Turkey Bolognese Stuffed Peppers a simple dinner recipe filled with flavor!
Gluten Free Turkey Bolognese Stuffed Peppers a simple dinner recipe filled with rich flavor your family will love. These Stuffed Peppers make the perfect comforting weeknight meal!
Normally the name of my game is short and to the point … at least when it comes to food. I usually like to have dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less.
But you know what. There is something to say about recipes that take that “long and slow” technique. And todays recipe is just that.
There’s a lot of love in this dish and you feel it after you take the first bite.
These Stuffed Peppers are utter comfort food to me. They remind me of my mom. She use to make stuffed peppers at least once a week in the winter time when I was growing up. Her’s were done a little different. She use to put rice in the meat mixture to “fill you up” and make the meal go a little longer. She would also par-boil the peppers so there were a little more tender.
But now that I’m all grown up, I get to come up with my own recipes and make them just the way I like it.
Just like the zucchini boats I make, I enjoy having a little crunch in my vegetables. I’m not a big fan of roasting/cooking vegetables till they are mushy. Not only does it take the nutrients out, but you lose a vital part of the meal … “that crunch factor.”
The key to this recipe is the turkey bolognese. What I love about bolognese, is that similar to soups, you can layer lots of different flavors together.
When I was making this recipe I put my apron on and knew that it was going to take a while. But at the end I was going to have one gloriously delicious recipe.
I started with the bacon and crisped it up. Instead of adding oil to the pan I left the bacon grease as my “fat” and started to add in my vegetables. Each new vegetable added new flavor. I removed everything from the pan then browned up my turkey and added everything back to the party. Poured in some red wine, herbs, tomato paste (for depth of flavor) and crushed tomatoes.
Y’all this sauce is so so SOOOO flavorful!
I kept taking spoonfuls of the bolognese while I was stuffing my bell peppers.
When you can’t stop sneaking bites, that’s when you know it’s a good recipe.
And honestly, it only gets better when it cooks longer.
Once the bolognese was stuffed into the raw peppers, I then baked them for 25 minutes until the peppers where just starting to get fork tender. But not mushy. There is a fine line. Then I pulled them out, topped each one with a tablespoon of shredded mozzarella and baked them until the cheese melted.
I’m officially obsessed with this recipe. Cason loved them. Mike is not a big stuffed pepper person so I ate three all by myself! And no, not all in one sitting. Although I could have.
They are absolutely divine. It’s the perfect simple dinner recipe as we head into the fall or school year. It can easily be made ahead and then thrown in the oven right before dinner time.
These peppers are less than 300 calories, low carb and have 23 grams of protein per serving. But most of all they are bursting with deep flavor!
Bon Appetit friends!
Italian Stuffed Peppers
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 peppers 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove & Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These easy Italian stuffed peppers with homemade bolognese sauce and melty mozzarella are the perfect weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- 4 strips of bacon, diced
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoon basil
- 2 teaspoon parsley
- 2 teaspoon oregano
- salt to taste
- 28 oz. crushed tomato with basil
- 6 bell peppers assorted colors, tops cut off and seeds removed
- 6 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese
- chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450° F.
- To a large skillet add bacon. Saute until bacon is browned and crispy.
- Using a slotted spoon. Scoop the bacon out and place it on a paper towel-lined plate. Leave the bacon grease in the pan.
- To the pan, add diced onion. Saute until translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Next, add in garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Then add in celery, red pepper and carrots. Saute for 4-5 minutes. Stirring throughout.
- Remove the vegetables from the pan. Place in a medium bowl.
- Place the skillet back on the burner and add ground turkey to the pan. Cook until the turkey is slightly browned, about 5-6 minutes. Make sure to break the turkey up with a spoon or potato masher so it’s not clumped together.
- Add the vegetables and bacon back to the pan. Stir and add in the red wine. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the alcohol is cooked out.
- Then add tomato paste, basil, parsley, oregano and salt to taste. Stir everything in until you can no longer see the tomato paste. Then add in the crushed tomatoes. Stir and bring to a simmer.
- Let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes or until a majority of the liquid is evaporated. Stirring throughout.
- To an 8×8 baking dish add 6 whole peppers. Stuff each pepper with the turkey bolognese mixture.
- Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes, until the peppers are just starting to get tender.
- Remove from oven. Add 1 tablespoon of shredded mozzarella to each pepper. Place baking dish back in the oven and bake for 2-3 minutes. (until the cheese is melted)
- Garnish with chopped parsley. (optional)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 stuffed pepper
- Calories: 283
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 582 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 23 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
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