These Quinoa & Turkey Stuffed Mini Peppers are a fantastic go-to meal for busy weeknights – they’re also a great healthy appetizer!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Mini bell peppers – use red, yellow and/or orange mini bell peppers. The darker the colour, the sweeter the taste.
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like avocado or canola oil.
- Ground turkey – you can also make this recipe with ground chicken or extra-lean ground beef.
- Yellow onion – white or red onion would be the best substitutes here.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is preferred but jarred minced garlic will work too.
- Chili powder – paprika would be the best substitute.
- Cumin – substitute for coriander if you don’t have any cumin on hand.
- Salsa – use your favourite fresh or jarred variety.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Quinoa – you can swap out the quinoa for another grain such as brown rice, farro or barley.
- Kale – try another dark leafy green like spinach or Swiss chard.
How to make mini stuffed peppers
- Cook the peppers.
- Sauté the onions, garlic and turkey.
- Make the quinoa.
- Stuff the peppers with the turkey and quinoa mixture.
- Bake then serve and enjoy!
Making the quinoa ahead of time
Cut down on prep time by cooking your quinoa beforehand. Follow the cooking instructions on the package of quinoa – I personally like using a rice cooker because all you have to do is press a button.
Once the quinoa is cooked, let it cool down to room temperature then store it in the fridge in an airtight container until you’re ready to use it. Doing this ahead of time will let you skip a step while you’re getting dinner ready!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you’ll need to cook the mini bell peppers for about 15 minutes before stuffing them. This ensures that they’re perfectly tender at the end!
Mini bell peppers are similar to regular sized bell peppers although they’re generally longer and skinnier. They’re also a bit sweeter than larger bell peppers, especially if you get a darker colour like orange or red.
This recipe has 343 calories per serving, which makes it a great low-calorie meal option.
Storing and reheating
These mini stuffed peppers are great for meal prep! Store the cooked peppers in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can reheat them in the microwave, but I find that reheating them in the oven helps the peppers stay nice and crisp. Just stick them in the oven in a foil-covered dish for 10 to 15 minutes at 375° Fahrenheit. Sprinkle some fresh cheese over top towards the end and the peppers will be as good as new!
Freezing this recipe
Once these stuffed mini peppers have cooled, freeze them in an airtight glass container for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy, place them in the fridge overnight to thaw then reheat them in the oven. You can microwave them in a pinch, but the peppers might get soggy.
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More stuffed pepper recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this recipe into your weekly lunches.
- I get all my grass-fed ground poultry from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
Quinoa & Turkey Stuffed Mini Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 lb mini bell peppers
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 cup salsa jarred or fresh
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 cup chopped kale
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Cut tops off peppers (set those aside to cook later) and remove the white pithy parts of the peppers. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and cook in oven, with tin foil covering pan, for 15 min.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large frying pan and add onions and garlic, cooking for 1-2 min until fragrant. Add turkey, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and cook for about 5 min on med-high heat, breaking turkey up with spoon.
- At the same time, cook quinoa according to package directions (usually 1/2 cup of quinoa with 1 cup of water in a pot on the stove until liquid has absorbed) and chop kale.
- Add salsa and quinoa and cook for another 3-4 min. Add kale and cook for 2 min until leaves are slightly softened.
- Around this time, peppers should be coming out of the oven. Stuff peppers with turkey and quinoa mixture, then add tops of peppers once filled. Place in oven and cook for another 10 min, taking out to top with shredded cheese if desired (highly recommended!!)
Comments & Reviews
Evi @ greenevi says
How cute! I love mini bell peppers, kale and quinoa too!