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Baked bell peppers stuffed with turkey rice filling and melted cheddar
DinnerGluten-free

Turkey Stuffed Bell Peppers

Sweet roasted peppers filled with spiced turkey, brown rice and black beans under a golden cheddar lid. 33g protein and 223mg vitamin C each — dinner in an edible bowl.

33g Protein223mg Vitamin C4mg Zinc4mg Iron
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Prep15 min
Cook35 min
Calories443 kcal
Serves4

Key nutrients per serving

By The Recipe Seeker Kitchen

Updated 2026-09-17

Ingredients

4 servings

Instructions

5 steps · about 50 minutes total

  1. Prep the peppers

    Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Slice the tops off the peppers, scoop out seeds and membranes, and stand them upright in a baking dish. If they wobble, trim a whisper off the base — do not cut through.

  2. Brown the turkey

    Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the turkey, breaking it up, 5–6 minutes until no pink remains. Add the onion and cook 3 minutes until soft, then garlic, cumin, paprika and oregano for 1 minute.

  3. Make the filling

    Stir in the tomatoes, black beans and brown rice. Simmer 5 minutes until thick enough to mound on a spoon — wet filling makes soggy peppers. Taste boldly for salt and pepper.

  4. Stuff and bake

    Pack the filling firmly into the peppers — really pack it — and top each with cheddar. Pour 120 ml of water into the dish (it steams the peppers tender), cover with foil and bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more until the cheese is golden and the peppers are tender.

  5. Serve

    Rest 5 minutes so the filling sets. Serve with cilantro and a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

Why this helps

An edible bowl doing double duty

The pepper is not just packaging: each one delivers over 200mg of vitamin C — more than two days’ worth — right alongside the turkey’s heme iron and zinc. That vitamin C actively helps your body absorb more of the meal’s iron. Fun to eat, smarter than it looks.

All about ProteinAll about Vitamin CAll about ZincAll about Iron

Nutrition facts

per serving · % DV
  • Calories 443 kcal22%
  • Protein 33g66%
  • Total Carbohydrate 46g17%
  • Dietary Fiber 8g29%
  • Total Sugars 4g8%
  • Total Fat 15g19%
  • Sodium 286mg12%

Vitamins & minerals

  • Iron 3.6mg20%
  • Calcium 180mg14%
  • Magnesium 112mg27%
  • Potassium 946mg20%
  • Vitamin C 223mg248%
  • Vitamin B12 1.9mcg79%
  • Folate 155mcg39%
  • Zinc 4.1mg37%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Values are per serving (recipe makes 4).

Nutrition is an estimate calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient data and may vary by ingredient brand, preparation, and portion size.

Questions, answered

Can I prep them ahead?
Assemble fully up to a day ahead, refrigerate covered, and bake adding 10 minutes. They are ideal Sunday-prep food.
Can I freeze stuffed peppers?
Yes — bake, cool, wrap individually and freeze up to 3 months. Reheat covered at 180°C (350°F) until steaming.
My peppers tipped over — help?
Trim a thin slice off the bottom so they sit flat (without cutting through), and pack them snugly in a smaller dish so they hold each other up.
Can I use ground beef or chicken?
Both work one-for-one. Beef makes it richer; chicken keeps it lean like the turkey.
How do I make it vegetarian?
Double the black beans, add 100g of corn and an extra 60g of rice. Still hearty, still 15g+ protein per pepper.
Green vs red peppers?
Red are sweeter and higher in vitamin C — worth it here. Green work but taste slightly bitter against the filling; yellow are a fine middle ground.
Why add water to the baking dish?
It creates steam under the foil, cooking the peppers tender without drying the filling. Skip it and the pepper walls stay crunchy.
What do I do with the pepper tops?
Dice and freeze them — they are perfect stirred into the next batch of filling, fried rice or an omelet.

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