Southwest Unstuffed Peppers

Jump to Recipe

This colorful casserole is a complete meal: meat, rice, veggies, and ALL the flavors. Southwest unstuffed peppers are so simple to make and so satisfying. I love stuffed peppers, but always have so much leftover filling. When my daughter-in-law made her version of stuffed peppers, she cut up the peppers and turned the meal into a casserole. Smart girl!! I had to give it a try. The pepper-to-filling ratio worked out perfectly in casserole form. This is now the only way I will make stuffed peppers….Unstuffed.

To make this delicious meal, begin by preheating the oven to 425 degrees. While the oven is preheating, start cooking the rice. The rice usually takes the longest to cook. There are numerous options when it comes to cooking rice. The easiest way, in my opinion, is the boil-in-the-bag method. Drop the bag of rice in the pot with the correct amount of water, boil the allotted time, and voila —perfectly cooked rice. The traditional method of boiling the rice in a covered pot, or my new discovery, the rice cooker, which has been my choice lately.

Once you have the rice started, prepare the peppers. Wash and dry the peppers. Cut into halves, remove the seeds and unwanted ribs. Place in a 9 x 13 casserole dish and roast in the oven for 15 minutes.

Next, in a medium to large sized skillet, start browning the ground turkey.

While the peppers roast and the turkey cooks, mix the seasonings to create the Southwest seasoning. The instructions for the Southwest seasoning are listed below. Please note the recipe will make more than the three tablespoons needed for this recipe. I suggest storing the leftover seasoning in a ziploc bag for future use in other recipes.

When the turkey is halfway cooked through, add one tablespoon of the seasoning. The turkey will be cooked through when it is no longer pink. Drain any excess grease.

After 15 minutes, remove the peppers from the oven and let them cool. When they are cool enough to handle, cut them into bite-sized pieces.

Drain and rinse the black beans and the corn. In a large bowl, combine the black beans, corn, salsa, cooked rice, cooked turkey, garlic, peppers, and two tablespoons of the Southwest seasonings.

Spray the casserole with cooking spray and then spread the pepper mixture evenly into the casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.

After 15 minutes, remove from oven, remove foil, top with cheese and return to the oven. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

This recipe makes 6 servings. Serve as is, or you can top with sour cream or a non-fat Greek yogurt if you are watching those calories. I prefer the non-fat yogurt.

Enjoy!

For more ground turkey recipes, try these: Tuscan Turkey Bowls, Teriyaki Turkey Bowl, and Turkey Meatloaf.

This recipe was inspired by Rachel Schultz.