Turkey Parmesan Stuffed Peppers

Name: Turkey Parmesan Stuffed Peppers
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Extra virgin olive oil; 1/4 of an onion (minced (about 1/3 of a cup)); 2 cloves garlic (minced); 1 lb ground turkey; Kosher salt; 1 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp dried oregano; 2 Tbsp fresh parsley (chopped); 1 24 ounce jar tomato sauce (I like Rao's Arrabbiata sauce or anything spicy); 1 ½ cups cooked quinoa; ½ cup parmesan; 2-3 tsp red wine vinegar (to taste); 3 bell peppers (red, orange, and/or yellow, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed); ½ cup shredded mozzarella

4 cooked, stuffed peppers in a roasting pan.

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10/3/18

Everyone loves a stuffed pepper. Or, everyone thinks they do until they dig into an unseasoned, watery vegetable filled with dry, overcooked beef. There might be a suggestion of tomato sauce inside, or an overwhelming amount of cheese. But there is never a big, bold flavor statement where there so easily could be. It’s a gilded jewelry box filled with plastic toys, and I wanted to find the real treasure.

I got all of my best tools ready: I planned to dice and deep-fry, I imagined breadcrumbs and butter, I prepped piles of shredded cheese. Then, I got lazy. And that’s when I struck gold.

A stuffed pepper on a plate, topped with tomato sauce, melted cheese, and parsley.

Turns out, tomato sauce, ground meat, and cheese are the only things you need to make excellent stuffed peppers, you just have to treat them better than that dude who always brings them to game day.

The key is to treat both the inside and the outside of the stuffed peppers as equally important parts of the meal. The pepper is not just the venue for the stuffing- it’s the opening act.

6 stuffed bell peppers in a roasting pan.

Start by rubbing down cleaned, halved bell peppers with good olive oil until they shine like new silverware. Season them lightly with salt and pepper. Cook up ground turkey or beef with plenty of salt and spices, then drench it in tomato sauce (go for the jarred stuff! live dangerously!) and toss it with well-seasoned rice or quinoa.

Finally, throw in a couple of dashes of good red wine vinegar (or other acid) until it tastes so irresistible you start wondering if you should just eat it out of the pan and forget the whole stuffed pepper thing.

But it’s about get so much better. A bit of time in the oven (while you have a damn seat and read that magazine from last November) sweetens and softens the peppers. They hold their shape but surrender easily to the side of a fork. The stuffing tumbles onto your plate in a juicy, tomato-y mess. Dinner is served in a glistening, edible box.

I served this thinking it could have been better. It was too easy, too straightforward, and it used ingredients that were so familiar to me they felt like old high school friends. But, somehow, all of the typical elements of this dish banded together to create something uniquely delicious. I’d discovered a rare weeknight treasure.

5 from 3 votes

Turkey Parmesan Stuffed Peppers

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

40 mins

1 hour

10 mins

A delicious, easy dinner recipe that uses familiar ingredients. A rare weeknight treasure!

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: healthy weeknight dinner, stuffed peppers

Servings: 4

Calories: 367 kcal

What you need

Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 of an onion minced (about 1/3 of a cup)
2 cloves garlic minced
1 lb ground turkey
Kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp fresh parsley chopped
1 24 ounce jar tomato sauce I like Rao's Arrabbiata sauce or anything spicy
1 ½ cups cooked quinoa
½ cup parmesan
2-3 tsp red wine vinegar to taste
3 bell peppers red, orange, and/or yellow, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed
½ cup shredded mozzarella

What you do

Cook the turkey

Set oven to 400°F. Heat a 12-inch skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté about 3 minutes, until garlic is fragrant. Add ground turkey, 1 tsp salt, garlic powder, oregano, and parsley and cook, smashing turkey into bits with the back of your spoon, 4 to 6 minutes or until turkey is mostly cooked through.

Add tomato sauce and quinoa

Add 1 cup tomato sauce, mix well and simmer on low for about 3 minutes. Add cooked quinoa, then stir in parmesan cheese and 2 tsp red wine vinegar. Taste, add more vinegar if it needs to be punchier, more salt if it needs to be saltier (maybe some freshly cracked black pepper if you like that).

Stuff those peps

Spread remaining tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Season bell peppers with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Arrange them on top of the sauce in the baking dish. Spoon some of the turkey mixture into each pepper half, and top each with about 1 tablespoon mozzarella cheese. You might have extra filling, feel free to scatter it around the peppers or just save it to eat on its own!

Bake n serve

Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly, the cheese has melted and the peppers are tender.

Notes

Pair this with a red wine featuring ripe fruit flavors, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Zinfandel. These types of wines will pair nicely with the bell pepper’s subtle tang and earthiness, and the stuffing’s savory richness.