Pot o’ Gold Stuffed Peppers
Bright, golden stuffed peppers brim with whole grain brown rice, lean turkey, and kid-friendly spices for a healthy and festive dinner.
We’re gearing up for St. Paddy’s day! We brought out the shamrock cookie cutter and we’re thinking about ways to go green for the season.
And yes, we appreciate cute food. But on a lot of busy weeknights, to be honest, priority number one is just making a healthy dinner happen before the kids get too hangry. Because nobody wants to resort to cereal-for-dinner just to placate cranky kiddos.
These stuffed peppers strike just the right balance of quick, healthy, tasty, and fun… golden-hued “pots” with a green scallion “handle” bring a little magic to dinner with only a teensy bit of extra effort.
In fact, my kindergartener thought these peppers were pretty neat even before we added the scallions. He watched me scoop the savory filling into the peppers and exclaimed, “the bowls are edible!” Because he’s always been a bit of a vocab kid.
Easy Eats
I used to be intimidated by stuffed peppers, but these are actually so easy. We used brown rice for fiber and B vitamins, and ground turkey instead of beef, just to keep things lean and light. I actually like the turkey better! I served some sliced avocado on the side, which added healthy fats and more festive green to the table.
Look at all those beautiful veggies, ready to go…
Some recipes for stuffed peppers call for boiling the peppers first to soften them; I found that they soften just as well in the oven for fifteen minutes while I prepped the filling. It saved me a step, and a dirty pot to boot! After they were warm and starting to soften, I stuffed with with the filling and popped them back in the oven.
Twenty minutes later, my Pots O’ Gold were ready for a sprinkling of cheese and ten more minutes in the oven. Then they came out, bubbling hot, and ready to eat. My big kid devoured his serving. Success! And my toddler? She’s still learning. But I’m happy I gave her the chance to try something new, even if she decided tonight wasn’t the night for that. I know she’ll come around. I mean, this was a really good dinner…
When it comes to getting YOUR family’s dinner on the table this week… may the wind be always at your back! Happy (a little bit early) St. Patrick’s Day to you and yours.
Pot o’ Gold Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- 2 tbls. olive oil
- 1/2 red onion, chopped finely
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 cup canned diced tomatoes with green chilis
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Cut the tops off the bell peppers, scoop out the seeds, and stand them up in a baking dish.
- Place the peppers in the oven (empty) for twenty minutes while you prepare the filling.
- While the peppers are softening in the oven, heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat, then saute the red onion for a few minutes until translucent.
- Add the ground turkey, garlic, spices, and salt, and saute, stirring frequently, until the turkey is no longer pink, about ten minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, and cook a few more minutes to blend flavors.
- Stir in the rice.
- Remove the peppers from the oven, and spoon the turkey and rice mixture inside until they’re filled to the top.
- Return the peppers to the oven, and cook for 20 minutes.
- Remove the peppers again, sprinkle cheddar evenly on top of the peppers, then return to the oven once more, for 10 minutes.
- Tuck the scallions into the peppers (if using) to look like handles on your Pot O’ Gold. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
Learn More about Natalie
Made these with low expectations about kids trying them since one pot meals and lasagna etc are not favorites. They LOVED the idea of them. The choosier child scooped the filling out and at the raw paper tops I presented as rings. The LO ingredients I saved deconstructed while here’s cooled but also liked the pepper boat. Novelty win! Also the 5 stars are because this cooked in exactly the times stated. A miracle!
I don’t often review, but just had to say that we LOVED these. We all gave them 5/5 stars (even our picky little). It did make a lot more filling than the 5 peppers we had (maybe we made too much rice…we used 1 cup dry, but i’m wondering if it should have been 1 cup cooked), but we just scooped out some of the filling on the side. Yumm! This is going in our rotation for sure. Thanks for sharing.
These were really yummy! I used red peppers because they were on sale at Whole Foods. I used a brown and wild rice combo and regular diced tomatoes with a dash of cayenne, because that was what I had on hand. They came out so good. I sautéed some Swiss chard with olive oil, garlic and salt as a side. This meal was a big hit. Love the trick of precooking the peppers in the oven while prepping the rest of the ingredients. Thank you.