Leftover turkey stuffed peppers are a nutritious, wholesome and healthy dinner that you can throw together easily and quickly. Colourful bell peppers are stuffed with roasted turkey, vegetables, herbs and cheese. They're a great way to get in those veggies and to use up any leftover turkey from a holiday meal. A total crowd-pleaser.
Stuffed peppers are one of my favourite meals to make. I love how they are individually portioned out in a cute little package. There are also endless ways that you can stuff them, whether with turkey, beef, or keeping them vegetarian like in these easy vegan stuffed bell peppers.
These leftover turkey stuffed peppers are also such a great way to use any leftover turkey after a holiday meal. But you can enjoy this all year round by easily making a batch of tender slow cooker turkey breast, juicy roasted turkey breast, or soy glazed braised turkey breast and cut it up for these peppers.
Some other delicious ways to use leftover turkey are in creamy turkey orzo soup, turkey tetrazzini with spinach, and leftover turkey fried rice.
Ingredients
- bell peppers - 4 large bell peppers in any colour that you like. I like to find ones that are large and round and easy to stuff.
- cooked turkey breast - this is a great way to use any leftover turkey breast from a whole roast turkey, slow cooker turkey breast or juicy roasted turkey breast. Turkey stuffed peppers are also often made with ground turkey. You can substitute it easily but be sure that you fully cook it when making the filling.
- vegetables - mushrooms, onion, garlic, and cauliflower. Most stuffed peppers contain rice, but we kept this gluten-free and low carb by using finely chopped cauliflower (the idea was cauliflower rice). You can easily add in rice if you prefer.
- olive oil
- tomato sauce - a little tomato sauce for flavour but not too much as we didn't want the filling to be swimming in sauce.
- seasonings - soy sauce, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- mozzarella cheese - I like mozzarella in this because it is nice and gooey. You could substitute with any other gooey type of cheese like provolone, monterey jack, or white cheddar.
- fresh parsley - to garnish on top. You can substitute with other fresh herbs such as chopped basil or thyme.
You will also need a large half sheet baking pan or a 9x13 casserole dish.
How to Make the Best Leftover Turkey Stuffed Peppers
- Prepare the bell peppers: Preheat oven to 375 F. Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove and discard the seeds. Place the halved peppers on a large half sheet baking pan and lightly season with salt and pepper. Roast the peppers for 15 minutes until softened.
- Make the filling: Meanwhile, heat oil in a large shallow saucepan or Dutch oven for 2 minutes over medium high heat until sizzling hot. Add mushrooms and sauté until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in onion and garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add cauliflower and turkey. Stir well to combine, and cook for 2 more minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, soy sauce and Italian seasoning. Add ½ cup mozzarella cheese and stir well to mix all evenly. Remove from heat and season with salt to taste, if needed.
- Assemble the stuffed peppers: Fill up each roasted bell pepper with the turkey mixture and sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese on top.
- Bake: Bake the assembled stuffed peppers for 25 minutes until the melted cheese turns golden brown. Let the stuffed peppers rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh parsley on top.
Tips
- How to substitute the turkey: You can easily substitute the cooked turkey with ground turkey. Make sure that it is fully cooked when you add it to the filling, before you move on to the next step of adding the tomato sauce. You can also substitute the cooked turkey with cooked chicken. Follow the recipe the exact same using leftover whole roast chicken or a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
- Customize the vegetables: This recipe is so versatile and you can literally throw in anything you want. Use any vegetables that you want, just cut them up into small pieces. Some great options are carrots, corn, or broccoli.
- Add in a grain: We used finely chopped cauliflower as "cauliflower rice" to keep this dish gluten-free and low-carb, but you can easily add in rice if you prefer.
- How to serve: Serve these stuffed peppers on their own as a complete meal, or add in a side of roasted vegetables or a side salad.
Make Ahead and Storing Instructions
Turkey stuffed peppers are an excellent option for meal prep because they can be made in advance and freeze and reheat really well. You can make the peppers completely in advance, or just make the filling ahead of time. This makes life so much easier when craving for a fast and healthy dinner.
- How to store: Store the cooked stuffed bell peppers (or just the cooked filling) in an airtight container with the cut side up for up to 2-3 days in the refrigerator.
- How to freeze: Store the cooked stuffed bell peppers (or just the cooked filling) in a freezer-safe airtight container with the cut side up for up to 3 months in the freezer.
- How to reheat: If frozen, allow the stuffed peppers to thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Then reheat in a 350F preheated oven until warmed through, about 10 minutes, or in a 350F air fryer for 5 minutes.
More Leftover Turkey Recipes
- Turkey Tetrazzini with Spinach
- Leftover Turkey Fried Rice
- Creamy Turkey Orzo Soup
- Leftover Turkey Wild Rice Soup
- Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Sandwich
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Leftover Turkey Stuffed Peppers
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 servings
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Leftover turkey stuffed peppers are a nutritious, wholesome and healthy dinner that you can throw together easily and quickly. A total crowd-pleaser.
Ingredients
- 4 large bell peppers, sliced in half lengthwise
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 cup onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 cup cauliflower, finely chopped
- 2 cups cooked turkey breast, cut into ½-inch cubes
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 + ½ cups mozzarella cheese, grated and divided
- salt (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, finely chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
Prepare the Bell Peppers:
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove and discard the seeds. Place the halved peppers on a large half sheet baking pan and lightly season with salt and pepper. Roast the peppers for 15 minutes until softened.
Make the Filling:
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large shallow saucepan or Dutch oven for 2 minutes over medium high heat until sizzling hot. Add mushrooms and sauté until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes.
- Stir in onion and garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add cauliflower and turkey. Stir well to combine, and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Stir in tomato sauce, soy sauce and Italian seasoning. Add ½ cup mozzarella cheese and stir well to mix all evenly. Remove from heat and season with salt to taste, if needed.
Assemble and Bake the Stuffed Peppers:
- Fill up each roasted bell pepper with the turkey mixture and sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese on top.
- Bake the assembled stuffed peppers for 25 minutes until the melted cheese turns golden brown. Let the stuffed peppers rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh parsley on top.
Notes
How to substitute the turkey: You can easily substitute the cooked turkey with ground turkey. Make sure that it is fully cooked when you add it to the filling, before you move on to the next step of adding the tomato sauce. You can also substitute the cooked turkey with cooked chicken. Follow the recipe the exact same using leftover whole roast chicken or a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
Customize: This recipe is so versatile and you can literally throw in anything you want. Use any vegetables that you want, just cut them up into small pieces. Some great options are carrots, corn, or broccoli. You can also throw in a grain like rice. We used finely chopped cauliflower as "cauliflower rice" to keep this dish gluten-free and low-carb.
How to store: Store the cooked stuffed bell peppers (or just the cooked filling) in an airtight container with the cut side up for up to 2-3 days in the refrigerator.
How to freeze: Store the cooked stuffed bell peppers (or just the cooked filling) in a freezer-safe airtight container with the cut side up for up to 3 months in the freezer.
How to reheat: If frozen, allow the stuffed peppers to thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Then reheat in a 350F preheated oven until warmed through, about 10 minutes, or in a 350F air fryer for 5 minutes.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Turkey
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
kathy says
Excellent!!
Janice in Florida says
I made your recipe tonight using chicken left over from roasting an organic whole chicken in the Instant Pot. I was drawn to your choice of ingredients. I found that finely chopping the mushrooms was a chore. I used frozen riced cauliflower and grated Italian Style cheese from Aldi (although I only used 1/2 cup of cheese). We have no fresh parsley with our current hot and dry weather, so I sprinkled with fresh chopped Thai Basil from the garden. We definitely enjoyed our meal and have some leftovers for a repeat. Thank you
Lisalia says
So delicious and a great way to use up holiday turkey! Thanks for this easy to follow recipe!
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you! It is seriously so good!
Erica Schwarz says
These were a welcome dinner after all the weeks of splurging! Very easy to make and I loved using cauliflower as filler instead of breadcrumbs. Delicious!
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you so much Erica! So happy you liked the recipe.
Rudy Garcia says
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I am 87 years old and live alone. I try to keep up a little bit with the celebratory traditions of the major holidays by cooking at least part of the meals associated with the traditions of those holidays, although not much beyond the main ingredient. As a consequence, I reversed the order of them this Holiday Season because even here in Cancun there are restrictions in place because of the Covid-19 pandemic so I can't go to the store more than two or three times a month. I cooked a turkey breast for Christmas Eve dinner but, of course, had quite a bit left over. I wanted to get away from just making sandwiches and turkey hash as in the past and your recipe hit the spot. I always have lots of Bell peppers in multiple colors in my fridge or veggie box. They can be used in so many dishes. Truthfully I am up to here with dishes containing rice and I did not have any cauliflower handy. However, I did have some cous-cous in the freezer left over from a dish I made earlier in the month. Also, I made two batches of your stuffed peppers. In one I used the little bit of tomato sauce you suggested but in the other - three of each and froze two of each - I experimented with using Alfredo sauce in a slightly larger amount than you suggested. Also, because accessing fresh mozzarella balls are both difficult and expensive, I used an equally meltable stringy cheese popular here in Mexico and relatively inexpensive called 'Oaxaca Cheese' or 'Queso Oaxaca'. The Alfredo sauce ones with the Oaxaca cheese turned out to be quite tasty and creamy. I also added just a bit of finely chopped spinach to the filling and it turned out fabulous. Thanks once again for giving me a great recipe for leftover turkey. I will be using it multiple times during the year. I served the stuffed peppers with steamed asparagus tips and corn on the cob, along with crusty bread and ended up stuffed but happy.
Your grateful and faithful student
Rudy Garcia
izateco@yahoo.com
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you so much Rudy! That makes me so so happy to hear. I am so glad you liked the recipe and have some frozen for another day. So happy you enjoyed those delicious leftovers and were able to make some great substitutions as well.