Grilled Taco Stuffed Peppers are the bomb! These nutritious rice and ground turkey stuffed peppers are quickly going to become a family favorite as they are packed with flavor.
We love stuffed peppers with all the goodness of tomato sauce and peppers – so we decided to make a taco version, as we are huge mexican food fans in our house. If it can have a mexican twist, I’m all on it.
How to Make Your Own Taco Seasoning (it’s so easy!)
We make our own taco seasoning as much as possible. It only takes a couple of minutes to pull a few spices from the shelf. Best of all, it doesn’t leave any artificial after taste in your mouth like some store-bought packet taco seasonings.
Combine all the seasonings into a bowl and mix. That is it. It will take you more time to locate each little bottle than to actually make this!
Prepare the Taco Filling for the Stuffed Peppers
We used ground turkey, but if that is not to your liking, substitute hamburger. Use either one and the recipe will be delish!
The filling for the Grilled Taco Stuffed Peppers pulls together in just minutes. The robust flavor comes from the salsa that you choose since it is already jam packed full of tomatoes, onions and spices. Take it up a notch if you want a kick with a hot, spicy salsa.
How to Grill Stuffed Peppers
Heat the grill to 350 degrees. Set the grill for indirect heat. While the grill is heating up, prepare the peppers.
- Prepare the stuffed peppers by combining the ground turkey, rice, beans, salsa and half of the cheese into a bowl and mix well with your hands.
- Cut the peppers in half and clean the seeds out.
- If you cut the peppers in half lengthwise, you don’t lose any of the extra pepper like if you cut the tops off. If you choose to cut the tops off, save them to combine with the ground turkey mix. Alternatively, keep the tops for other recipes later. If you don’t have an immediate need, freeze them.
- Stuff the peppers with the filling and place them in a cast iron skillet for the grill.
How Long to Grill the Taco Stuffed Peppers
Place the cast iron skillet on the grill grate to cook for 30-45 minutes, making sure that the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. It’s important to check it as it’s hard to just to do a glance to see if it’s done.
How to Serve Grilled Taco Stuffed Peppers
Serve these right off of the grill with a side of chips and salsa! We also had leftover filling so I put it all in containers for Jason’s lunches and he LOVED it!!
Meal Prep and Freezer Friendly
This recipe is a huge favorite of mine because it is lends itself to being meal prep and freezer friendly! Words that just speak to my soul!!
This is great for weekends when you have company coming and you don’t want to be prepping in the kitchen. Sit outside with your company and enjoy the camaraderie rather than working in the kitchen by yourself. Albeit, these take minutes to prep, I would rather spend those minutes with friends and family.
Just a note on freezing the Taco Stuffed Peppers. I recommend:
- Freeze them on sheet pan and cover for 6-8 hours. Remove from sheet pan and place in a freezer safe Ziploc bag. When defrosting, make sure to stand all of them up as you don’t want a mess when they defrost.
- Freeze in a large container where all the peppers can be propped up properly and don’t lose the filling.
Meal Prep
- Make the taco seasoning ahead of time and just prep the peppers right before you grill.
- Make the entire dish and cover to put in the fridge. You can keep it in the fridge for about 24 hours before grilling. Take out 30-40 minutes before you grill to bring it back closer to room temperature.
Freezer Friendly
- Prepare these and place them in a container in the freezer for later use.
- Remove from freezer 24-30 hours before you plan to grill and put in refrigerator.
- Remove from refrigerator 30-40 minutes before you grill to bring back to room temperature.
Ingredients
Homemade Taco Seasoning
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
Stuffed Peppers
- 4 red bell peppers cut in half
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 cup rice cooked
- 2 cups cheese shredded
- 1 can black beans
- 1/2 jar salsa
Instructions
Taco Seasoning
- Mix all of the seasonings together and set aside.
Stuffed Peppers
- Heat the grill up to 350 degrees indirect heat.
- Cut the peppers in half from top to bottom so they lay nice and flat in the cast iron skillet.
- In a skillet, cook the ground turkey until it is brown and cooked through. Add taco seasoning and mix.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, beans, rice, salsa, and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese.
- Add the ground turkey mixture to the bell peppers and and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.
- Place the cast iron skillet on the grill grate for 30 minutes.
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