Crock Pot Stuffed Peppers (5 ingredients!)

These crock pot stuffed peppers are made with 5 simple ingredients and filled with delicious taco flavors. Easy to prep ahead (you can even freeze them), and cook in the slow cooker for a convenient and hands off dinner.

The slow cooker is so great for cooking soups, curries, and big batches of proteins. Another awesome slow cooker recipe that may not immediately jump to mind is stuffed peppers!

The wet heat of the slow cooker is the perfect environment to steam the bell pepper, while a mixture of ground turkey, rice, cheese and seasonings cook to perfection on the inside. These crock pot stuffed peppers are a new family favorite!

Recipe video

Wondering exactly how to this recipe? Watch this 1-minute video for step by step instructions! You can find more recipe videos on my YouTube channel.

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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- look for a mixture of light and dark meat for the best flavor. Often this is labelled at the grocery store simply as 'ground turkey'. I tend to avoid lean or extra lean ground turkey, but you can use it if you'd like.
• 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 jalapeno havarti
• taco seasoning- use store bought, or try my homemade taco seasoning!

Recipe notes

Start with cooled rice

The filling for these stuffed peppers is super simple, but 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 turkey can start to cook before you stuff the peppers, which could lead to tough filling.

If you are looking for a great rice recipe, check out my perfect, fluffy rice.

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.

Press the mixture in firmly

This recipe filled 5-6 medium-large bell peppers for me, but since bell peppers can vary greatly in size, they may fill more or less for you. Spoon the mixture into the bell peppers, pressing it down firmly with a spoon. You want them to be packed nice and full!

Cook on low heat

When using the slow cooker, I like to use the low heat setting. When using the high heat setting, variations between slow cooker models can be more pronounced, and it can actually cook at too high of a temperature, causing meat to become tough and overcooked rather than soft and tender.

For slow cooker stuffed peppers, we cook on the lowest setting for 4-5 hours. You can check using an instant read thermometer that the turkey in the middle of the pepper has reached 165°F.

Toppings

Like tacos, these stuffed peppers are great loaded up with your favorite Mexican-inspired toppings:

• fresh tomatoes
• pico de gallo
• sour cream
• cilantro or green onions
• tortilla strips
• avocado or guac

Recipe variations

• Instant Pot- Check out these Instant Pot ground turkey stuffed peppers.
• Low Carb- Omit the rice. I don't recommend replacing with cauliflower rice as it can get soft and soggy during cooking. You can add other toppings after the bell peppers finish cooking, like avocado, salsa, and sour cream. Since the rice bulks out the filling, the recipe will fill fewer bell peppers.
• Vegetarian- Swap the turkey for 2 cups of black beans. This recipe is delicious made with black beans! I found the cheese pretty important for flavor and have not tried this recipe with vegan cheese, but it may be an option.

Storage + meal prep

Crock pot stuffed peppers are a fantastic meal prep recipe and can be prepped ahead in multiple ways:

1. Crock pot freezer meal

A crock pot freezer meal is assembled ahead and frozen before cooking. This way, when it's time to cook, you simply dump the ingredients into the slow cooker and skip any measuring. This is a great recipe to prepare for someone who is expecting a baby.

Here’s how you can turn this recipe into a freezer meal:

1. Assemble the stuffed peppers and arrange in a rimmed baking dish. Freeze for 2-3 hours, until frozen solid, then transfer to a gallon-sized freezer bag, reusable silicone bag, or large meal prep container.
2. Squeeze out as much air as possible.
3. Freeze for up to 3 months.
4. Thaw completely, then cook as directed in the recipe card.

Find my favorite freezer containers here!

2. Cook ahead and reheat

Alternatively, you can cook the stuffed peppers through, cool, and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat through the week for easy lunches or dinners.

Reheat:

1. In the microwave until steaming hot.
2. In the oven (uncovered) at 350°F for 15 minutes, or until warmed through.

Find my favorite meal prep containers here!

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