These quinoa stuffed peppers are loaded with plant-based protein, lean ground turkey and flavorful seasonings! It’s a healthy and delicious way to eat more veggies that your family will love.
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Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers
I absolutely love when I find easy and healthy dinner ideas that my whole family will eat. Quinoa stuffed peppers are a favorite, as well as unstuffed pepper casserole and chicken stuffed peppers. We love them!
I have seen several recipes for stuffed bell peppers with cooked quinoa online and never found one I’ve liked. I finally came up with my own version and love how they turned out. The kids even ate these easy stuffed bell peppers…everyone loved them!
How to Make Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
- Cook filling. Saute onion until translucent, then add meat and cook until browned. Drain any excess grease. Add in beans, tomatoes, green chiles, water, quinoa, cumin, taco seasoning, and S&P. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until quinoa is done about 10-15 minutes.
- Stuff. Line the sliced pepper halves in the bottom of a 9×13″ baking dish. Then evenly spoon the filling into the peppers and top with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake. Cover pan with foil, then bake at 375°F for about 40 minutes, or until peppers are soft (but not mushy).
Favorite Toppings
- Sour cream
- Salsa
- Sliced avocado
- Sliced olives
- Cilantro
- Red or green onions
- Lime juice
- Hot sauce
- Cilantro lime dressing
Cooking Tips
- Make these quinoa stuffed peppers a vegetarian dish by omitting the meat. You still get plenty of protein and fiber from the quinoa and beans!
- Feel free to swap the ground turkey with ground beef or even chicken.
- Don’t drain the canned tomatoes or chiles. The liquid helps to cook the quinoa.
- You could swap the quinoa for rice if preferred.
- Don’t forget to cover the pan with foil! This helps steam the peppers so they’re nice and tender.
Frequently Asked Questions
These easy bell peppers take about 40 minutes to cook through. You want the peppers to soften, but not be too mushy. Depending on your oven, the timing could be a little more or a little less. I’d plan on keeping an eye on them after about 30 minutes.
Instead of slicing off the tops, I like to cut my bell peppers in half. Then I’ll stuff each half with the filling mixture. It’s more of an “open-faced” approach and in my opinion, is easier to eat this way. Just make sure to remove the stem, seeds and ribs before stuffing.
These peppers will keep in the refrigerator for about 3 days. Make sure to store in an airtight container (preferably shallow). To reheat, I like to warm mine back up in the oven for about 5-10 minutes.
Pre-cooking or boiling the peppers before stuffing will make them more soft and tender. If you don’t have time, you can stuff them before precooking.
More Healthy Dinner Ideas
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Quinoa Stuffed Peppers Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 4 bell peppers , halved length wise, ribs removed
- ½ Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion
- ½ pound ground turkey (or ground beef)
- 1 (14-ounce) can black beans , drained and rinsed
- 1 (14-ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes , with liquids (plain is fine too)
- 1 (7-ounce) can diced green chiles , with liquids
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup quinoa
- ½ Tablespoon cumin
- 1 Tablespoon taco seasoning
- Salt , to taste
- Ground black pepper , to taste
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
For serving: Sour cream or Salsa
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place pepper halves in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes.
- In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook 3 minutes, or until translucent. Stir in meat and cook until browned. Drain any excess grease.
- Stir in black beans, tomatoes, green chiles, water, quinoa, cumin, and taco seasoning. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, or until quinoa is cooked.
- Spoon in filling and top with cheese. Cover pan with foil and cook 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and peppers are wilting.
- Remove from oven and serve with sour cream or salsa, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make it a vegetarian dish by omitting the meat. You still get plenty of protein and fiber from the quinoa and beans!
- Feel free to swap the ground turkey with ground beef or even chicken.
- You could swap the quinoa for rice if preferred.
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: Beef, Cinco De Mayo, Dinner, Mexican
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Made this today exactly as written. It is seriously delicious! Wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you for the awesome recipe!
Question: Do you cover the top of the bellpeppers with the aluminum foil?
Yes! You fill the peppers in the pan, then cover the whole pan with foil before baking. :)
Do you have the nutritional value on this? I’m looking for calories to be specific
Hi! I’m sorry but I don’t have the nutritional value. There are some great websites out there to help you figure that out! :)
Loved the bell pepper recipe with quinoa and ground turkey! I would like to find out servings and nutritional info so that I can calculate Weight watchers points.
Thanks for any help you can give me. Family loved it!
Robin
Hi Robin! I’m so glad you liked these stuffed bell peppers! I don’t have the nutritional information, but there are some great websites to help you figure that out! :)
Hi there!
I have a question. I’ve never used canned green chilis before … if you want a spicier alternative, would some chopped pickled jalapeno do?
Also, if I fire roast my own tomato and chop it up, would that work too? I’m cooking for one so I don’t need a whole can of both the tomatoes and the chilies, not to mention I try to avoid as many canned/pre-prepared items as possible in my recipes. I guess my only concern is that if I’m not using the canned items, it won’t come out moist enough.
Hope to hear back from you before cooking tonight!
Hi Cristina! I haven’t tried substituting fresh ingredients for the canned ones, but I think it would work just fine! :)
Made this recipe today, instead of turkey, I used soy ground “beef” to make it veggie friendly. It was really good! I will make it again, next time with turkey for the non-vegertarian family. The recipe says to bake in over for 40 minutes, but for me, the peppers were perfect at about 30-35 minutes. I think 40 minutes in the oven would overcook the peppers. Also, I would recommend listing the ingredients on this recipe in order in which the recipe calls them for.
I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe Cindy! Thanks for sharing your cooking times, everyones ovens are different so it helps to hear what works for you!
Just made these and they were delicious!!!!!! So good- thank you for the recipe!!! I have some leftovers- do you think if I froze the leftover stuffed peppers they’d be ok to reheat later on?? Thanks again!!!
I’m so glad you liked them Amber! I haven’t tried freezing them, but I think it would change the texture of the peppers a little!
I am new to the eating quinoa world, do you cook it first?
Hi Heidi! Yes, you cook it first…make sure to follow the package directions. :) Hope you enjoy this recipe!!
Recipe sounds like the quinoa is cooked in the turkey/bean mixture. I cooked mine separately. 1 part quinoa, 2 parts water. I love this stuffed peppers recipe!
I had friends over . Everyone loved this. Very easy , healthy and good
So glad you enjoyed them! I appreciate your comment. Have a great weekend! :D
Hey Jamielyn, I am just getting ready to make the red peppers stuffed with quinoa…..the beans were left out in the instructions as far as ai can tell…when are they added…and is the entire can of beans used….thanks for the great website…I have enjoyed making so many of your craft ideas and recipes…KCW
Healthy and delicious is what I love!
I would also love to have you share this (or any other of your recipes) at Wednesday Extravaganza – my Foodie Link Party, and maybe claim a spot on my Wall of Fame. Here is the link:
http://www.hungrylittlegirl.com/1/post/2012/10/october-31st-2012.html
Can’t wait to see you there!
where can I find quinoa in the stores…with the rice or pasta?
Hi Mandy! I found mine at Sprouts or Costco near the grains. Hope that helps!
Wow, these look so delicious and healthy! Can’t wait to make them :)
Perfect timing! Stuffed peppers with quinoa were on my menu for this week and I was needing to research and find a recipe. Fortunately, your recipe came right to my email so my work is done. Can’t wait to try it! Thanks!!
This looks really good! I’m going to make it for my daughter, minus the turkey since she’s not fond of meat.
Must be stuffed peppers day! We posted a recipe for smoking stuffed peppers on the grill today. But, I love the use of quinoa in your recipe. Definitely want to try that instead of rice next time!
These look awesome! I am pinning this to try soon! :-)
yum! This look so good Jamielyn! I love stuffed peppers!