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.
🍲 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 after taste in your mouth like some store-bought packet taco seasonings.
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.
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!
🔥 Grilling Instructions
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: 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.
Step Three: Cut the peppers in half and clean the seeds out.
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. It’s important to check it as it’s hard to just to do a glance to see if it’s done.
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.
💡 Recipe Tips
This recipe is a huge favorite of mine because it is lends itself to being meal prepped 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 just a few minutes to prep, I would rather spend those minutes with friends and family.
Just a note on freezing these:
- Place them on 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.
Make the taco seasoning ahead of time and just prep the peppers right before you grill.
Another tip: 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.
Related Recipes
Grilled Wild Rice Stuffed Delicata Squash – These are so yummy and filling! If you have never tried delicata squash before, you will love it. The flavor is mild like an acorn squash and tender like a zucchini. It cooks so easy and it’s fun to try new veggies. These freeze very well for meal prep lunches.
Grilled Taco Stuffed Peppers
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 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
- 1/2 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 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.