These taco stuffed peppers with extra veggies are a hearty and flavorful take on the classic stuffed peppers recipe! Made with ground turkey and filled with onions, black beans, corn, and spinach, this recipe is such a fun twist! Get this veggie-packed meal on the dinner table in under an hour.
I am all about adding to the dinner plate versus limiting my cravings. How can I add a few extra servings of vegetables to my meal without extra effort, but also satisfy my need for tacos 24/7? Taco stuffed bell peppers was my answer.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This stuffed peppers recipe is super easy to customize with whatever veggies you have on hand. Don’t have frozen corn? Use frozen peas! Don’t have black beans? Use navy beans or pinto beans! It’s such a good recipe for using up what you have in your kitchen.
- I want to say that this recipe is quick and easy, but it really depends on how good you are at multi-tasking and chopping. I find that I can prep everything in no time and have the peppers in the oven pretty quickly. It’s definitely what I would consider an easy recipe though as all you’re doing is prepping the peppers, cooking your filling, loading them up, then finishing them off in the oven. Nothing super complicated!
- It reheats well, so you can use this recipe as a meal prep for lunches throughout the week!
Ingredients You’ll Need
bell peppers — I personally love red bell peppers as they’re the sweetest ones. If I’m not buying just red bell peppers, I get the packages of reds, oranges, and yellows. If you like a slightly bitter bite of green bell peppers, feel free to use that instead.
salt — I always use Diamond kosher salt in my recipes.
olive oil — I use olive oil, but you can use any neutral oil, such as avocado oil.
ground turkey — you can use lean ground turkey, ground turkey breast, 85% lean turkey, etc. I usually just get whichever pack is on sale at the store.
onion — I use a yellow onion, but you can also use shallots.
seasoning — I use garlic powder and dried oregano. You can also add onion powder and pepper if you’d like!
taco seasoning — you can use a packet of store-bought taco seasoning or three tablespoons of homemade taco seasoning.
chicken broth — I like to use low-sodium chicken broth but you can also use regular chicken broth. You can also swap for vegetable broth if that’s what you have on hand.
tomato sauce — I love cooking taco meat in some tomato sauce to add more flavor to it.
black beans — make sure you drain and rinse the black beans before adding them to your taco meat.
frozen corn — I use frozen corn as it’s what I have on hand but you can also use fresh or canned corn.
baby spinach — I prefer baby spinach as they’re more sweet and tender. I would avoid using frozen spinach as you’ll have to cook out the water.
cheddar cheese — or use a Mexican blend.
How to Make a Veggie Packed Taco Stuffed Peppers
- Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Cut the bell peppers in half and remove seeds and membranes. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil and rub both the inside and outside to coat them. Season the inside of the bell peppers with ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Arrange them upside down in a large baking dish or sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and add the diced onions. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the salt and saute for another minute.
- Add the ground turkey.
- Cook the ground turkey for 2 to 3 minutes. Make sure you break up the pieces of turkey with your spatula or wooden spoon.
- Add the taco seasoning, garlic powder, and dried oregano to the ground turkey. Give everything a quick mix, it doesn’t have to be perfectly mixed in.
- Add the chicken or vegetable broth and tomato sauce to the skillet.
- Stir until everything is combined and lower the heat from medium to medium low.
- Let the taco meat simmer for 4 to 5 minutes or until the sauce has cooked down to your desired sauciness. Make sure you remember to lower the heat because if you have it on high heat, the mixture will boil and your turkey meat will become tough.
- Add the black beans, frozen corn, and baby spinach to the skillet.
- Stir for 1 to 2 minutes, until the spinach is wilted.
- Fill the peppers with the turkey taco mixture.
- Top each of the filled bell peppers with a sprinkle of cheese. Place them back in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the peppers are fork tender.
- Serve with your toppings or garnish of choice.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- If you don’t want to use ground turkey, you can use ground chicken, beef, or pork!
- Make sure you don’t skip roasting the bell peppers beforehand. It might seem like an annoying extra step, but it keeps the stuffed peppers from getting watery after the second bake.
- When selecting bell peppers at the store, try to get them as close to size as possible as it ensures they cook evenly in the oven.
Make Ahead Tips
- Meal prep: once cooled, store in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or oven when ready to enjoy.
- Freezer: allow the stuffed peppers to cool before transferring them into an airtight container or freezer bag before storing them in the freezer. Store for up to 3 months.
- Reheat from frozen: when ready to enjoy the frozen stuffed peppers, thaw in the fridge overnight and bake for around 20 minutes or until heated through in the oven at 350F.
Taco Stuffed Peppers (with Extra Veggies) Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 bell peppers
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided in half
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 pound ground turkey
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 1½ teaspoons garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 packet taco seasoning, (3 tablespoons)
- ¾ cup chicken broth, low sodium
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese, or Mexican blend
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds and membrane.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil and rub both the inside and outside to coat them. Season the cavity with ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Arrange them upside down in a large baking dish or sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and add the diced onions. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the salt and saute for another minute.
- Add the ground turkey and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, making sure to break up the pieces with your spatula or wooden spoon.
- Add the taco seasoning, garlic powder, and dried oregano to the ground turkey. Give everything a quick mix, it doesn’t have to be perfectly mixed in.
- Add the chicken broth and tomato sauce to the skillet.
- Stir until everything is combined and lower the heat from medium to medium low. Let the taco meat simmer for 4 to 5 minutes or until the sauce has cooked down to your desired sauciness.
- Add the black beans, frozen corn, and baby spinach to the skillet. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes, until the spinach is wilted.
- Fill the peppers with the turkey taco mixture and top with a sprinkle of cheese. Place them back in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the peppers are fork tender.
- Serve with your toppings or garnish of choice.
Nutrition Per Serving
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