Mexican stuffed peppers are a healthy, colorful, and comforting dinner that you can make in just 30 minutes. The peppers are stuffed with a tasty well-seasoned filling made with brown rice, and ground turkey or chicken, they’re then topped with some melty cheese. Perfect for a quick mid-week dinner, and meal prep.
This Mexican stuffed peppers recipe is so easy to make. It’s tasty and all-around healthy. Stuff them with your favorite grain, and meat of your choice, or keep it vegetarian and add beans instead!
My husband always gets super excited when I make stuffed bell peppers, it’s one of his favorite dishes. I usually either do Italian stuffed peppers that are stuffed with grains, ground turkey or chicken, and seasoned with homemade Italian seasoning. Or these Mexican stuffed peppers that are quite similar to the Italian ones, but also very different.
These Mexican stuffed peppers are packed with flavor. They’re seasoned with homemade fajita seasoning and topped with melty shredded cheese, lime crema or sour cream, avocado, and jalapeños.
The Ingredients
What you’ll need:
- Bell peppers. My favorite bell peppers to use for stuffing are the red ones as they’re sweetest, yellow and orange bell peppers are mild, and green peppers are sort of bitter.
- Oil. Any kind of oil to cook the protein, I used sunflower oil.
- Protein. The possibilities are endless. You can use any type of ground meat (turkey, chicken, beef), or keep it vegetarian and swap the meat for beans. I usually use ground turkey, lean ground beef, and love adding black beans.
- Seasonings. You can either use homemade fajita seasoning or taco seasoning, both work great! Otherwise, just add ground cumin, ground paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper.
- Rice. I usually make these stuffed peppers with cooked brown rice as that’s what tastes best in this recipe, and it’s healthier. But cooked white rice also works great, for a low-carb option use cauliflower rice. This is a great recipe to use up leftover rice. Have leftover cilantro lime rice? Use that!
- Diced tomatoes. I always grab a can of diced tomatoes for convenience, but you can totally use fresh tomatoes if you prefer. Fire roasted tomatoes add a great flavor if you can find them.
- Cheese. I usually go for a mix of cheddar and mozzarella, but it also depends on what I have on hand. So just use your favorite cheese, or leave it off if you’re watching your calorie intake.
How to Make Mexican Stuffed Peppers
In just 30 minutes, you’ll have one tasty meal ready to serve.
- If you don’t have cooked rice, then start by cooking rice. To make 1 cup of brown rice, you will need half cup of uncooked rice.
- Prepare the bell peppers. Slice into halves, and remove the seeds. Spray/brush them with oil, season with salt and put them in a baking dish and transfer to the oven and cook the peppers until they’re just undercooked. I suggest that you roast them for around 10 minutes at 360°F/180°C.
- In a non-stick pan, saute the diced onion until soft and translucent. Then add the ground turkey or chicken, fajita seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Brown the ground meat as you break it down with a wooden spoon, add a can of diced tomatoes, and cook everything together.
- Add in cooked rice and mix well, cook for a couple of minutes.
- Take the bell peppers out of the oven. They should be roasted but just undercooked.
- Spoon the turkey or beef mixture into each bell pepper half filling the peppers, then top with more mozzarella/cheddar cheese.
- Put back in the oven for 10 minutes. This will allow the flavors to settle, the bell peppers will be fully cooked, and the cheese will melt.
- After the cheese melts, take the stuffed peppers out the oven and top with your favorite toppings.
Tip!
Whenever possible, it’s recommended you freshly grate your cheese from a block as it melts much better. Pre-shredded packaged cheese comes with anti-clumping agents (which is why it’s not clumpy when it comes out of the bag) which stop it from melting as nicely.
What to Serve with Mexican Stuffed Peppers
Let’s talk about toppings as that’s what makes this recipe so exciting! I suggest Mexican inspired toppings such as Lime Crema or plain sour cream, diced/sliced avocado or a delicious Guacamole, extra Mexican shredded cheese or cotija cheese, and a few jalapeño slices.
If you’re cooking a Mexican inspired dinner, then why not whip up some fresh and fruity Agua Frescas? And serve these easy Churro Bites for dessert! Or make this refreshing Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips!
FAQs
Any bell peppers can work in this recipe, but you have to keep in mind that each color tastes slightly different. Red peppers are the sweetest, yellow, and orange peppers are mild, and green peppers are a bit bitter.
I like to use a variety of colors, but I usually avoid green bell peppers since they’re bitter and kids might not like them.
The reason why I use mozzarella cheese is that it melts easily, and it’s creamy. If you don’t want to use mozzarella then go for provolone, mild cheddar, Emmental, or young gouda.
Storing Tips
- Fridge: Store in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container. I recommend that you only add your toppings before serving.
- Freezer: Make sure that they’re completely cooled. Then place in a freezer-safe container, seal, label, and date. Use within 4 months of freezing.
- Reheat: You can reheat in the microwave. Or you can reheat in the oven at 360°F/180°C, in an oven-safe dish covered with foil until completely heated. If reheating frozen cooked stuffed bell peppers, reheat at 360°F/180°C in an oven-safe dish covered with foil for 30 minutes or until completely heated.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Mexican Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 bell peppers
- 1 onion diced
- ½ pound ground turkey or ground chicken
- 2 teaspoon fajita seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese or cheddar or a mix
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 360°F/180°C.
- Prepare the bell peppers by slicing them in halves, then remove the seeds and the membrane. Brush them with a little bit of olive oil inside out, and roast them until they're just undercooked.
- In a non-stick pan, saute the diced onion until soft and translucent. Then add the ground turkey or chicken, fajita seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Brown the ground meat as you break it down with a wooden spoon, add a can of diced tomatoes, and cook everything together.
- Add in cooked rice and mix well, cook for a couple of minutes.
- Take the bell peppers out of the oven. They should be roasted but just undercooked.
- Spoon the stuffing into each bell pepper half, then top with more mozzarella cheese.
- Put back in the oven for 10 minutes. This will allow the flavors to settle, the bell peppers will be fully cooked, and the cheese will melt.
Notes:
- The stuffing is enough for 3 large bell peppers or 6 small ones.
- To cook 1 cup of brown rice, you will need ½ cup of uncooked brown rice.
- Fridge: Store in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
- Freezer: Make sure that they’re completely cooled. Then place in a freezer-safe container, seal, label, and date. Use within 4 months of freezing.
- You can reheat in the microwave. Or you can reheat in the oven at 360°F/180°C, in an oven-safe dish covered with foil until completely heated.
- If reheating frozen cooked stuffed bell peppers, reheat at 360°F/180°C in an oven-safe dish covered with foil for 30 minutes or until completely heated.
- I used ground turkey breast in this recipe, but you can use ground chicken, beef, or pork. Or to keep it vegetarian, use beans for the protein.
- You can use any color of bell peppers that you like. Keep in mind that red peppers are the sweetest, yellow, and orange peppers are mild, and green peppers are a bit bitter.
- You can substitute mozzarella cheese with provolone, mild cheddar, Emmental, or young gouda.
Video
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Joyce says
I would like to make this, but would it be possible to make it into a casserole instead by adding bell pepper to the mixture?
Diana says
Hi Joyce, that would be a great idea! I would chop the bell peppers into smaller pieces, cook the rice, cook the ground meat, and then mix everything together. Bake in a casserole dish with a nice layer of cheese, and then add all the toppings. Yum!