Description
Celebrate Halloween with these festive Jack-O’-Lantern Stuffed Peppers, filled with a flavorful mixture of ground turkey, rice, black beans, and aromatic herbs, topped with melted cheese for a fun and hearty meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 8 orange bell peppers
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 ¼ cups diced yellow onion (about 1 large onion)
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ cups white basmati rice, cooked according to package instructions
- 15.5 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese or Colby Jack cheese
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit to prepare for baking the peppers.
- Prepare Peppers: Cut the tops off the bell peppers. Use a small paring knife to remove the ribs and seeds from inside each pepper. Then carve jack-o-lantern faces on one side of each pepper. Place the prepared peppers upright in a lightly greased 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Sauté Onions and Garlic: Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil, swirling to coat. Add the diced onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring continuously to prevent burning.
- Cook Ground Turkey: Add the ground turkey to the skillet. Cook for another 5 minutes, breaking apart the meat with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until fully browned.
- Combine Filling Ingredients: Stir in cooked basmati rice, black beans, tomato sauce, dried oregano, dried basil, kosher salt, and black pepper. Cook for 3 to 5 more minutes, allowing the rice to start absorbing the sauce. Remove from heat once combined.
- Stuff Peppers: Scoop a heaping amount of the rice and turkey filling into each pepper, filling them generously. Top each stuffed pepper with shredded cheddar or Colby Jack cheese.
- Add Water and Bake: Pour 1 ½ cups of water around the peppers in the baking dish to help them soften during cooking. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the peppers begin to soften but still hold their shape.
Notes
- You can substitute ground beef or ground chicken for the ground turkey if preferred.
- Use long-grain white rice or jasmine rice instead of basmati rice for a different flavor profile.
- Feel free to add sautéed vegetables such as mushrooms or zucchini into the rice filling for extra texture and nutrition.
- Black beans can be swapped with another type of beans like kidney beans or pinto beans.
- Italian seasoning can be used as a substitute for the oregano and basil to vary the herb notes.
- Try different shredded cheeses like pepper Jack for a spicier twist.
- The nutritional values are approximate and may vary based on brands and ingredient substitutions.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 stuffed pepper
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 480 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fiber: 8 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Cholesterol: 55 mg
