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These Smoky Stuffed Bell Peppers have the classic ingredients we all know and love, with the addition of smoked paprika to give it a unique and flavorful twist. You can whip them up in about an hour for a delicious dinner and/or meal prep for the week!
The ingredients
Bell peppers – The base of the recipe.
Ground turkey – I used ground turkey for the recipe, but you can also use ground beef, ground chicken, or even ground sausage etc.
Yellow onion – To add flavor. Choose whatever onion you prefer, whether yellow, sweet, red, etc.
Diced tomatoes – To add flavor and moisture.
Beans – You can omit them if you don’t like them, but they’re an easy way to bulk up the recipe a little to make it go further, as well as add fiber.
Cooked rice – To add bulk to the stuffing and carbohydrates to make it a more balanced meal.
Olive oil – To cook the stuffing in. You can also use avocado oil, butter, or ghee.
Spices – I used cumin, smoked paprika, black pepper, and salt to flavor the stuffed peppers.
Shredded cheese – Just as a topping for the peppers, but feel free to omit if dairy-free. Read the modifications section to see what you can replace it with.
Modifications
- Choose the meat: Any ground meat will work in this recipe, so choose what you have on hand or what sounds best to you. Beef, turkey, chicken, bison, etc.
- Add veggies: Feel free to add some veggies to the stuffing mixture before putting it in the peppers. You can add spinach at the end of the cooking process – Stir it in and let it cook a couple minutes until it wilts. Or you can add other veggies toward the beginning of the cooking process, such as diced carrots, zucchini, etc.
- Omit the cheese: If you want it dairy-free, feel free to omit the cheese. If you want, you can add a couple spoonfuls of tomato sauce on top of each bell pepper before placing them in the oven. It’ll add some extra flavor and is a great addition when omitting the cheese.
Storing the stuffed peppers
Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Other recipes you’ll love
Quinoa and Turkey Stuffed Peppers
I hope you love these Smoky Stuffed Peppers! Please be sure to leave a comment and rating and let me know how you like the recipe. I love hearing feedback, and it helps out my website more than you know!
PrintSmoky Stuffed Bell Peppers
These stuffed bell peppers have the classic ingredients we know and love with the addition of smoked paprika to give it a unique and flavorful twist.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Lunch, Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
6 large peppers
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
3 garlic cloves
1 lb ground turkey or beef
1 14oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can kidney beans or black beans, drained
1 tsp cumin
1 – 1.5 tsp smoked paprika, to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt, to taste
1/2 cup cooked rice
1 cup shredded cheese for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Preheat a large skillet or pan over medium high heat with olive oil. Add diced onion and cook for a few minutes until softened.
- Add the garlic cloves and ground meat and cook, breaking up the meat as you stir, for 6-8 minutes or until the meat is cooked and no longer pink.
- Turn heat down to medium, add the diced tomatoes (drained) and beans and stir.
- Drain excess liquid if there’s a lot in the pan, but it’s okay if there’s a little as the rice will soak it up (step 7).
- Add the cumin, smoked paprika, black pepper, and salt and stir to combine.
- Add the cooked rice and stir to combine. Turn heat to low.
- Prepare the peppers: Cut off the tops and remove the ribs and seeds. Rinse out extra seeds and place them in a baking dish. Pour 1/2 cup water into the bottom of the baking dish. This will help steam the peppers while they cook in the oven.
- Fill each pepper with the mixture. Top each pepper with shredded cheese if desired. It’s still delicious without it! If you don’t want cheese, you can add tomato sauce on top of each.
- Place the stuffed peppers in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, until the peppers are tender.
- Please leave feedback and your review if you made this recipe, this helps me tremendously! Thanks!
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