Deconstructed Stuffed Peppers
Deconstructed stuffed peppers are an easy spin on the classic stuffed bell pepper recipe. Made in 30 minutes, this healthy and filling meal is one you will enjoy feeding to your family any night of the week.
It’s so important to eat healthy recipes several times a week! And when you’re trying to feed kids, that becomes an added challenge… you want them to eat it and not complain. We have a handful of recipes that are my go-to (that my kids will devour) such as sheet pan chicken fajitas, lemon honey glazed salmon, and creamy chicken dijon.

Why This Recipe Works
- Fast & easy. This recipe is fast to come together. The longest parts are simply browning the meat and chopping up the bell pepper. We prefer to chop our bell peppers so that they cook a little more evenly and soften to a great texture for the dish.
- Healthy and customizable to your liking. It’s easily customizable to be as healthy as you want. Use ground turkey, brown rice instead of white, or even quinoa depending on what you like or want.
- Uses easy to find ingredients. The ingredients to this dish are quite common and easily locatable in the grocery store but you may even be surprised to find most of what you need to make reverse stuffed peppers are in your home already!
Ingredients

Bell peppers: Use any color of bell pepper you want for this recipe and it will still turn out delicious. We tend to opt for green bell peppers because they’re usually cheaper. But red, orange, or yellow bell peppers will work great!
Ingredient Adaptations and Substitutions
- Use quinoa in place of the cooked rice.
- Use cauliflower rice to amp up the vegetables in this healthy recipe.
- Brown rice, white rice, or even an aromatic rice such as jasmine or basmati will work.
- Use ground chicken or ground beef in place of the ground turkey.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Brown your turkey and onion in a large pan or dutch oven over medium heat until the turkey is fully cooked.
- Drain and discard any liquid/excess fat from the pan.
- Add in your garlic, cumin, and chili powder and stir to combine.
- Stir in the chopped bell peppers.

- Add in the cooked rice and salsa and then add in the salt and pepper to taste.

- Stir everything until it is fully incorporated.
- Serve with sour cream, cheese, avocado, cilantro, or whatever else you may like.

Recipe Tips
Select a salsa brand that you like. This is also a great place to add some heat, if you want a spicier dish use a medium or hot salsa.
While making your deconstructed stuffed peppers with ground turkey keeps it lean and healthy other meats could be used including ground chicken or ground beef. No adaptions to the recipe are needed for either, just make sure to drain excess fats after the meat has been fully cooked.
Fun idea, turn your leftovers into breakfast the next day by stirring in some scrambled eggs and a little cheddar cheese.
Storing: Leftovers should be kept stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Reheat until fully warmed through before enjoying again.
Reheat leftovers on a microwave safe plate or bowl until warmed through. You can also place the deconstructed stuffed peppers back in a pot and reheat on the stove.
Freeze: You can freeze leftovers in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag. Leftovers can be frozen for up to 2 months. I do want to note that the texture of the peppers might be a tad different after being frozen and thawed, but everything will still taste delicious!!

Serving Suggestions
It never hurts to have more vegetables. I like to serve most meals with a vegetable side and/or a fruit of some kind. Here are a few ideas of great side dishes you can serve with this deconstructed stuffed peppers recipe:
FAQs
Yes. Rather than chopping up the bell peppers, cut the tops off of the bell peppers and stuff the ground turkey and rice mixture into the bell peppers. Top that with cheese and then place in the oven to bake at 350°F-375°F for 10-12 minutes.
Fun fact, red bell peppers are the healthiest because they stay on the vine the longest and have enough time to soak in all of those great nutrients. A red bell pepper has about 11 times as much beta-carotene as green bell pepper and almost double the amount of vitamin c.

Related Recipes
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Deconstructed Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 3 bell peppers - chopped, any color bell pepper will do
- 1 small onion - chopped
- 16 oz lean ground turkey
- 4 garlic cloves - minced
- 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 2 cups salsa
- 3 cups rice - cooked, see notes
Optional Garnishes
- cheddar cheese
- sour cream
- avocado
- cilantro
- lime wedges
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large pan or dutch oven set over medium heat, brown the turkey and onion until the turkey is fully cooked. Drain and discard any excess fat.
- Add the garlic, cumin, and chili powder. Stir to combine.
- Add the chopped bell peppers and cook until semi-soft about 5 minutes.
- Add the cooked rice and salsa. Stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with sour cream, cheese, avocado, cilantro. Or whatever you like!
28 Comments on “Deconstructed Stuffed Peppers”
It say 8 servings, how much would be in each serving?
Jason, do you mean nutrition facts? There are nutrition facts listed at the bottom of the recipe card.
Portion size for each person sorry!!
I love this recipe as a quick and easy alternative to stuffed peppers. One-pot meals that require so few dishes are ALWAYS a win in my book! Thanks for the great recipe
Do you think red bell peppers could be subbed for the green peppers? I’m not a huge green pepper fan. Also would it be okay to serve this over quinoa instead of brown rice?
Yes, you can use red peppers rather than the green peppers. And this would taste really good with quinoa rather than brown rice!
Those are great substitution ideas! Come back and let me know how it went!
The red pepper was so good and the quinoa was perfect. I loved this recipe so much. I’m making it again next week. This is going to be a staple for me. So healthy and also so yummy and easy to make! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
Good! I’m glad the substitutions worked out. Thanks for coming back and letting me know your thoughts on the recipe!
Thank you for a great recipe! Made this for dinner last nights, kids (and adults) LOVED it! Huge bonus that it was easy to prepare to! We added a handful of shredded cheese, sour cream, and avocados to our dish. Super delicious! Thanks again!
That looks soo good. Making me hungry, bookmarked this to make sometime next week!
Nicole – NicoleParise.com
This is the perfect meal to make for a meal prep lunch. Thanks so much for sharing this. I am going to try this tonight!
Happy to hear that! We love it, I hope you do too!
chili powder, not chia powder
Yes! Chili powder, thanks!
Whitney, this is an absolutely FABULOUS recipe! Your reversed stuffed peppers and brown rice bowl looks super scrumptious. From your gorgeous images I can almost smell that delicious aroma. I know it’s a recipe my whole family will love!
Thanks Denay! Such a sweet comment, I really appreciate it!
Oooh this looks AMAZING! Bonus points for being easily made vegetarian or vegan with some substitutions or omissions 🙂
That looks delicious and easy to prepare. It is also something that many people would enjoy given its ingredients. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Kim!
This looks delicious! I love stuffed bell peppers but I actually never eat the pepper that is left over. It’s always a little too soggy and droopy for me. Love that you have the stuffing but have also integrated the peppers into the mix!
This looks so good! I’m going to have to try this for sure!
This meal looks amazing! I will definitely be making this soon because I always have these ingredients on hand. And I love that you used ground turkey and brown rice. They are so much healthier than the usual options of white rice and ground beef. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe!
What a fantastic idea! I love how vibrant the colors are. And so easy to throw together. I love that!
This is a great Ideas! My husband loves stuffed peppers and I also love peppers but often waste them with the traditional recipe. This will be the perfect compromise so I’m eating my peppers and he has one of his fav dishes. Bonus points that it is a quick meal!
What a wonderful idea! I love this….sounds delicious and looks so pretty in color, too! Thank you for sharing!
Such a great idea! I love all of the Mexican flavors you have used in this recipe
Thanks Carrie!
YUM! Stuffed peppers are one of those recipes I’ve made so many times that I can make it with my eyes closed. My recipe is from Paula Deen, so not the most healthy of recipes, so I hardly make it anymore. This looks great! I’m happy to have found this!