Italian Stuffed Peppers

4.97 from 62 votes

These colorful Italian stuffed peppers make a great family lunch or dinner. They're healthy, easy, and quick to make. The bell peppers are stuffed with brown rice and ground turkey, Italian seasoning, melty mozzarella, and parmesan cheese.

Course Dinner

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings halves

Calories 246kcal

Author Diana

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 bell peppers
1 onion diced
1 pound ground turkey or ground chicken
2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt and pepper
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (14.5oz, 400g) can diced tomatoes
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup mozzarella cheese grated - ½ cup to go in the stuffing, and ½ cup to top the peppers at the end
¼ cup parmesan cheese grated
1 tablespoon fresh basil or parsley chopped

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 in the oven until they're just undercooked.
In a non-stick pan, saute the diced onion until soft and translucent. Then add the ground turkey, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
Brown the ground turkey as you break it down with a wooden spoon, add a can of diced tomatoes, and cook everything together.
Add in cooked rice, grated mozzarella, and parmesan and mix on medium heat until everything is melted. Season with salt and pepper.
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.

Video

Notes

The stuffing is enough for 3 large bell peppers or 6 small ones.

Storing tips:

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.

To 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.

Substitutions:

I used ground turkey breast in this recipe, but you can use ground chicken, beef, or pork. Italian sausage also works great here! 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.

Nutrition