These easy southwest stuffed peppers are a quick and adaptable way to get dinner on the table, any night of the week. With minimal prep work, they allow for more time relaxing or helping with homework. They also work great for meal prep or leftovers!
Southwest Stuffed Peppers are a Family Favorite
These stuffed peppers are an easy family favorite! I love how friendly they are to the kiddos taste palates because they aren’t spicy, unless you want them to be! They can also be cut up and mixed together, which in my house equates to less complaining about what they are actually eating. A total win! Plus everyone gets to customize their toppings and a little extra cheese goes a LONG way, if you catch what I’m saying.
Meal-Prep or Make-Ahead
These stuffed peppers also make a great option for a weekend meal-prep sesh. Once cooled, place peppers into containers with two halves each and store your toppings in a separate container. When it comes time for lunch, reheat the peppers for 2-3 minutes, or until heated through, and then add your toppings. Best if eaten within 4 days.
If you want to make these ahead of time, I would recommend cooking the meat mixture the night before you plan on baking them. Follow all of the instructions through step 3, but don’t stuff the peppers in advance. When you’re ready to bake them, fill the peppers with the meat mixture and bake as indicated, or until completely heated through.
Let’s Talk About the Ingredients
- Bell Peppers – any color, pick your favorites!
- Scallions – feel free to substitute with 1/2 yellow onion if you’re out of scallions.
- Ground Turkey or Beef – use what you love. This would even be delicious with ground chicken! (Vegetarians, see my note below)
- Cooked Rice – this recipe works wonders with leftover rice, but we don’t always have some. In a pinch, heat up an Uncle Ben’s 90 second rice pouch and dump the whole thing into the meat mixture. Voila!
- Black Beans – don’t have any or don’t like them, just leave them out. You can always add more meat, corn, or rice.
- Monterey Jack – don’t have any? Use cheddar instead! Like it spicy? Go with pepper jack!
- Toppings – our kiddos like sour cream and we usually add Tapatio or fresh jalapenos to ours. The options are endless: avocado or guacamole, cilantro, green onions, salsa. Add whatever you enjoy!
Stuffed Pepper Variations
Vegetarian: omit the meat and add another can of black beans or substitute with your favorite alternative protein.
Vegan: swap the meat and replace the cheese with a vegan alternative.
Lighten it up: use lean ground beef or turkey, choose brown rice, use less cheese, and opt for Greek yogurt in lieu of sour cream.
Servings
If 6 servings sounds overly ambitious, you can use 4 peppers instead. You may find yourself with extra meat mixture, but it tastes great with tortilla chips or you can use it as the foundation for a breakfast burrito! You could even warm it up and make it into a taco salad!
Easy Southwest Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 6 large bell peppers halved lengthwise, stems, ribs, and seeds removed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 6 scallions sliced, white and green parts separated
- 1 lb ground turkey or beef
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 4.5 oz can chopped mild green chilies drained
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 cup cooked rice white or brown, fresh or leftover
- 1 can black beans drained
- 1 ½ cup Monterey Jack cheese divided
- salt and fresh ground pepper
Topping Ideas
- sour cream or Greek yogurt
- salsa
- avocado
- jalapenos
Instructions
- Prep all of your ingredients and make sure your rice is cooked. Arrange the bell peppers, cut-side up, in two baking dishes. I use a 9-by-13-inch (4 peppers) and an 8-by-8-inch (2 peppers).
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallion whites and meat; cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up the meat, until no longer pink – about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the corn, chilies, cumin, cooked rice, beans, and half of the Monterey Jack. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Fill the peppers with the mixture. Add ½ cup water to each baking dish (around the peppers) and cover the pans tightly with foil. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until peppers are soft. Uncover, sprinkle each pepper with the remaining Monterey Jack, and bake until melted, about 5 minutes.
- Top the peppers with sour cream, salsa, scallion greens, or any other desired toppings. Enjoy!
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