Buckle up kids because we’re throwing it all the way back to 2016. Before Tony and I were even married! I almost forgot about this incredible dinner recipe until I stumbled upon it a few weeks back and after some simple tweaks, I’m convinced you’ll want to make this one ASAP
These white bean, spinach and turkey stuffed peppers are full of Italian flavor, garlicky tomato basil sauce, ground turkey, creamy white beans, tender orzo, and so much more. OH, and they’re topped with melty mozzarella cheese. What’s not to love?
First, take a look at what life looked 7 years ago:
“Somedays I wish I could live in my kitchen, leaving the writing, editing, photography and all the other things behind. My happy place is recipe creation; fitting flavors and ingredients together like a puzzle. It’s my favorite part about my job. And also you all. Seeing all the recipes you make of mine makes me extraordinarily happy. I’m in awe that I get to create this life for myself, which keeps me inspired and feeling creative on a daily basis. You’re making this girl’s dream come true.”
Everything you’ll need to make turkey stuffed peppers
We’re packing each pepper with delicious, savory ingredients and plenty of protein for the perfect dinner. Here’s what you’ll need to make them:
- Orzo: everyone’s favorite tender little pasta!
- Produce: you’ll need bell peppers (of course), spinach, onion, garlic, and fresh basil. Feel free to use any color of bell pepper that you like.
- Tomato sauce: use your favorite chunky tomato sauce like marinara.
- Seasonings: you’ll need Italian seasoning, dried oregano, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Ground turkey: these stuffed peppers get lots of protein and flavor from lean ground turkey. See below for more protein options!
- White beans: we’re also adding a can of great northern beans for additional protein and fiber. I love how tender they are in each bite of these stuffed peppers.
- Cheese: you’ll also need parmesan cheese and shredded mozzarella to top these beauties.
Simple ingredient swaps
There are a few easy ways to really make these ground turkey stuffed peppers your own! Here’s what I can suggest:
- For the orzo: you can also use quinoa or brown rice, which will keep the stuffed peppers gluten free. Frozen brown rice works very well (you’ll need 1 cup cooked!)
- For the ground turkey: feel free to use ground chicken, shredded chicken, or even ground turkey sausage instead of regular ground turkey. To keep this recipe vegetarian, simply swap the turkey for an extra can of white beans.
- For the white beans: I used great northern beans in this recipe, but you could also use chickpeas, navy beans, or cannellini beans.
Make them ahead of time
You can actually make these turkey stuffed bell peppers 1-2 days ahead of time! Follow the instructions up to baking them in step 6, then simply keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to bake them.
Storing & freezing tips
- To store & reheat: place any leftover stuffed peppers in an airtight glass container and store in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. Reheat in the microwave in 30-second intervals until heated through.
- To freeze & reheat: place leftover stuffed peppers in an airtight glass container, or wrap peppers individually in plastic wrap and tinfoil, and freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, let the peppers thaw in the refrigerator before baking them at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes.
More recipes using ground turkey
- The Best Healthy Turkey Chili
- One Pan Lightened Up Hamburger Helper
- Juicy Turkey Meatballs in Tomato Basil Sauce with Burrata
- Amazing Easy Turkey Tacos (with a slow cooker option!)
- Creamy Tomato Orzo Soup with Mini Turkey Meatballs
Get all of my ground turkey recipes here, and more dinner ideas here!
I hope you love these turkey stuffed bell peppers! If you make them be sure to leave a comment below to let me know how you liked them or tag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation! xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
White Bean, Spinach & Turkey Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- ½ cup uncooked orzo
- For the sauce:
- 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves
- 1 ¾ cups chunky tomato sauce (such as marinara), divided
- 1 tablespoon italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- For the turkey:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 pound ground turkey (or ground turkey sausage for even more flavor!)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- For the mix-ins:
- 1 (15 oz) can great northern beans
- 3 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- 4 ounces Parmesan cheese (1/2 cup)
- For the peppers:
- 6 medium to large green or red bell peppers
- 1 heaping cup shredded mozzarella, divided
- To garnish:
- Fresh julienned basil
- Red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add orzo and cook according to directions on the package. Then drain and set aside.
- In a blender or food processor, add 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (reserving 1/4 cup for later), garlic cloves, basil, Italian seasoning and oregano. Blend on high 1-2 minutes until smooth. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and turkey breaking up the meat as you stir. Season with salt and pepper and saute, stirring occasionally until turkey is cooked and no longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Stir in tomato sauce from the blender until turkey is well-coated. Stir in the beans, cooked orzo and spinach and simmer uncovered on medium low heat for 10 minutes; stirring every few minutes (the spinach will break down as you cook it). Taste and add additional salt and pepper, as necessary.
- Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese.
- While the turkey and sauce are cooking you can prepare the peppers: Cut off the tops of the peppers and remove the ribs and seeds. Rinse out extra seeds and place each pepper next to each other in a greased 2 quart baking dish. Alternatively you can cut the peppers in half lengthwise and place them skin-side down in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Totally fine if they are touching.
- Divide mixture between each pepper. Add an extra spoonful of reserved tomato sauce on top each pepper. Sprinkle the tops with mozzarella.
- Coat a large piece of foil with nonstick cooking spray and place spray-side down on the baking dish and cover tightly. This prevents the cheese from sticking to the foil. Bake peppers for 35 minutes until fork tender. Remove foil, then place back in oven and cook for 10 more minutes or until cheese is slightly golden brown. Makes 6 whole peppers, or 12 pepper halves.
- Top peppers with fresh julienned basil and red pepper flakes, if desired. Extra parm on top is yum, too!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on April 11th, 2016, and updated & republished on October 2nd, 2023.
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Photography by: Sarah Fennel
This is a great stuffed pepper recipe! Very flavorful and I love the addition of the beans. I’ve made this with red, green, yellow, and orange peppers. I subbed quinoa instead of the orzo which works well. I have used this for work lunch meal prep multiple times and it holds up well throughout the week.
Love it! Glad to hear it’s a go-to recipe!
this looks amazing, but I don’t see Burrata listed at all in the ingredients. Ami missing something?
Thank you for the catch! After many years I updated the recipe to use mozzarella instead for ease — you can absolutely use burrata if you’d like (both are delicious).
These are EXCELLENT!!!! I’ve made stuffed peppers before and my husband doesn’t eat the peppers. I cut these in half and he ate four halves….and the peppers, which were from our garden. Kids loved them too!!
Can turkey be replaced with tuna, or some other fish, please?
Yes that should work!
I didn’t make these yet but will. I’m wondering why there is no information regarding sodium content? That’s the reason for the 1 star.
Hi! I do not include sodium content on my recipes because it varies greatly depending on the brands of ingredients people use. If you need this to be low sodium, I suggest opting for all low-sodium products (cheese, sauces, etc.) and omitting the added salt.
Do you drain/rinse the beans first?
Yes!
I made these peppers today but used ground chicken. Delicious! Great meal for dinner. I also had leftover so I can have it without a pepper for lunch.
Thank you
So amazing! Glad this recipe turned out great for you!
Should I bake them first and then freeze them? Thanks – can’t wait to try this out!
Yep! Bake them, cool them, and freeze them for later 🙂
Also interested in how best to reheat them after freezing! Should they be thawed in the fridge for a day and then put in the oven?
Hi Stephanie! Yes – I would thaw them first in the fridge and then bake them. Enjoy!
How do you reheat them after you freeze them?
I have made these before and replaced the brown rice with quinoa sauteed in Olive oil and lemon juice. It adds and amazing little zing!
Wondering how long you would recommend reheating the peppers from the freezer?
I am wondering the same thing!
Thanks in advance 🙂
So much for replying to comments 🙁
According to the bestest ever (link below):
Preheat oven to 350F.
Place frozen peppers in a baking dish.
Cover with foil.
Bake for 45 minutes covered. You can uncover it for 10 more minutes.
Check to ensure you are not overcooking them.
Remove from oven and serve.
http://www.thebestestever.com/the-best-way-to-reheat-stuffed-peppers.html
Heard about Ambitious Kitchen via my good friend Cheeky Tzatziki. I’m surfing your site and am LITERALLY drooling over all those yummy looking and healthy recipes! Can’t wait to try them!
What if your blender is currently broken and you don’t have a food processor? What would you suggest doing for the sauce?
just use any pre made spaghetti sauce . . . you can finely chiffonade the basil as well and add into the dish
Wonderful, delicious, healthy recipe! Instead of burrata cheese I mixed a shredded italian blend in the filling which turned out nicely. And with quinoa, each pepper has 30 g of protein, that’s what I’m talking about!
These look delicious! ?
Love this recipe, Monique. And the whole idea of stuffing peppers is amazing to look at and smell while cooking. Being vegan, I replaced turkey with broken up tempeh and Daiya cheese (mozzarella style) on top. WONDERFUL. Thanks for the reminder to stuff a pepper!
OMG, these bell peppers look to die for! I love the combination of white beans, turkey, spinach and brown rice! The bell peppers are amazing too!
That burrata on top <3 I couldn't love it more
Whenever I make stuffed peppers, I go the Mexican route (which is the route I take most days…), but these look incredible! And burrata just makes everything better.
My favorite shoot we’ve done together. So. Much. Love.
Mmmmkay, all I really noticed in the title was burrata and I immediately fell for this recipe! YUMM! Now that I’ve had time to focus on the other ingredients I know for suuuure this is something I have to try soon.