Turkey & Arugula Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ground turkey & arugula stuffed bell peppers topped with melted mozzarella cheese. Perfect back to school dinner that kids love, and you can have on the table in less than 30 minutes. Plus, the secrets to the perfect stuffed bell pepper!
It’s back to school time here in California. I know this, because the grocery store was about 90 times more crowded at 4:00pm with moms and kids than it was last week. And, the ends of the grocery store aisles are lined with juice boxes and lunch box baggies of gold fish and fruit snacks.
Even though I’m long since out of school, I still feel the need to get more organized and on a schedule at back to school time. Today after work, I came home and cleaned my house top to bottom, and planned out my dinner menu for the whole week. (I’m not the best at dinner planning, I’m a figure-out-what’s-for-dinner-every-day-on-my-way-home-from-work kind of girl)
At the top of my dinner menu list are these healthy and delicious turkey & arugula stuffed bell peppers. They are tasty, and you can have them on the table in less than 30 minutes. Perfect back to school dinner!
These aren’t the mushy stuffed bell peppers from your childhood. Thru much trial and error, I’ve discovered a few secrets to perfect stuffed bell peppers.
1. Stuff the bell pepper with pre-cooked rice. This is a great use of left over rice from the day before! When you use uncooked rice, you have to add a lot of moisture to the stuffing to make sure the rice can get cooked properly. This usually leads to soggy bell peppers, and you’re not guaranteed that the rice will turn out perfect. Using pre-cooked rice cuts the cooking time way down.
2. Rather than cutting the top off the pepper in and stuffing it, cut the bell peppers in half length wise. This gives you more surface area to cover with cheese and get a melty topping, which everyone knows is the best part of a stuffed bell pepper.
3. A lot of recipes I’ve tried have you boil the bell peppers for several minutes to get them soft. Don’t do this! The bell pepper will end up too mushy by the time it’s done cooking. Instead, just stuff the bell peppers raw. They will cook enough in the oven, and will come out perfect crisp tender.
Your family will love this ground turkey and arugula stuffed bell peppers. It’s filling, but still light and doesn’t leave you feeling heavy and full. I love this with my favorite simple arugula salad. Great end of summer dinner. Enjoy!
Turkey & Arugula Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 2 large red bell peppers, cut in half length wise, ribs and seeds removed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 cup cooked rice, made from 1/2 cup uncooked rice
- 2 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped
- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
- 2 cups baby arugula
- 1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large non stick skillet over medium high heat, cook the onions in the olive oil until the onions begin to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add in the ground turkey, and cook until cooked thru, about 8 minutes. Add in the rice, garlic, diced tomatoes, baby arugula, 1 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup chicken stock. Stir to combine.
- In an oven safe baking dish or skillet, add raw bell peppers and season with salt and pepper. Fill each bell pepper with the turkey and arugula mixture. Top the bell peppers with the remaining 1/2 mozzarella, and drizzle the tops with a small amount of olive oil.
- Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the bell peppers start to become tender and the cheese is melted.
43 Comments on “Turkey & Arugula Stuffed Bell Peppers”
Do you think I could do everything but the final bake and then put them in the freezer to bake off later? Or would that make them mushy?? Thx
Making them with walnuts sounds so delicious and healthy Vanessa! I love that you served them with homemade vanilla coconut milk ice cream. That sounds fantastic!
I am about to make this recipe, but I didn’t see nutritional information. Does anyone know how many carbs per serving?
You can calculate the nutrition information on myfitnesspal.com!
This was the blandest tasting stuffed pepper I’ve ever tasted. Unless you purchase VERY large peppers, the filling quantity is way too much for 4 halves. Cutting all quantities in half and adding some seasonings to spice the taste would produce a much better tasting filling. We put a mango jabanero salsa on ours to give it at least some flavor.
I would not recommend the dish as printed.
Sorry you didn’t like it!
My mom used to make stuffed peppers all the time so this dish is a bit nostalgic for me. :) These look so so good!
What a lovely recipe – i love making stuffed peppers – they are so versatile and tasty! Love the tip about not boiling them – i always do this and do agree it seems to be a tad on the soft side. So glad I stumbled across your blog, would love for you to stop past ours.
Anisa – The Macadames. xx
www.themacadames.com
Love your tips for stuffed bell peppers! They look delicious!
I’m a big fan of stuffed peppers, and these look amazing, Natalie! Love your tips, too!
I LOVE this spin on stuffed bell pepper, Natalie! … I so appreciate the tips as well! I usually don’t make them because they are such pain, but I’m totally trying this recipe on one of our busy weeknights! Thanks for sharing, darling! Pinned!
What a beautiful dish! These look sooooo cheesy and yummy! Thanks for the helful tips as well. And happy Friday xxx
i had THE MOST delicious stuffed peppers in israel. but these look even better.
Boom! These look yummo. :) Think the cheese seals the deal for me, traditionally not a huge fan of stuffed capo, but you make them sound / look pretty great. Will have a crack for sure!
I love stuffed peppers and these are a perfect healthy version. My mom made stuffed peppers a lot when we were kids, perfect meal for school days. Trying your version soon. :)
Back to school, crazy. Why does Summer have to come to an end?? And i’m actually going back to school this fall. WEIRD. These peppers look fabulous Natalie! I’ve never made stuffed peppers before!! Outrageous huh?! Good tips for making them. This is how I totally would have tried making them. I dream of putting quinoa in them too! This looks like a great, quick meal that you don’t feel guilty eating. My kinda meal for sure! Thanks for sharing lovely! :)