Description
Jack-O’-Lantern Stuffed Peppers are a festive and delicious Halloween-inspired dish featuring orange bell peppers carved like jack-o’-lanterns and stuffed with a savory mixture of ground turkey, rice, black beans, and tomato sauce, topped with melted cheese.
Ingredients
Scale
Peppers
- 8 orange bell peppers
Stuffing
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 ¼ cups diced yellow onion (about 1 large onion)
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ cups white basmati rice, cooked according to package instructions
- 15.5 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar or Colby Jack cheese
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit to prepare for baking the stuffed peppers.
- Prepare Peppers: Cut the tops off the bell peppers. Using a small paring knife, carefully remove the ribs and seeds from inside each pepper. Cut jack-o’-lantern faces on one side of each pepper. Then, place the peppers in a lightly greased 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Cook Onions and Garlic: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the diced onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds while stirring continuously to avoid burning.
- Cook Turkey: Add the ground turkey to the skillet. Cook for another 5 minutes, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until it is no longer pink.
- Add Remaining Ingredients: Stir in the cooked basmati rice, drained black beans, tomato sauce, dried oregano, dried basil, kosher salt, and black pepper. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, allowing the rice to start absorbing the sauce. Remove from heat.
- Stuff Peppers: Scoop a heaping amount of the rice and turkey mixture into each bell pepper until filled.
- Add Cheese Topping: Top each stuffed pepper with shredded cheddar or Colby Jack cheese.
- Add Water and Bake: Pour 1 ½ cups of water around the peppers in the bottom of the baking dish. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the peppers become tender but still hold their shape.
Notes
- Substitute ground beef or ground chicken for ground turkey for different flavor variations.
- Use long-grain white rice or jasmine rice if basmati is unavailable.
- Add sautéed vegetables like mushrooms or zucchini to the filling for extra nutrition and flavor.
- Replace black beans with any other favorite beans like pinto or kidney beans.
- Italian seasoning can be used instead of dried oregano and basil for a different herb profile.
- Try different shredded cheeses such as pepper Jack for a spicier kick.
- Nutritional values are estimates and may vary based on ingredient brands and quantities used.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 stuffed pepper
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 550 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Cholesterol: 55 mg
