Slow cooker stuffed peppers are an easy five ingredient dinner with rice, turkey and cheese. Complete with freezer and meal prep instructions!
Slow cooker stuffed peppers are a practical solution for busy weeks. Everything cooks in one place, the portions are built in, and leftovers reheat beautifully. With just a handful of basic ingredients, you get lean protein, grains and vegetables in one tidy package. It's a low effort dinner that keeps things organized and satisfying.
Can't get enough? Try our Stuffed Pepper Casserole, Stuffed Peppers with Ground Turkey, or Stuffed Pepper Soup!
Reasons to try stuffed peppers
- Only 5 ingredients, and can be prepped with under 15 minutes worth of effort
- You can make simple swaps to make them low carb or vegetarian
- They have delicious Tex Mex flavor and are perfect loaded up with your favorite taco toppings
Ingredient notes
- Bell peppers- look for large bell peppers with a flat base (if possible- if not, you can gently trim it down so they sit flat).
- Rice- I've used basmati, but you can swap for any rice- long grain white or brown works best. You will need to start with 2 cups of cooked rice, which is roughly ¾ cup uncooked basmati rice.
- Ground turkey- you can also use ground beef, ground pork or ground chicken in this recipe.
- Cheese- mozzarella is fairly neutral in flavor and gets nice and creamy in the filling as it cooks. Swap for cheddar, Monterey jack, or get fancy with jalapeño havarti
- Taco seasoning- use store bought, or try my homemade taco seasoning!
Tips for Perfect peppers
- Poke holes in the bottom so any liquid can drain, preventing soggy peppers.
- Stand peppers upright, slightly trim the bottom of you need to.
- Check the internal temp and make sure it hits 165 degrees F before eating.
Toppings
Like tacos, these stuffed peppers are great loaded up with your favorite Mexican-inspired toppings:
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- Fresh tomatoes, salsa or pico de gallo
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- Sour cream or Greek Yogurt
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- Cilantro, red onion or chopped green onions
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- Tortilla strips
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- Chopped avocado or guacamole
More healthy crockpot freezer meals
- 7 Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes
- Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
- Crockpot Chicken Fajitas
- 34 Crockpot Freezer Meals
- Slow Cooker Roasted Red Pepper Chili
- Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Crock Pot Stuffed Peppers Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups basmati or brown rice (cooked; roughly ¾ cups uncooked)
- 6 bell peppers
- 1 lb lean ground turkey
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 2 cups cheese (shredded; mozzarella or cheddar work)
Serving suggestions
- sour cream or greek yogurt
- fresh tomatoes or salsa
- avocado slices
- fresh green onions or cilantro
- tortilla chips
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package directions; set aside to cool.
- Cut tops off bell peppers so that you have a 1.5-2 inch hole in the tops.
- Using a toothpick, poke 3-4 holes towards the bottom of the bell peppers.
- In a large bowl, stir together the cooled rice, ground turkey, taco seasoning and 1 ¼ cups of cheese.
- Spoon filling into the bell peppers. Press it right in using a spoon.
- Arrange filled bell peppers in a 6 quart slow cooker; sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Cook on low for 4-5 hours, or until cooked through. You can check using an instant read thermometer that the filling has reached 165°F in the middle.
To assemble ahead and freeze:
- Follow steps 1-4 above.
- Arrange stuffed bell peppers on a baking sheet or in a baking dish with rims (so they don't fall over).
- Freeze 3 hours- overnight before transferring to a large freezer bag. Freeze for up to 1 month.
- To cook: thaw completely before cooking as directed above.
Tips:
Recipe notes
- Start with cooled rice: you do need to start with pre-cooked and cooled rice, so make sure you give yourself enough time for it to cool completely. If the rice is hot when you mix it up, the meat can start to cook before you stuff the peppers, which could lead to tough and dry filling.
- Poke holes in the peppers: While testing this recipe, I found that liquid would pool in the bottom of the peppers as the ground turkey cooked. To avoid soggy bell peppers, we poke a few holes in the bottoms using a toothpick. It works like a charm to help the liquid drain out of the peppers as the turkey cooks.
- Heat individual portions in the microwave until steaming hot.
- Heat multiple portions in the oven (uncovered) at 350°F for 15 minutes, or until warmed through.
- Instant Pot- Check out these Instant Pot ground turkey stuffed peppers.
- Low Carb- Omit the rice; since the rice bulks out the filling, the recipe will fill fewer bell peppers.
- Vegetarian- Swap the turkey for 2 cups of black beans; cheese is important for flavor and this recipe has not been tested with vegan cheese.
Nutrition Information
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Hi, I'm Annie. With a Bachelor of Science degree, a minor in nutrition and nearly 20 year of both classical training, and self-taught experience, I've spent my career proving that home cooking can be practical, delicious and inspiring. What started in 2013 as one food blog has grown into a full-time business. Today, my husband Clayton and I run five food websites that connect with millions of home cooks every month.
When I'm not in the kitchen or behind the camera, I'm using fueling my love of travel, or chasing down new ideas that keep food fun and fresh.
Hilary says
Would this work with quinoa, instead of rice?
Denise Bustard says
Hi Hilary! Yes, you can use quinoa for this recipe.
Brittany Wilson says
Do you pre-cook the ground turkey before making the filling? In the picture it looks like you did not,
Denise says
Hi Brittany, nope, no need to cook ahead, it cooks in the slow cooker 🙂
Laura says
Im sorry if I missed this but do you have directions to successfully cook these in an oven?? I did not leave myself enough time for the crockpot and my instantpot wont fit all 6 peppers! Thanks!!
Denise says
Hi Laura! I don't have those directions on the card, but what I did was place them in a deep baking dish with 1/2 cup of water. Cover and bake at 350°F for 45 minutes or until cooked through (you can use a digital thermometer to check that the filling has reached 160°F). Hope this helps!
Melody says
Haven't had stuffed peppers in years, but was one of my mother-in-law's staple dinners. These are super easy to prep, freeze well, and delicious! Cooked mine in the oven. Definitely a keeper!
Denise says
Hi Melody, I'm so happy to hear you've enjoyed these stuffed peppers! Thanks so much for reporting back 🙂
elda says
Hi Denise, Thank you very much for such an Amazing recipe,.
I would like to know how can I thaw the pepper without leaving them in the fridge, or how can I unfreeze them in a fast way?
Denise says
Hi Elda, if you have an Instant Pot you could potentially cook them from frozen in there, but for the slow cooker, I'm not really sure how to thaw quickly. You could maybe try thawing in the microwave on low heat in a glass dish? I'm really not sure though.
Melinda says
Easy to make, the hardest part was coring the peppers. We also used zucchini (had LARGE ones this summer) and they were AMAZING. Super convenient to freeze individually then just cook as many as you need at once. Even one at a time for lunches!
Denise says
Hi Melinda! So happy you enjoyed. Love that you used zucchini as well! Did you freeze before or after cooking?
Stephanie says
Enjoyed the stuffed peppers! This dish is very easy to make and plus, using yellow, red, and orange peppers made the dish very bright and appealing. I used regular hamburger instead of turkey. My husband, which does not like to deviate from "the regular way" I make dishes, agreed this was a keeper!
Denise says
Hi Stephanie! I'm so happy that you enjoyed. Thanks so much for coming back to leave a review, and I'm so happy it's a keeper for your family!
Nicole A. says
We loved this recipe! We made 6 vegetarian bell peppers. They were quick and easy to make, and I froze them two per ziplock bag. Cooked in the instant pot for a quick and delicious meal served with a side of steamed carrots (we were out of salad stuff).i will definitely keep this recipe in mind for when I need to reinvent my leftovers.
Denise says
Hi Nicole! I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review 🙂
Yvette Torres says
These Peppers were delicious and so easy to Meal Prep, my son enjoyed them as well.
Only complaint he had was there was alot of water when they came out of the oven. I will skip the adding 1/2 cup of water next time. Taste was awesome anyway
Denise says
So happy you enjoyed! That's strange about the water though as my recipe tester actually advised adding extra water to the pan. Thanks for the feedback! <3
Heather Russell says
Made these as part of the meal prep challenge - I could not believe how quickly and easily they came together (after the rice was cooked)! For our taste I added sautéed onions to the rice / raw turkey mix also crushed red pepper, cumin, onion powder (we like it really savory) pop them (raw) in the freezer – and have them at the ready for busy nights. Just defrost them, then crock pot – and bam! Dinner! Husband approved! I’m going to stock the freezer with these!
Denise says
Love the modifications you made, Heather! Thank so much for your review!
Stephanie Lacasse says
J'ai adoré les piment farcis , vraiment un plus dans mon livre de recette .
Denise says
Merci beaucoup, Stephanie! <3
Jessica says
Can I use brown instant rice?
Denise says
I don't have a lot of experience with instant rice, does it tend to get mushy? If so, I'd avoid it for this recipe.
Andrea says
These stuffed peppers were amazing! Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. They were super easy, healthy and soooo tasty.
Denise says
Hi Andrea! I'm so happy you enjoyed! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
Carolyn says
Do you have an update on Instant Pot cook time for this recipe? I love all your recipes! Thanks!
Denise says
Hi Carolyn! 12 minutes high pressure works great for me. Put 1 cup water + trivet in the bottom of the pot. Hope you enjoy!
Danielle E. says
I’ve been looking forward to trying this recipe all week during my food prep and it did not disappoint! Stuffed peppers were a big thing when I was growing up, but I never liked the peppers. I decided it was time to give it another shot and used red and orange ones instead. I followed the recipe to a T, with the addition of a can of no salt diced tomatoes. I added some avocado on top and It was THE best lunch I’ve had in a very long time. I can’t wait to eat them the rest of the work week!!! A+, Denise!
Denise says
YAY! I'm so happy to hear this, Danielle!
Brittany Audra @ Audra's Appetite says
Love how simple these are!!!
Denise says
Thank you!