Stoplight Peppers with Ground Turkey

stuffed pepper

Stoplight peppers can also be made with ground beef, or pork.

Stoplight peppers with ground turkey make for a visually pleasing, lower fat and nutrition-packed dish that is thrifty and can be easily modified to taste.

Kids love the idea of a meal in a “container” and the red/yellow/green peppers–hence the “stoplight” moniker allows them to choose their favorite color.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

ingredients
  • 1 lb ground turkey; white meat is lower fat, but use mixed light/dark turkey if you prefer
  • 6 medium peppers: 2 each, red/yellow/green
  • 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
  • 1/4 cup celery, very finely diced
  • 1/2 cup parsley, finely diced
  • 1/2 cup finely diced carrots
  • 1 tbs tomato paste
  • 1 tsp garlic paste
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp, each — salt, pepper
  • 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 2 tbs water chestnuts, very finely diced
  • 2 tbs sun dried tomatoes, very finely diced
  • 1/2 cup vegetable broth
  • 2-3 tbs olive oil
cooking instructions
  • Heat olive oil in heavy bottomed skillet (over medium heat)
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
  • Saute the onions, celery and carrots for about 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent
  • Add ground turkey, salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, water chestnuts, garlic paste and sun dried tomatoes; cook turkey through and lower heat — leave mixture on the flame for 10-15 minutes to allow the flavors to develop
  • Carefully incorporate bread crumbs
  • Prep the peppers: rinse thoroughly, slice the tops so that you can remove them whole; remove seeds and the white pith inside the peppers
  • Spray a 9×12 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray
  • Remove the turkey mixture from the heat
  • Stuff the peppers with the meat mixture and put the tops of the peppers back on (like a cap)
  • Place the peppers in the greased casserole dish
  • Bake for about 30 minutes until the peppers are fork tender

Variations: If you like, sprinkle cheese on the meat mixture before putting the “cap” on each pepper.

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