Easy Instant Pot Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers
Need a quick healthy meal tonight? Here’s a fantastic recipe for Instant Pot Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers.
The hearty rice and ground turkey stuffing cooks perfectly in the peppers all at once to give you comfort meal that doesn’t require a lot of work
No Pre-Cooking
That’s right, there’s no pre-cooking in this quick recipe. The Instant Pot cooks everything at once so you’re not stuck boiling peppers or cooking the filling beforehand.
In regular stuffed peppers you’re stuck boiling the peppers, getting more dishes involved than there needs to be. Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers require no boiling. Just clean, stuff, and cook!
And I mean no pre-cooking the filling either! (although it does use leftover cooked rice!) Just mix everything together in a bowl, stuff it in your clean peppers and you’re eating these easy ground turkey stuffed peppers in no time at all.
When you pre-cook the filling for stuffed peppers the filling never binds together, it’s crumbly and loose. In these one-step stuffed peppers, it’s more like a meatloaf in the pepper than a crumbly mess.
What Kind of Cheese Do you Use On Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers?
Honestly, you can use ANY kind of cheese you have on hand. A lot of recipes call for cheddar, and that tastes great. BUT if you’re using ground turkey to cut down on calories then Parmesan is a good cheese to use on stuffed peppers. The small amount you use packs a lot of flavor in a small sprinkle.
Other Cheeses to Put on Stuffed Peppers:
- Romano
- Pepper Jack
- Cheddar
- Swiss
What Kind of Peppers Do you Use for Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers
What you REALLY want for peppers are 4 peppers that will fit in your Instant Pot together. That’s the MOST important thing to think of when shopping for peppers.
For these specific stuffed peppers, you can use ANY sweet bell peppers. Green, Orange, Red, or Yellow, all taste about the same. And they cook the same too. Again just be sure they will fit in the pot together.
I’ve also used poblanos for stuffing as well as other large peppers. These are often spicy and will definitely change the flavor of your meal. One more thought on using a spicy pepper, they don’t stand up nicely when placed on the trivet in the Instant Pot.
What Instant Pot to Use for Stuffed Peppers?
All recipes here have been tested using a 6 Quart 7/1 Instant Pot If you LOVE cooking in the Instant Pot try my Instant Pot Stuffed Pork Chops!
Instant Pot Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 large sweet bell peppers just make sure that 4 will fit in your Instant Pot
- 3/4 pound ground turkey
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 1 cup bread crumbs I used Panko, you can use what you have
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup chopped yellow summer squash zucchini
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 TBSP minced garlic
- 1 15 1/2 ounce can of tomato sauce OR crushed tomatoes
- 2 TBSP grated Parmesan
Instructions
- set the trivet in the Inner Pot of the Instant Pot, add one cup of water to the bottom of the pot, set aside
- cut the tops off the peppers, use a paring knife to gently remove the inner membrane of the peppers, and then shake the seeds out as needed
- set the peppers aside
- mix the ground turkey, rice, egg, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, and seasonings together
- then mix in the squash and tomato sauce
- divide the mixture between the four peppers, being careful not to pack it down
- arrange the peppers on the trivet in the Instant Pot, top with the remaining sauce
- place the lid on, set the knob to cook, press manual, and adjust the time to 11 minutes
- let the pot do its work, when the timer goes off vent the lid carefully and use a meat thermometer to check the turkey, it should hit 165 to be considered cooked through
- sprinkle the tops of the peppers with the Parmesan cheese, then place the lid back on and let it rest 2-3 minutes
- use tongs to serve them
