Healthy Taco Stuffed Peppers that the whole family will love! These bell peppers are stuffed with a seasoned taco filling of black beans, ground turkey, rice, and tomatoes and then topped with cheddar cheese. This simple 30 minute meal is perfect for any night of the week!
When it comes to weeknight dinner meals we all want a few things, quick, easy, and healthy. After a long day of work, the last thing anyone wants is to have to spend all day in the kitchen to get dinner on the table. Thankfully, this easy stuffed pepper recipe is here to save the day!
These healthy taco stuffed bell peppers meet all of the criteria – healthy, quick, and easy. They are filled with a delicious taco seasoned filling and topped with gooey melty extra sharp cheddar cheese.
Ground Turkey: lean ground turkey packs these stuffed peppers full of protein!
Black Beans: these add even more protein and keep these stuffed peppers nice and hearty. Drain and rinse them before adding them to the filling.
Canned Tomatoes: No need to dice your own tomatoes. Just use a can of diced tomatoes to keep things easy. If you want extra flavor feel free to grab a can of fire-roasted tomatoes.
Rice: Just one cup of pre-cooked rice helps to bulk up these peppers and make them a complete meal. This is a great use for leftover rice that you may have in the fridge from the night before.
Dried Herbs and Spices: A combination of dried herbs and spices give these stuffed tacos the ultimate flavor.
Cheese: we’re using extra sharp cheddar in these stuffed peppers for the ultimate cheddar cheese flavor. I’ve included some options below, if you want to switch things up!
Ingredient Variations
Swap the ground turkey – instead of ground turkey you can use ground beef, ground chicken, or your favorite plant-based alternative.
Add extra veggies – feel free to throw in chopped spinach, chopped zucchini, mushrooms or even more diced bell peppers into the recipe.
Rice – instead of brown rice you can use cauliflower rice, white rice, or even quinoa!
Cheese – swap the sharp cheddar for another variety or use your favorite vegan cheese! Pepper jack or Monterrey jack would both be great options.
Step Two: Heat a large deep skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and then ground turkey. Brown the turkey, breaking it up as it cooks.
Step Three: Next, add the diced onion, minced garlic, and spices. Cook for 3-4 more minutes or until the onion is tender.
Step Four: Next, add the apple cider vinegar, lime juice, canned tomatoes, and drained black beans. Stir until well combined and let simmer for 2-3 more minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the brown rice until everything is well combined.
Step Five: Stuff the pepper halves with the filling and place them in a 9×13 casserole dish.
Step Six: Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
Step Seven: Remove from the oven and top the peppers with shredded cheddar cheese. Return them to the oven and bake another 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.
What If I Have Leftover Filling?
Depending on the size of your peppers, you may have a little leftover taco filling. If you have enough filling to stuff another pepper, I recommend slicing up another pepper and making a little extra of this recipe. If there is not enough filling left to stuff a whole pepper, you can also serve the filling on the side as a little “extra” with one of your stuffed peppers.
Tips And Tricks For The Best Stuffed Peppers
Line your casserole dish with parchment paper. Lining casserole dish can help to make sure that the peppers do not stick and also helps to catch any cheese or filling that happens to fall. Parchment paper also makes cleanup so much easier. It’s not required of course but could be helpful!
Taste your filling before stuffing the peppers. To make sure that your filling has just the right flavor, give it a taste before stuffing the peppers. That way you can add a little extra salt or spice depending on your tastebuds.
Prep in advance – assemble the peppers ahead of time and then place them in the fridge until you are ready to bake!
Use leftover brown rice – got leftover rice in the fridge? this recipe is the perfect way to use it up!
Freezing Instructions
If you’re wondering if you can free these stuffed peppers, the answer is yes!
To freeze the peppers: Prepare the peppers according to the recipe instructions and then let them come to a complete cool. Once the peppers have cooled completely, transfer them to a freezer safe storage container. Place the lid on the storage container and then freeze for up to 2 to 3 months.
How to Store and Reheat
If you’re making these in advance and need to reheat, you have plenty of options!
Oven: reheat the peppers at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, covered, until warmed through. If the peppers are frozen reheat them for 45-50 minutes until hot.
Microwave: need a quicker option? you can microwave the stuffed peppers on high for 2-3 minutes on high until they are warm. Be sure to check the center to ensure they have heated through!
Air Fryer: another quick option is to use the air fryer! just place a pepper (or a few!) in your air fryer basket and reheat for 5 minutes at 350 degrees until completely warmed.
I hope you give these Taco Stuffed Peppers a try! They are so easy to make and delicious! If you do give this recipe a try, let me know!
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3–4 large bell peppers, sliced in half lengthwise with stems and seeds removed
1/2 tablespoon avocado oil
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chipotle powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1–15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1–14.5oz can diced tomatoes
Juice of one lime
1 cup cooked brown rice
6oz extra sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded
Chopped cilantro, for serving
Method
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Heat a large deep skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and then ground turkey. Brown the turkey, breaking it up as it cooks.
Next, add the diced onion, minced garlic, and spices. Cook for 3-4 more minutes or until the onion is tender.
Next, add the apple cider vinegar, lime juice, canned tomatoes, and drained black beans. Stir until well combined and let simmer for 2-3 more minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the brown rice until everything is well combined.
Stuff the pepper halves with the filling and place them in a 9×13 casserole dish.
Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
Remove from the oven and top the peppers with shredded cheddar cheese. Return them to the oven and bake another 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.
These are fun, easy and flavorful. I used 4 peppers and had a good bit of the filling left over to eat later in the week. My husband went for seconds which is always a great sign!
DELICIOUS DINNER! Followed the recipe exactly and I was so happy to find that the bell pepper still had some bite to it! All the spices worked extremely well together, and I was thrilled to have leftovers for lunch the next day. Another winner from Ashlea, thank you!!
So yummy and EASY! I’ve made it twice in the past week! I use ground beef, but I’m sure it would be delish with ground turkey as well. I even had a little bit of extra filling that I had for lunch the next day as nachos.
So yummm!
These taco turkey stuffed peppers are going into rotation! There seasoning is fresh, unlike packaged taco seasoning, and there’s just enough heat. They’re amazing!
Loved this recipe! I used what I had on hand which was ground beef instead of Turkey and I thought it was incredibly tasty. Such a great spice blend. Also my 3.5 year old daughter even ate it which is saying a lot because she is very picky and basically only eats Indian food so thank you Ashlea for developing an easy, weeknight meal for the whole family to enjoy!
Another healthy, simple, and very fun looking recipe from all the healthy things! It was ready in no time, and even though I cut the peppers wrong (oops I’ll fix that in round 2!) they were perfect! Loved the cheese on top of course!
I love all kinds of stuffed peppers and these were so delicious! The recipe is easy to follow and requires ingredients I mostly have on hand. I have made these a few times now because they are so good!
This recipe is amazing! I use the Rotel spicy diced tomatoes and it is a hit at my house! My bf said this is the dish to bring to any gathering! ❤️❤️❤️
These were so easy, delicious, and filling! We batch cooked them and heated some up later that were fully assembled and they didn’t seem to suffer for being stored that way. Will definitely be working this into the rotation 🙂
This recipe is wonderful. Super easy and delicious! My husband loves how these have a nice lil kick from the chipotle powder. Our peppers were kind of small so we have lots of extra filling. I am thinking I’ll use it to make nachos! Thanks for this awesome recipe – I’ll be coming back to it again and again!
I made these for meal prep this week and it’s been DELICIOUS! Perfect to meal prep a big batch of the filling and then we just pop the peppers in each night for dinner.
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These are so good & filling! My mom and I made several of these for our weekly meal prep. I sometimes pair the peppers with a salad on the side.
★★★★★
These are fun, easy and flavorful. I used 4 peppers and had a good bit of the filling left over to eat later in the week. My husband went for seconds which is always a great sign!
★★★★★
Used 4 red peppers. Really would love the nutritional numbers. No where to be found.
★★★★★
Hi John! the nutritional info can be found in the bottom of the recipe card. I hope that helps!
Delicious! Even my 8 year old picky eater loved them. We will definitely make them again!
★★★★★
DELICIOUS DINNER! Followed the recipe exactly and I was so happy to find that the bell pepper still had some bite to it! All the spices worked extremely well together, and I was thrilled to have leftovers for lunch the next day. Another winner from Ashlea, thank you!!
★★★★★
So happy you loved the recipe, Olivia!
So yummy and EASY! I’ve made it twice in the past week! I use ground beef, but I’m sure it would be delish with ground turkey as well. I even had a little bit of extra filling that I had for lunch the next day as nachos.
So yummm!
★★★★★
Using the leftovers for nachos is a great idea, Emma! So glad you loved it! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Absolutely delicious! I love making variations of stuffed peppers because they are so versatile. This is another recipe I can add into the rotation.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you loved the recipe, Kellen!
These taco turkey stuffed peppers are going into rotation! There seasoning is fresh, unlike packaged taco seasoning, and there’s just enough heat. They’re amazing!
★★★★★
I’m so happy you enjoyed them, Linda!
Loved this recipe! I used what I had on hand which was ground beef instead of Turkey and I thought it was incredibly tasty. Such a great spice blend. Also my 3.5 year old daughter even ate it which is saying a lot because she is very picky and basically only eats Indian food so thank you Ashlea for developing an easy, weeknight meal for the whole family to enjoy!
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing, Mahima! Glad you loved the recipe!
SO EASY AND DELICIOUS! Great meal to cook after work. Also taking one for lunch! I added some sliced avocado which was a nice touch!
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing, Allie!
Another healthy, simple, and very fun looking recipe from all the healthy things! It was ready in no time, and even though I cut the peppers wrong (oops I’ll fix that in round 2!) they were perfect! Loved the cheese on top of course!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you loved the recipe, Shannon! Thanks for sharing!
Simple and delish! I’ll be making these again and again! Going to top with some salsa next time for even more flavor.
★★★★★
I’m so happy you loved them, Nicole! Thanks for sharing!
So, so good! Got lazy and used Primal Plate taco seasoning and substituted cauliflower rice. Highly recommend broiling the cheese at the end.
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing, Ivy!
I love all kinds of stuffed peppers and these were so delicious! The recipe is easy to follow and requires ingredients I mostly have on hand. I have made these a few times now because they are so good!
Happy you love it, Melissa!!
This recipe is amazing! I use the Rotel spicy diced tomatoes and it is a hit at my house! My bf said this is the dish to bring to any gathering! ❤️❤️❤️
★★★★★
So glad you both loved the recipe, Angela!
This was a really easy, delicious recipe. It was just one of those recipes that is such a staple in a repertoire. I really enjoyed it!
★★★★★
Great recipe! Easy to make and uses hearty ingredients. Will definitely makes these again. Thanks for inspiring some variety to my meals!
★★★★★
These were so easy, delicious, and filling! We batch cooked them and heated some up later that were fully assembled and they didn’t seem to suffer for being stored that way. Will definitely be working this into the rotation 🙂
★★★★★
This recipe is wonderful. Super easy and delicious! My husband loves how these have a nice lil kick from the chipotle powder. Our peppers were kind of small so we have lots of extra filling. I am thinking I’ll use it to make nachos! Thanks for this awesome recipe – I’ll be coming back to it again and again!
★★★★★
AMAZING. SO simple and delicious. And the stuffing freezes incredibly for next week’s dinners!
These stuffed peppers were so so so good! Perfect to shake up our taco Tuesday night.
This was very good! The peppers were perfect, I’m so used to the balancing act of just cutting the tops off. Hah.
This was delicious, healthy, and easy! The best kind of recipe!
I made these for meal prep this week and it’s been DELICIOUS! Perfect to meal prep a big batch of the filling and then we just pop the peppers in each night for dinner.