Who doesn’t love stuffed peppers? I mean, I may be biased because I’m half Italian but I don’t think that’s the case! My old roomie Eric used to make us stuffed peppers all the time and I used to think, “I wish I could cook like this!”.
MEAT SAUCE HEAVEN
Well, flash forward 9 years and I have my own version of stuffed peppers that I think are FANTASTIC. They key is the meat sauce. My meat sauce recipe is super easy, healthy and deeeeeelicious! You will need the meat sauce recipe to make these stuffed peppers! Click here to get that recipe!
Make the peppers, meat sauce and combine them. Bake em up and you are rockin’ and rollin!
NUTRITION
Per two pepper halves, this recipe has 375 calories, 15g fat, 22g carbs and 34g protein. I use my signature concoction of Jennie-O lean ground turkey and Jennie-O hot italian turkey sausage. If you don’t like the heat of the hot sausage you can substitute it for sweet italian turkey sausage and just get rid of the cayenne pepper and diced chiles (but what fun is that?!).
Pro Tip: Use colorful peppers! Red, yellow and orange peppers may be a little more expensive than green BUT they are so worth the flavor you get from them. The presentation is better too!! Use a variety to really liven up the plate!
Products I love to use when making this dish:
- 6 colorful bell peppers
- lite shredded mozzarella (to top the peppers)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp basil
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt ( or to taste)
- 1 tsp ground black pepper (or to taste)
- 2 cans 14.5oz diced tomatoes, no salt added
- 1 small can tomato paste
- 4 oz can, diced chiles
- 5 handfuls raw baby spinach
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 5 links Jennie O hot italian turkey sausage, decased
- 1.5 lb ground turkey
- parmesan cheese
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Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
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while water is coming to a boil, core all of the peppers. (slice knife around top and remove stem. then tap insides over trash to remove seeds. use your hand to get any remaining remnants).
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add to peppers to boiling water for 3 minutes. (do not overcook!)
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remove peppers from water with tongs and let cool.
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preheat oven to 375 degrees.
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over medium-high heat add olive oil to pan for 30 seconds. add minced garlic to pan for another 30 seconds. Add onions and saute for about 2 minutes. stirring occasionally.
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add ground turkey and turkey sausage and cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
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add in seasonings, spinach, tomatoes, tomato paste and diced chiles. stir.
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continue to cook on low until flavors meld together about 5-7 minutes.
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slice peppers in half.
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lightly grease 2- 13x9 baking dishes and place sliced pepper halves in dishes.
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fill peppers with meat sauce and top with low fat shredded cheese.
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bake for 20 min at 375 degrees.
Must Have Meat Sauce
Loved these AND the meat sauce!!! So delish and I cooked up some pasta w the meat sauce for the kids. They were both in heaven!
it’s my favorite! thats why i use it in so many recipes! The best! glad you enjoyed!