Ground Turkey Stuffed Bell Pepper

Ground Turkey is my “go to protein” when I want to have a lean healthy meal, particularly at dinner time. I know what you’re thinking “HOW BORING!!” But I have created so many recipes for ground turkey to keep it interesting that I could probably write a ground turkey cookbook at this point. I have made a ground turkey sloppy joe, an amazing turkey burger, turkey meatballs, but my favorite ground turkey recipe right now (and a constant recurring request from my boyfriend as well) is my ground turkey stuffed bell peppers. It’s not the quickest meal to make, but it is delicious. The best part about the ground turkey stuffed pepper is that you are eating your protein and your veggies all in one. If you are on a health kick, I recommend substituting your ground beef for this lean meat. Use ground turkey that has less than 10% fat. I use 99% fat free ground turkey. This low calorie, high protein meat is great for slimming down!

Ingredients

Bell Peppers (I usually make 2)

1/3 lb Ground Turkey per Bell Pepper

1/4 Onion, diced

3 or 4 Cloves of Garlic, minced

Tomato Basil Marinara

Coconut Oil

Herbes de Provence

Crushed Red Pepper (optional)

Cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Boil water on the stove in a pot large enough to hold your peppers submerged in water. I like to add salt to the pot to help it boil.

3. Wash and cut the tops off your peppers. Make sure you make a large enough opening to stuff them with ease. Clean out all the seeds.

4. Submerge the peppers in the boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes depending on the texture of the peppers you prefer and the size of the peppers. I like to add this step because it cuts your oven time in half. It would take about 45 minutes in the oven if you didn’t pre boil them. Such a time saver! I always use tongs to protect myself from the heat of the boiling water. After your 3 to 5 minutes is up remove the peppers from the boiling water and place them on a cast iron skillet.

5. Dice up your onion and garlic. I like onion, so I use about 1/4 of a large yellow onion and 3-4 cloves of garlic.

6. Sauté the onion and garlic. I like to cook with triple filtered coconut oil because it is odorless and tasteless and has a very high burning point so its almost impossible to burn your food! It’s also considered a “superfood” with tons of health benefits. I use about a tablespoon. I like to cook the onions and garlic in a pot instead of a sauté pan for this recipe. This is because I like to combine everything into the pot before I stuff the bell peppers.

7. Cook the ground turkey through with about a tablespoon of coconut oil. I always cook the ground turkey separately from everything else. Once the turkey is cooked through add it to the pot of onions and garlic.

8. Add a teaspoon of Herbs de Provence. I love this blend of herbs from the Provence region in France. It typically contains: Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, Savory, and Marjoram.

9. Add your favorite tomato basil marinara. I use enough to coat everything in the pot.

10. Add crushed red pepper for some spice (optional). Mix it all together!

11. Finally time to stuff the peppers! I use a spoon to scoop the turkey mixture into the peppers. I like to stuff them full and to the top.

12. Add cheese (optional). I add sliced light Swiss cheese to the top of the pepper. Not always.. but I love cheese. I also don’t use a whole slice. I rip some of it off for Bailey so I don’t feel as guilty (it kind of works, haha).

13. Put the cast iron in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

The final step is always to ENJOY!!! There are lots of steps to this meal, but it is definitely worth it. It’s so delicious and pretty and requires no side items, which is always nice. Since I’m back home for a while and able to get back into my routine, phew, I will continue to add healthier recipes that don’t skip on flavor to the blog. I love cooking and I’m so excited to share more recipes with all my Rebel Readers. Let me know what you think; I love all of your feedback on here and my instagram! I hope you enjoy this healthy version of stuffed peppers. It’s a big hit in my home and I hope it will be in yours too.

xoxo,

the Rebel Blonde