Grilled Mexican Stuffed Peppers will quickly become a fast family favorite! These nutritious rice and ground turkey stuffed peppers are quickly going to become a family favorite as they are packed with flavor and done in under an hour.
We love stuffed peppers with all the goodness of tomato sauce and peppers – so we decided to make a tex-mex version, as we are huge Mexican food fans in our house. If it can have a hispanic twist – like the Grilled Ground Elk Taco Pinwheels, I’m all on it.
🍽️ Why This Recipe Works
- They are healthy and light.
- The flavor is incredible and irresistible.
- Great for serving to a crowd.
- Homemade taco seasoning takes it to the next level!
- It’s easy to make and doesn’t take much hands-on work.
🫑 Ingredients
These are some of the best peppers I have ever had! I can’t wait until you try them too. Here are the main ingredients you need.
- Homemade Taco Seasoning – You’ll need a combination of paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and salt. It adds so much flavor to the peppers!
- Bell Peppers – Any variety of bell peppers you like will work. I like red because they have a little bit of sweetness.
- Cheese – The sky is the limit when it comes to choosing cheese. You could use cheddar, mozzarella, or any other cheese that melts well.
🔥 Instructions
Preparation
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 aftertaste in your mouth like some store-bought packet taco seasonings. You can store this in the pantry for up to a year in a sealed container.
Step One: 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!
Step Two: You won’t use all of this seasoning in this recipe, so store the extra in a sealed jar. We use it for several of our recipes.
Grilling
The filling for these 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.
We used ground turkey, but if that is not to your liking, substitute hamburger. Use either one and the recipe will be delish!
Step One: Heat the grill to 350 degrees. Set the grill for indirect heat. While the grill is heating up, prepare the peppers.
Step Two: In a large bowl, combine the cooked ground turkey, rice, beans, salsa and half of the cheese and mix well with your hands.
Step Three: Cut the peppers in half and clean the seeds out.
Note: There are two choices when cutting the peppers. One: Cut the tops off; or Two: Cut them in half from the stem to the end. 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.
Step Four: Stuff the peppers with the filling and place them in a cast iron skillet for the grill.
Step Five: Place the cast iron skillet on the grill grate to cook for 30-45 minutes, making sure that the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Since the turkey was cooked before mixing it into the filling, you probably don’t have to worry too much, but it is better to be save than sorry.
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 lunches to reheat during the week.
💡 Expert Tips
This recipe is a huge favorite of mine because it is lends itself to being meal prepped and freezer friendly. Those are words that just speak to my soul!
This is great for weekends when you have company coming and you don’t want to be spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Sit outside with your company and enjoy the camaraderie rather than working in the kitchen by yourself. Albeit, these take just a few minutes to prep, I would rather spend those minutes with friends and family.
Make the taco seasoning ahead of time and just prep the peppers right before you grill.
Make the entire dish, cover, and store it in the fridge. You can keep it in there for about 24 hours before grilling. Take it out 30-40 minutes before you grill to bring it back closer to room temperature.
Substitute other proteins and find out if ground chuck vs ground beef is a better option for you.
👨🍳 Recipe FAQs
Place them on a sheet pan, cover, and freeze for 6-8 hours. Remove from sheet pan and place them in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag.
Reheat by microwaving for a couple of minutes in the microwave.
Normally, if you make stuffed peppers and they are watery, it’s because of the rice. It’s important to cook the rice ahead of time, so you don’t have to add extra liquid to the peppers. Otherwise, that extra liquid will make them watery.
You can really serve them with anything you like. Salads and roasted veggies are some of our favorites. Since these are taco stuffed peppers, I recommend serving them with some guacamole, chips and salsa, and other taco toppings.
Absolutely! Use either one as a substitution.
Related Recipes
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Grilled Stuffed Peppers with Mexican Seasoning
Ingredients
Homemade Seasoning
- 2 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- ½ tsp Oregano
- ½ tsp Salt
Stuffed Peppers
- 4 Red Bell Peppers cut in half lengthwise
- 1 lb Ground Turkey
- 2 tbsp Homemade Taco Seasoning from the recipe above
- 1 cup Rice cooked
- 2 cups Cheese shredded
- 1 can Black Beans
- ½ jar Salsa
Instructions
Make Taco Seasoning
- Mix all of the seasonings together and set aside. Store extra seasoning in a small jar. You'll use it in other recipes
Grill the Stuffed Peppers
- Heat the grill up to 350 degrees indirect heat. For gas grills, turn off the burners under the the spot where you will set the cast iron. For Kamado grills, add a plate setter.
- 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 the homemade taco seasoning and mix.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, beans, rice, salsa, and 1 ½ cups of the cheese.
- Add the ground turkey mixture to the bell peppers and and top with the remaining ½ cup of cheese.
- Place the cast iron skillet on the grill grate for 30 minutes.
Notes
Reheating Instructions | Reheat by microwaving for a couple of minutes in the microwave. Watery Stuffed Peppers | Normally, if you make stuffed peppers and they are watery, it’s because of the rice. It’s important to cook the rice ahead of time, so you don’t have to add extra liquid to the peppers. Otherwise, that extra liquid will make them watery. Less Crisp Peppers | Since these will stay crisp, if you prefer them to be softer, boil them for 2-5 minutes before stuffing to make them less crisp. Cooking Meat | Traditionally, stuffed peppers DO NOT cook the meat beforehand. We prefer to cook it first to ensure that there is uncooked meat that could cause food borne illness.
Nutrition
