Being Italian, stuffed bell peppers is a common meal for dinner. It is fairly simple, and something you can prepare and just let it cook- like a casserole!
After having children, I noticed that not only did my body change, but my metabolism did as well! My body struggled to digest red meat and I wanted healthier, lower calorie options!
I knew there had to be a healthier version, lower calories without losing the taste! I decided to make turkey stuffed peppers! They are a fabulous twist on the traditional version and they taste amazing!
Let’s get started!
Ingredients
- 1 Lb Ground Turkey
- 2 Bell Peppers (Color is your choice, the red, yellow and orange are sweeter than the green)
- 1 egg
- 1/3 C Italian bread crumbs
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Pepper
- 24 oz Sauce
- 4 Servings of Brown Rice
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Clean your peppers, cut them in half, down the middle, top (stem) to bottom. This will give you two ends that will lay flat in a casserole dish. Clean them out, and set the aside.
*** Theory has it that there are male and female bell peppers! The males have 3 bumps on the bottom and the females have 4 bumps. The males are better for cooking while the females have more seeds, are sweeter and better for raw eating. ***
Step 2: Open the turkey package and place the turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg, Italian bread crumbs, all seasonings and mix well. You can try to use a spoon but I found that your hands work best. When you are done mixing, it will look similar to a meatloaf.
Step 3: You want to stuff the the peppers; they will look like a mini meatloaves stuffed inside the peppers. After you stuff the peppers, you want to lay them in a greased (use Pam or another low calorie spray) 9”x13” glass baking dish laying with the open side upward. You will continue you this step until all of the peppers are completed. If you have extra meat, just stuff the peppers a little more. (You can use a metal baking dish, your preference.)
Step 4: In the same mixing bowl, add your sauce. You will also want to fill the empty sauce can up with water about 2/3 of the the way and it to the mixing bowl. Mix the sauce and water with a spoon and pour it over the peppers. Cover them with tightly foil and bake the in the oven for about 50 minutes.
Step 5: Cook your brown rice according to the directions. I use a rice cooker, so it takes about an hour to cook brown rice. This allows the rice to be ready when the peppers have had a chance to rest and cool for a few minutes.
Step 6: Serving Time! You will add one serving of brown rice to a plate, and lay one stuffed pepper on top of the rice, drizzling it with sauce. Enjoy without the guilt!
Mangia!
**Recipe makes 4 servings. Look below for the broken down calorie count**
Entire meal: 4 servings- 1,624 calories; Individual serving: 406 calories!
- Brown Rice- 600 calories
- Lean Turkey- 600 calories
- Sauce- 250 calories
- Egg- 72 calories
- Italian Bread Crumbs- 54 calories
- 2 Green Bell Peppers- 48 calories
- (The spices are not calculated into the calorie count)
Enjoy without the guilt, and you will be stuffed!
Tips and Tricks***
- Try using ground chicken or any other meat of your choice.
- You can add the cooked rice in to the turkey mix prior to stuffing the peppers if you want a larger filling.
- I use homemade sauce (I’ll post that recipe later!) and the taste is even more divine!
- You can use alternate seasonings, for example; Taco seasoning! (Making a twist to the typical “Taco Tuesday”!)
Secret Squirrel Moment 