The first step in preparing the peppers is to partially cook the peppers by boiling them for 5 minutes. Cut off the tops first (no one wants that part) and take out the seeds, then place in boiling water. After 5 minutes drain the peppers by placing them on a paper towel upside-down.
Zucchini adds some bulk to the filling, along with onion and ground turkey or beef. The onions and meat are cooked together first, and then the zucchini is added into the pan. I usually just use tomato paste to stir everything together, but you could also chop up some fresh tomatoes for the filling as well.
Finally you get to stuff the peppers with the meat mixture and bake them for 15 minutes. Hint- you could be roasting some broccoli at the same time for your side dish. As an added bonus, there is usually a little extra meat filling that doesn’t fit into the peppers. I find this is good for snacking on while the peppers are baking, or to save for leftovers. Once the peppers are done, simply top with fresh parsley and serve.
One of my resolutions this year is to have more dinner parties, and you can bet that stuffed peppers will be one of the dishes served. This recipe, which I have made time and again, is always near the top of my list when I am looking for a tasty and satisfying meal.
Ingredients
- 5 large bell peppers
- 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil
- 1/2 large onion, diced
- 1 tsp dried organic oregano
- 1/2 tsp organic sea salt
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1 large zucchini, halved and diced
- 3 tbsp paleo-friendly tomato paste
- organic ground black pepper, to taste
- Fresh parsley, for serving
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a small baking dish with coconut oil spray. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut the stems and very top of the peppers off, removing the seeds. Place in boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the water and drain face-down on a paper towel.
- Heat the coconut oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add in the onion. Sauté for 3-4 minutes until the onion begins to soften. Stir in the ground turkey, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook until turkey is browned. Add the zucchini to the skillet as the turkey finishes cooking. Cook everything together until the zucchini is soft, and then drain any juices from the pan.
- Remove the pan from heat and stir in the tomato paste. Place the peppers upright in the baking dish and spoon the meat mixture into the center of each. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve warm sprinkled with chopped parsley.
You have chicken broth listed in the ingredients but I don’t see where you use it in the instructions? Do you put it in the pan when you bake the peppers? Thanks.
Hi Becky- the broth is actually something I decided not to add into the recipe, so we’ll adjust the ingredients to reflect that. Thanks for pointing it out!
I’m sort of irritated about the whole broth thing. I went to the store to get all the ingredients, and measured everything out, only to find there is no need for chicken broth. Please update the ingredient list. Thank you.
We, too, bought the broth and tried to figure out where it should be incorporated. It would be helpful if you would update the ingredient list.
pardon, but can’t you use the broth in something else? If you cook, broth is not a wasted buy – also, you wouldn’t need to purchase it if you made it yourself with saved bones – just pop it back into the freezer… jeesh!
I added eggplant and garlic (I’m not paleo) and used my homemade ketchup. It turned out great (sans broth).
Thanks!
Please update the ingredients list to reflect said changes. Thank you.
Turned out awesome. The pre-streaming peppers have them an awesome soft texture. Will add to regular rotation.
Made these today ….a very happy kiwi right now
I made this for lunch today for my friend and it was lovely!!! I put made some extra tomato sauce and baked it in the oven for 15 min though. Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Rebecca,
We LOVE this recipe. Would it be possible to make the peppers in advance and refrigerate them? If so, how should the cooking time be adjusted?
My husband used this recipe for dinner tonight but he didn’t know we had zucchini so he used eggplant and ground turkey. Absolutely delicious! I’ll be reading more of your blog and trying more recipes. Thanks!!!
Turned out great! I used an extra bell pepper instead of zucchini and added some basil. Will make again!
Made this for dinner tonight using ground beef – so delish! Thanks for a great recipe!
Can I freeze these?
Yes, they should freeze very well!
These are lovely! We added minced garlic, Italian seasoning, chili pepper flakes, and fresh spinach leaves (at the end while the mixture was cooling)… and for my dad, we added some bruschetta flavored goat cheese (not paleo obviously). Cooked it for 20 minutes so it browned on top… Huge hit at our house- even with the kids. Thanks!