Cheesy Stuffed Peppers is a delicious Mexican inspired dinner ready in under an hour. Taco seasoned lean ground turkey and pinto beans stuffed into red bell peppers and topped with cheese. Weight Watchers friendly recipe- 3 SmartPoints!
I love stuffed peppers! There are so many different combinations of ingredients to stuff into a pepper, just like enchiladas or tacos. When I am craving Mexican food but want to save some carbs, I make stuffed peppers. Cheesy Stuffed Peppers is a delicious Mexican inspired dinner ready in under an hour. Taco seasoned lean ground turkey and pinto beans stuffed into red bell peppers and topped with cheese make for a delicious low carb dinner! This is a Weight Watchers friendly recipe and each serving is 3 SmartPoints.
The first time I made these for my husband, he couldn’t believe that something like this existed! Sautéed peppers, spicy meat and beans stuffed into a fresh pepper and covered in cheese…. And it’s healthy?! He requests this dish on the regular, and I am always ready to make them. I recommend using a cast iron skillet to bake these peppers, but if you don’t have a cast iron skillet any baking dish will work great.
My favorite ground turkey is Jennie-O. I can usually find it on sale at my grocery store and that makes me happy!
This recipe is easy to make and ready in under an hour! To start, sauté diced onion and jalapeno for 7 minutes, until tender. Add minced garlic and sauté 1 minute then add the ground turkey, season with salt and pepper, and cook until browned, breaking up meat into small pieces. Add salt, pepper, chipotle chili powder, oregano, cumin, and chili powder. Lastly, add pinto beans and salsa. Cook until well combined, then turn off heat.
Cut off the stems of the bell peppers. Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Lay the bell peppers in the cast iron skillet. Scoop the turkey bean mixture over each bell pepper.
Put toothpicks in the peppers so they stick up, and cover the skillet with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove skillet from oven and top peppers with cheese; bake for another 5 minutes until cheese melts. Garnish with cilantro and sour cream.
A delicious Mexican inspired dinner ready in under an hour. Taco seasoned lean ground turkey and pinto beans stuffed into red bell peppers and topped with cheese make for a delicious low carb dinner!
I hope you enjoy these cheesy bites of flavor!!

Cheesy Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 3 Red Bell Peppers
- ¼ Large White Onion
- 1 Jalapeno, (Remove seeds to make less spicy)
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Pound 93% Fat Free Ground Turkey
- 2 Cups Canned Pinto Beans
- ¼ Cup Quick & Easy Tomato Chipotle Salsa, (Or your favorite jarred salsa)
- 1 ½ Cups Reduced Fat Mexican Shredded Cheese
- 1 ½ Teaspoon Chipotle Chili Powder, (Or Regular Chili Powder)
- 1 Teaspoon Mexican Oregano, (Or Regular Oregano)
- 2 Teaspoons Cumin
- Salt & Pepper, To taste
- Cilantro, For Garnish (Optional)
- Reduced Fat Sour Cream, For Garnish (Optional)
Instructions
- Make Quick & Easy Tomato Chipotle Salsa according to recipe instructions.
- Pre-heat oven to 350°.
- Dice onion and jalapeno, then set aside.
- Mince garlic, then side aside.
- Heat large skillet over medium heat and add oil.
- Sauté onion and jalapeno for 7 minutes, until tender.
- Add garlic and sauté 1 minute.
- Add the ground turkey and cook until browned, breaking up meat into small pieces.
- Add salt, pepper, chipotle chili powder, oregano, and cumin.
- Add pinto beans and salsa.
- Cook until well combined, then turn off heat.
- Cut off the stems of the bell peppers. Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds.
- Lay the bell peppers in the cast iron skillet.
- Scoop the turkey bean mixture over each bell pepper.
- Put toothpicks in the peppers so they stick up, and cover the skillet with foil.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes.
- Remove skillet from oven and top peppers with cheese; bake for another 5 minutes until cheese melts.
- Garnish with cilantro and sour cream.
Notes
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