Turkey Stuffed Peppers (No Rice)
Turkey Stuffed Peppers are a low calorie, healthy dinner the entire family will love, no rice required! Packed with flavorful meat, spices and cheese and under 250 calories per serving and perfect for keto or low carb lifestyles!
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I love hearing from my readers and one recent request was for more healthy, easy recipes-and these keto and low carb friendly Turkey Stuffed Peppers made without rice can’t fit the bill better.
It can be hard to find a stuffed pepper recipe without rice, but this recipe is a winner because even without rice it is still filling and satisfying.
While traditional stuffed bell peppers usually contain ground beef, tomatoes, rice, seasoning, and cheese; this lower calorie version subs in ground turkey for the ground beef and uses tomato paste instead of chopped tomatoes to thicken the filling and make up for the lack of rice.
Why I love this recipe
This is one of my go-to meals lately, I’ve been having it about once a week! I love it because it’s flavorful, and filling.
This recipe is naturally gluten-free and you can easily make it dairy free by omitting the cheese or using vegan cheese, so it’s also a great option for people that have food intolerances!
Ingredients
Nothing fancy here, just the basics to make this delicious dinner!
- ground turkey – you can also use ground chicken, low fat ground beef, or ground pork or sausage
- tomato paste – if you prefer to use a tomato sauce it will still taste good but the stuffing will be runny
- poultry seasoning – try Mrs Dash or your favorite spice blend to change it up
- red bell peppers – yellow, orange, and green taste great too!
- mozzarella cheese – this recipe is also delicious with Mexican blend or colby jack cheese
Step by step
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Use a sharp knife to remove the top of the bell peppers, scrape seeds out with a spoon and set aside in a baking dish.
- In a large skillet brown the turkey over medium-high heat until totally cooked. Add water, tomato paste and poultry seasoning. Stir and cook an additional 2-3 minutes until heated through.
- Spoon meat mixture into peppers and top with 1/4 cup of cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.
Variations
- add in riced cauliflower or broccoli
- use taco seasoning and add in salsa
- stir in grated zucchini to thicken the filling
- add rice or black beans to the filling
FAQs
Yes, the meat filling should be cooked before stuffing the pepper to ensure it is cooked through.
I don’t boil my peppers first but if you want a softer pepper you can follow these instructions for blanching your peppers before stuffing them.
If your peppers won’t stand up you have a few options. You can halve the peppers vertical and lay them down to stuff open-faced style, trim the bottom of the pepper to even it out, or nest them in crumpled aluminum foil to provide support.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes or until heated through.
I prefer this recipe made fresh but it is possible to freeze them. Freeze stuffed peppers after cooking. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat according to directions above. You can freeze them as a batch or individually wrapped so you can grab one at a time. Please note that freezing the bell pepper will change the texture and make it softer.
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If you try this recipe, please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!
Skinny Turkey Stuffed Peppers
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Turkey Stuffed Peppers are a low calorie, healthy dinner the entire family will love, no rice required! Packed with flavorful meat, spices and cheese and under 250 calories per serving and perfect for keto or low carb lifestyles!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey, fat free
- 6 oz can tomato paste
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp poultry seasoning
- 4 red bell peppers
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Use a sharp knife to remove the top of the bell peppers, scrape seeds out with a spoon and set aside in a baking dish.
- In a large skillet brown the turkey over medium high heat until totally cooked.
- Add water, tomato paste and poultry seasoning.
- Stir and cook an additional 2-3 minutes until heated through.
- Spoon meat mixture into peppers and top with 1/4 cup of cheese.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.
Notes
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or oven at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes or until heated through.
Stuffed peppers can be frozen after baking. Wrap tightly and place in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat as listed above.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Entree
- Method: 78147
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Pepper
- Calories: 242
- Sugar: 10.6 g
- Sodium: 298.4 mg
- Fat: 2.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 16.9 g
- Fiber: 4.9 g
- Protein: 38.8 g
- Cholesterol: 67.4 mg
I’ve recently developed an allergy to beef and corn. So I need more recipes with chicken or turkey.
Hi. This sounds good. I plan on making it tonight. Just one thing. I noticed in your instructions you said to “scrape out the seeds with a spoon and set aside in a baking dish”. I had to read that twice. You did mean set the peppers aside in a baking dish and not the seeds ,I hope.
You might want to correct that for the first time cooks.
Thanks for the feedback, I’ll make that more clear!
Tasty! I love that there are so many options for changing them up!
Thank you for this, it was very good!!