Asian-Inspired Stuffed Peppers with ground turkey! These flavorful peppers will become a weekday dinner favorite. Made without rice, but stuffed full of quinoa and veggies, they're a healthful addition to the mid-week menu.
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Looking for an easy weeknight meal that can be made a million different ways? These Asian-Inspired Stuffed Peppers with ground turkey (or other proteins... see below!) are the answer!
Bursting with veggies, nutrient-rich quinoa and, most importantly, flavor, I guarantee these will make more than one appearance on your dinner table.
These stuffed peppers are naturally gluten free (if you use tamari instead of soy sauce), dairy free, and can be made vegan by substituting plant-based ground for turkey meat. Make sure to check out all of my tips, suggestions and variations.
Ingredients
These Asian-Inspired Stuffed Peppers are highly customizable, which makes them a great option for the week. You can use what you have on hand or swap out ingredients to suit your taste. Here are some of the key ingredients for this version:
- Bell Peppers. Any type of bell pepper will work here -- green, red, yellow or orange.
- Ground turkey, ground beef or plant-based ground. This is one of the things I love most about making stuffed peppers -- you can stuff them with your preferred protein! This particular recipe was made with ground turkey, but I have also made them with all the aforementioned and they turned out great.
- Cooked quinoa. Making stuffed peppers without rice leaves room for a more nutrient-rich addition: quinoa! You can use leftover cooked quinoa if you have some, or simply add in frozen quinoa as a shortcut.
- Veggies. Choose your favorite veggies (or the ones you happen to have on the verge of wilting in the crisper drawer.) I added onion, carrots, broccoli and zucchini.
- Sauce. A simple sauce is what really bumps up the flavor factor and gives that "Asian-inspired" flavor to these peppers. Tamari (or soy sauce), sesame oil, ginger and garlic is whisked together and then thickened with a cornstarch slurry in this version. Feel free to add sriracha or chili paste to give it a little heat. You may also use a store-bought Asian sauce to simplify the recipe.
- Sesame seeds & sliced scallions. These are optional, but serve as a nice garnish and also add flavor!
Directions
Making stuffed peppers with ground turkey is fairly simple and can be broken down into 5 easy steps: Prepping the peppers, cooking the filling, adding the sauce, filling and baking the peppers.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prep the peppers. Some people like to slice the tops off the pepper, remove the seeds and stand them up to cook. I usually slice them down the center, seed them and lay them flat in a baking dish or on a foil-lined baking pan.
- Make the filling: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the veggies and cook until slightly softened. Add in protein of choice. If you're using ground turkey, beef, chicken or pork, you'll need to cook it until it is no longer pink, but remember that the peppers will also spend some time baking in the oven, so try not to overcook the filling.
- Make the sauce: Whisk together the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, sriracha (if using) and cornstarch. Add to the meat and vegetable mixture and stir until the sauce is thickened and the mixture is coated.
- Fill the Peppers: Use a spoon or spring-loaded ice cream scoop (one of my favorite kitchen appliances) to scoop the filling into each pepper half. Place the filled peppers on the prepared baking pan or baking dish.
- Bake the peppers until they are heated through and slightly softened, about 25 minutes. (If you prefer more tender stuffed peppers, see tips below.) Garnish with sesame seeds & sliced scallions if desired!
Expert Tips
- If you prefer your peppers to be more tender than crisp, you can either place them cut side down in a baking dish or baking pan and bake them for 10-15 minutes prior to filling, or give them a quick zap in the microwave before stuffing -- about 2-3 minutes should do. Otherwise, your bell peppers will likely be more tender-crisp at the end of the baking time.
- Peppers not standing or lying flat? Slice a tiny bit off the bottom to create a more stable surface and you'll eliminate any issues with tipping.
- Cut down prep time even more by using your favorite store-bought Asian sauce or marinade.
More Stuffed Pepper Recipes
Can't get enough of easy stuffed peppers? Check out these other recipe variations:
- Mediterranean Turkey Stuffed Peppers
- Stuffed Italian-Style Cubanelle Peppers
- Baked Chiles Rellenos (Stuffed Poblano Peppers)
Asian-Inspired Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 3 large green bell peppers seeded & sliced in half lengthwise
For Filling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 pound ground turkey meat or ground beef, chicken or plant-based ground
- ½ cup carrot diced or chopped
- ½ cup broccoli florets chopped
- 1 small zucchini diced
- 1 cup cooked quinoa frozen will work fine, too
For Sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce or tamari
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ginger or ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 clove garlic minced or grated
- 1 teaspoon sriracha {or more if you like heat} optional
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For Garnish (Optional)
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 scallion thinly sliced on the diagonal
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking pan or baking dish with foil. Place halved bell peppers on pan and set aside until ready to fill.*
- In a large, deep skillet, heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add diced onion and sauté until softened and fragrant, about 4-5 minutes. Add turkey meat (or desired protein) to skillet and sauté until no longer pink.
- Toss in carrots, broccoli and zucchini and cook for about 4-5 minutes until just starting to soften. Add quinoa and stir to combine.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together soy sauce, water, sesame oil, sriracha, ginger, garlic and cornstarch {try to make sure there are no cornstarch lumps if possible}. Add to meat and vegetable mixture and stir until everything is well-coated and sauce is slightly thickened. Remove from heat.
- Spoon filling evenly among bell pepper halves.
- Place filled bell peppers in a baking dish with 3 tablespoons water (or broth) poured into the bottom. Cover with foil and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the peppers become slightly tender.
- Serve hot or warm.
Notes
- If you prefer your peppers to be more tender than crisp, you can either place them cut side down in a baking dish or baking pan and bake them for 10-15 minutes prior to filling, or give them a quick zap in the microwave before stuffing -- about 2-3 minutes should do. Otherwise, your bell peppers will likely be more tender-crisp at the end of the baking time.
- Peppers not standing or lying flat? Slice a tiny bit off the bottom to create a more stable surface and you'll eliminate any issues with tipping.
- Cut down prep time even more by using your favorite store-bought Asian sauce or marinade.
Sarai Henderson says
I like the Asian flavors in this. I'm going to have to make these for my husband. Confessions of an Ex-Ballerina
thekitchenprep says
The best part about these is that you can switch up the flavors. We've done Greek and Italian, too!