Southwest Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Looking for a good ol’ comfort food recipe that’s chock full of all the veggies? Then these Southwest Turkey Stuffed Peppers are for you!

Before I get into yapping about this recipe, I thought it would be fun to share that THIS recipe was the very first recipe we ever shared on the blog. It’s such a good one that I wanted to spruce it up a bit, update photos and re-publish it for all to see and try!

Southwest Turkey Stuffed Peppers are loaded with veggies and nutrients!

This Whole30-friendly recipe incorporates peppers, onions, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and zucchini helping you to put a big dent on your daily veggie goals and pack more antioxidants, vitamins A, C and fiber (6 gram per serving!) into your diet. We love recipes that are packed to the max with veggies because they are filling, nutritious and full of flavor. Speaking of flavor, you’re going to love the combination of spices including chili powder, cumin, crushed fennel and cayenne. It’s a spice blend that’s  very versatile so feel free to triple or quadruple the spice recipe as it makes for an easy way to add flavor to grilled meats.

Southwest Turkey Stuffed Peppers are a great weeknight dinner option. They take about a 1/2 hour to make and make for tasty next day leftovers. In fact, I’m going on about day 3 of enjoying stuffed peppers and they taste just as delicious as they did the day I made them.

Replace the ground turkey with any ground meat of choice.

Southwest Turkey Stuffed Peppers can be made with whatever ground meat you have on hand or what you prefer including ground chicken, bison, beef or pork.

Want to make them meat-free?

You can do that too! I like the combination of black beans and quinoa (or rice) for a meat free option. So instead of a pound of ground meat, you can make this recipe with 1 can of black beans and 1 cup of cooked quinoa.

Or maybe you want to make them cheesy!

Absolutely! If you’re not Whole30’ing and you don’t follow a dairy-free diet, you can most certainly add cheese. The recipe directions include this option.

How about toppings?

Toppings add even more flavor to these Southwest Turkey Stuffed Peppers. Here are a few of my favorites: avocado or our homemade guacamole, salsa or pico de gallo, sour cream or Kite Hill Plain Yogurt (Whole30/dairy-free), fresh cilantro, jalapeños, fresh lime juice and green onions.

Recipe

★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews

Southwest Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Looking for a recipe to incorporate more vegetables? This recipe includes peppers, tomatoes, onions and zucchini all in one dish.

Prep: 20 minsCook: 20 minsTotal: 40 mins

Pin for Later Rate recipe

• Email Recipe

Print Recipe

Servings: 4 servings 1x

1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 4 large peppers (red, orange, yellow or green)
• 1 tbsp. coconut oil, ghee or avocado oil
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cups spinach, chopped
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes OR 1 can of diced or crushed tomatoes (slightly drained)
• ½ medium zucchini, finely diced (~¾ cup)
• 1 tbsp. chili powder
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• ¾ tsp. fennel seed, crushed
• ¼–½ tsp. cayenne
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¾–1 cup cheese (omit for Dairy-free or Whole30)
• Optional Toppings: avocado or guacamole, fresh cilantro, dairy-free plain yogurt (such as Kite Hill), Jalapeño, salsa, Pico de gallo

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Wash and prepare the peppers by cutting them in half and scooping out the seeds. Bake until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour off any liquid or absorb with paper towel. Set aside.
3. While peppers are in the oven, add oil to a large skillet; heat over medium heat. Add turkey and cook, stirring and breaking up with a wooden spoon. Once turkey is cooked halfway, add onion and garlic, stirring often for about 2-3 minutes.
4. Stir in mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and zucchini, chili powder, cumin, fennel, cayenne, salt and pepper.
5. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 8-10 minutes stirring halfway through.
6. Fill each pepper with the turkey mixture. Top with option cheese and bake until the filling is heated through and cheese is melted, about 6 to 8 minutes.
7. Top with optional toppings.

Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive so we can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.

Notes

All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to the source recipe here on The Real Food Dietitians. Thank you!

Nutrition Information

• Serving Size: 1 Pepper
• Calories: 280
• Fat: 13g
• Sodium: 470mg
• Carbohydrate: 21g
• (Fiber: 6g
• Sugar: 10g)
• Protein: 26g

Dietary

Dairy-FreeEgg-FreeGluten-freeGrain-FreeNut-freePaleoWhole30

© The Real Food Dietitians

Recipe By: Stacie Hassing

What’s your favorite freezer-friendly, comfort food? Share in the comments below.

Pin it now, make it later!

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.