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These high protein stuffed peppers are fast, easy and delicious. This classic recipe gets a boost of nutrition from beans and lean ground turkey with all of the flavor you want in a traditional stuffed pepper.
High Protein Comfort Food
Stuffed peppers are a classic comfort food recipe that’s always a hit. This high protein version is perfect for a cozy dinner or meal prepping for the week ahead. With plenty of protein, veggies and fiber, it’s a balanced meal all in one too! Here’s why you’ll love it.
- Quick and easy. You can get these on the table in about 30 minutes flat. It’s a perfect meal for your whole family on busy weeknights.
- High protein, high fiber. Two stuffed peppers (two halves) has about 37g protein and 7g of fiber!
- Meal prep friendly. These peppers store and reheat great, so they’re perfect to make at the start of the week for an easy meal prep.
- Customizable. You can use any kind of ground meat, switch up the beans, or even change up the seasonings to keep things interesting.
For more easy meals that feature lots of comfort food flavor, check out my Deconstructed Stuffed Peppers, Hidden Veggie Mac And Cheese and High Protein Lasagna Soup too.
Ingredients
For full recipe instructions and complete list of ingredients, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
- Bell peppers: I love to use a variety of colorful bell peppers. Make sure they are nice and big for stuffing.
- Ground turkey: Lean ground turkey, ground chicken or ground beef work.
- Yellow onion & garlic: This is a classic base for building flavor.
- Salsa: Salsa adds SO much delicious flavor to the filling. You can also use canned diced tomatoes or fire roasted diced tomatoes.
- Black beans: Drained, rinsed canned black beans add fiber and protein.
- Cooked rice: White or brown rice. Use frozen to save time!
- Olive oil: Just a little olive oil helps to brown the meat and veggies.
- Spices: Chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper add warm, cozy flavor.
- Cheddar cheese: Shredded cheddar cheese is the perfect tasty protein topping. You can also use a Mexican cheese blend.
Variations
- Italian style. Use canned diced tomatoes instead of salsa, and swap chili powder and cumin for 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Use cannellini beans and top with mozzarella.
- Vegan. Omit the cheese and swap groun meat for crumbled tofu, vegan crumbles, or about 2 cups of cooked lentils. Stir in 1 tbsp nutritional yeast with spices. Top with vegan cheese if desired.
- Fresh herbs. Top cooked peppers with chopped fresh parsley, cilantro, basil or green onions.
- Starch Swap. Use cooked quinoa, farro or orzo instead of rice.
- Not into peppers? Use yellow squash, zucchini or even winter squash instead.
How To Make High Protein Stuffed Peppers
- Prep. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease a baking dish. Prep the peppers by slicing in half from top to bottom through the stem. Remove any seeds.
- Pre-bake peppers. Place peppers cut side down in prepared baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes until peppers have slightly softened.
- Brown the meat. Heat skillet with oil over medium heat. Brown the meat breaking into small pieces (4-5 minutes). Add onions and garlic, continue to cook 3-4 minutes until fragrant and softened.
- Reduce heat. Over medium low heat add salsa, beans, rice and spices. Continue cooking 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup cheese.
- Stuff. Turn over peppers and stuff with meat filling. Top with remaining cheese.
- Bake. Bake peppers for 10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Cool slightly and enjoy!
How To Store
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Make sure to heat to 165 degrees internal temperature (1.5-2 minutes in the microwave) before serving.
jamie’s tip
Recipe Tips
- Pre-bake your peppers. It’s an extra step, but giving the peppers a few minutes to pre-bake makes sure they’re nice and tender.
- Choose big peppers. Make sure to grab peppers that are nice and large so that you can fit as much filling as possible inside each one.
- Use a salsa you like. Grab a salsa that you know you enjoy so that you don’t accidentally use one that is too spicy. You can also use diced canned tomatoes instead.
- Leftover filling? If you end up with some leftover filling, no problem! It’s just as delicious on it’s own, thrown into a wrap, or even served on top of nachos with cheese.
More High Protein Dinners
If you’ve made and loved this High Protein Stuffed Peppers or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and comments below!
High Protein Stuffed Peppers
Flavorful high protein stuffed peppers made with beans, lean ground turkey, salsa, rice and a sprinkle of cheese.
Ingredients
- 4 bell peppers, large for stuffing
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb lean ground turkey, lean ground beef or chicken
- 1 cup yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 cup salsa, or diced tomatoes, or rotel
- 1 cup black beans, drained/rinsed
- 1 cup cooked rice, white or brown
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2-2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare an 9×13” pan by spraying lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
- Slice each bell pepper in half from top to bottom. Remove seeds and pith from peppers.
- Place each pepper top side down in the pan and bake for 10 minutes.
- While the peppers are cooking, heat a large skillet with oil over medium heat. Add ground meat and cook for 5 minutes, breaking apart into small pieces as it cooks.
- Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce heat to low medium. Add spices (chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper), canned tomatoes, black beans and cooked rice. Continue cooking for 5 minutes.
- Stir in 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Adjust seasonings if needed.
- Flip peppers over so that the the cut side is up, and stuff evenly with filling. Top with remaining cup of cheese.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and peppers are tender. Enjoy!
Notes
Be sure to choose extra large bell peppers so that you have plenty of room for filling!
Nutrition
Serving: 2pepper halves | Calories: 529kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 913mg | Potassium: 871mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 4458IU | Vitamin C: 163mg | Calcium: 389mg | Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an estimate.
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