Mexican Stuffed Peppers

5 from 3 votes

8 Comments

• Pin
• Share

By: Jill Mills Updated: Jun 28, 2024

These Mexican Stuffed Peppers are a simple dinner that has a lot of flavor. The ground turkey pairs well with the tomatoes, spicy jalapenos, and beans. They are then covered in cheese and baked to perfection.

Easy Mexican Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Instead of making traditional tacos, you should try this stuffed Mexican pepper recipe. It uses ground meat and taco seasoning mixed with tomatoes, beans, and garlic for great flavor and texture. The bell peppers become super tender and caramelized in the oven so you can eat the entire thing for a filling meal. I promise that even picky eaters will love these stuffed peppers — I know from experience!

Why You’ll Love These Mexican Stuffed Peppers

• Budget-friendly. This is an inexpensive meal that is perfect for any size budget.
• Weeknight favorite. I love making this meal anytime, even on busy weeknights. It’s so easy!
• Customizable recipe. Switch up some of the ingredients to make the flavor profile your own and still end up with a filling dinner.

What You’ll Need

These cheap ingredients pack a lot of flavor and texture. They are easy-to-find ingredients and many are pantry items that keep well for a long time unopened. 

• Bell peppers: You can use any color bell pepper that you like for this recipe. I like to pick ones that are a little larger so they are easier to stuff.
• Ground turkey: This is a lean and healthy meat that can stand up to a lot of seasoning and flavor so well.
• Seasonings: For these stuffed peppers, I use onion powder and taco seasoning. Feel free to add more seasoning as needed. Some paprika, chili powder, or cumin would be fantastic.
• Jalapeno: Diced fresh jalapeno adds a little heat and texture to the filling. It’s one of my favorite additions. Remove the seeds and membranes to reduce the spice.
• Diced tomatoes and tomato paste: I use a combo of diced tomatoes and tomato paste for texture as well as flavor. I like the chunks of tomatoes while the paste adds richness to the ground turkey.
• Black beans: Adding black beans adds some more protein to this dish.
• Corn: You’ll use one can of whole kernel corn for these peppers.
• Garlic: Minced garlic has a great flavor that is perfect for ground turkey.
• Shredded Mexican cheese: You can use any shredded cheese you like but the Mexican blend is my favorite. It melts great!

How to Make Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Cooking the ground turkey filling is what will take the most time and even then, that part will take less than 20 minutes. It’s a recipe that is minimal effort making it perfect for when you don’t want to cook. 

• Prepare the oven and baking sheet. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Wash, dry, and cut the bell peppers. Thoroughly wash and dry the bell peppers. Then, cut out the stem and then slice it in half. Scoop out all of the seeds and membranes. 
• Bake the peppers. Place the peppers on the pan hollow side up, cover with foil, and bake for 20 minutes. 

• Heat a skillet. Grab a large skillet and heat it at medium-high. Add a little bit of oil.
• Brown the turkey. Add the ground turkey and cook until no longer pink.
• Add seasoning, jalapeno, and garlic. Add taco seasoning, onion powder, diced jalapeno, garlic, and tomato paste. Stir the mixture well. Then, add about ¾ cup of water and let it simmer for 5 minutes. 
• Add beans and tomatoes. Stir in the drained beans and diced tomatoes and simmer for another 5 minutes. 

• Fill the peppers and top with cheese. Remove the skillet from the heat and fill each pepper half with the ground turkey mixture. Top them with the shredded cheese. 
• Bake. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted. I don’t cover it this time so the cheese can get a little brown.
• Serve. Enjoy them on their own with your favorite toppings or pair them with a side.

Serving Suggestions

Some of my favorite sides to serve with these Mexican stuffed peppers are Mexican Rice and Mexican Corn Bread.

You can add all kinds of toppings as well. I recommend Pico de Gallo, avocado crema, guacamole, sour cream, squeeze of lime juice, and chopped cilantro.

Storage Directions

Store leftover Mexican stuffed bell peppers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat covered in a 350-degree F oven for 10 minutes or until warm.

Place them tightly covered in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw them in the refrigerator before reheating.

More Mexican Recipes to Try

• Mexican Tater Tot Casserole
• Easy Layered Taco Pie
• Chicken Fajita Nachos
• Mexican Street Corn
• Beef Enchilada Casserole
• Birria Tacos

5 from 3 votes

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

These Mexican Stuffed Peppers are a simple dinner that has a lot of flavor. The ground turkey pairs well with the tomatoes, spicy jalapenos, and beans. They are then covered in cheese and baked to perfection.

Servings: 8 Servings

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 25 minutes mins

Total: 35 minutes mins

Print Rate Save Saved!

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 4 peppers varying colors
• ▢ 1 pound ground turkey (You can use beef or pork too.)
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning
• ▢ 1 small jalapeno seeds removed and minced.
• ▢ 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes drained.
• ▢ 1 15 ounce can black beans drained and rinsed.
• ▢ 1 15 ounce can whole kernel corn drained.
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• ▢ 2 Teaspoons minced garlic
• ▢ 1 8- ounce package shredded Mexican Cheese

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• While the oven preheats, wash and dry the peppers. Then cut out the stem and slice each in half. Remove the seeds and as much of the white spongy areas as possible.
• Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
• Take each pepper half and place hollow side up on the baking sheet.
• Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. When finished, remove any excess water that is on the tray or the middle of the pepper.
• While the peppers are baking, heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add the ground turkey. (You may need to add a Tablespoon or two of oil if it sticks).
• Cook until no longer pink, then add the garlic, jalapeno, onion powder, tomato paste, and taco seasoning and stir until combined. Add ¾ cup of water to the pan and allow it to simmer for approximately 5 minutes.
• Add the black beans and tomatoes and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
• Divide the filling equally among the pepper halves and top with shredded cheese.
• Bake uncovered for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Last Step:

Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.

Video

Notes

• Any ground meat will work in this recipe. If you use ground beef, you will need to drain any extra fat off after it’s browned.
• Instead of onion powder, you can add a small, diced onion. You will need to add this after the ground beef and cook for approximately 5 minutes or until translucent.
• If you want to save a step, you can use a can of Rotel in place of the canned tomatoes and fresh jalapeno.

Nutrition

Calories: 199kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 333mg | Potassium: 356mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 613IU | Vitamin C: 52mg | Calcium: 224mg | Iron: 1mg

Did You Make This?

Leave a comment & rating below or tag @kitchenfunwithmy3sons on social media!