw meat in stuffing and result was less than enjoyable. The texture and taste were very grainy and unpleasant.
• Cauliflower rice: Feel free to use cauliflower rice for low carb peppers. No need to saute it and if frozen, no need to thaw. Same amount.
• Rice: Any cooked rice like white, brown, purple or wild works. It has to be cooked though.

Serving: Stuffed peppers is a complete meal with protein, complex carbs and fats. 2 pepper halves make 1 generous serving. You can serve with plain yogurt or sour cream, more fancy with guacamole and salsa. For hungrier boys, I served with a side of white rice and green beans.

How to Make Ahead, Store and Reheat

Make ahead: You can refrigerate stuffed peppers without cheese covered for up to 24 hours. Make sure to let stuffing cool before refrigerating and dish warm up on a counter for 10 minutes before baking. I would add 5-10 minutes to cook time.

Store: Refrigerate leftovers in a glass airtight container for up to 5 days. Do not freeze because peppers contain 90% water, once thawed, they will become paper thin and disintegrate during baking.

Reheat: Microwave or place in a pot with a splash of water, cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes until steamed through.

More Mexican Inspired Recipes

• Taco skillet
• One pan Mexican chicken and rice
• Instant Pot chicken tacos
• Turkey taco soup
• Healthy taco salad

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Mexican Stuffed Peppers with flavorful ground turkey, rice, corn and black beans baked inside colorful bell peppers with melted cheese on top.

5 from 3 votes

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Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 521kcal

Author: Olena Osipov

Ingredients

• 6 large bell peppers any color
• 1 lb ground turkey beef or chicken
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tbsp oil
• 14 oz can low sodium black beans rinsed & drained
• 1 1/2 cups corn fresh or frozen
• 1 1/2 cups any cooked rice
• 1 tbsp taco seasoning low sodium
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Ground black pepper to taste
• 14 oz can low sodium tomato sauce divided
• 1 cup cheddar marble or Tex Mex cheese, shredded
• Fresh parsley or green onion for garnish
• Plain yogurt or sour cream for serving

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Cut peppers in half, remove seeds and tails. Place in 1-2 large baking dishes to fit and set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Preheat large skillet on medium-high heat and swirl oil to coat. Add ground turkey, onion, garlic and saute for 5 minutes, stirring often and breaking into pieces.
• Transfer cooked meat to a large bowl and add black beans, corn, rice, taco seasoning, cumin, salt, pepper and half tomato sauce. Stir well to combine.
• Stuff peppers with meat rice mixture and spoon remaining tomato sauce on top.
• Bake for 35 minutes, sprinkle with cheese and bake for a few minutes until cheese has melted.
• Remove from the oven and sprinkle with parsley or green onion.
• Serve with plain yogurt or sour cream.

Store: Refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days in an airtight container. Do not freeze as peppers will become too watery when thawed.

Make ahead: You can refrigerate stuffed peppers without cheese covered for up to 24 hours. Make sure to let stuffing cool before refrigerating and dish warm up on a counter for 10 minutes before baking. I would add 5-10 minutes to cook time.

Reheat: Microwave or place in a pot with a splash of water, cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes until steamed through.

Nutrition

Serving: 2halves | Calories: 521kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 592mg | Potassium: 668mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 4076IU | Vitamin C: 156mg | Calcium: 169mg | Iron: 2mg

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