Serves: 4
Ingredients
- Coconut oil (as needed for greasing baking pan)
- 4 bell peppers (red, yellow, or orange), approx. 6 oz (170g) each, with 0.5 inch trimmed off tops, stemmed, and seeded
- 1 tbsp (approx. 0.6 oz / 17g) sea salt (for boiling water)
- Sea salt and pepper (to taste)
- 1 tsp olive oil (approx. 0.14 oz / 4g)
- 1 onion, chopped fine (approx. 5.3 oz / 150g)
- 0.5 tsp (approx. 0.1 oz / 2.8g) sea salt (for cooking)
- 12 oz (340g) lean ground turkey or lean ground beef
- 3 garlic cloves, minced (approx. 0.3 oz / 9g)
- 1 can (14.5 oz / 411g) diced tomatoes, drained, with 0.25 cup (2 fl oz / 59ml) juice reserved
- 2 oz (57g) Coconut Milk Cheddar Cheese, grated (or other grated cheese as per your source recipe)
- 0.25 cup (60 ml) minced fresh parsley (approx. 0.53 oz / 15g)
- 0.25 cup Ketchup (approx. 2 oz / 57g) (as per your source recipe)
- Note: The original preparation steps mention "rice," which is not included in this ingredient list. If desired, add your preferred amount of cooked rice (or cauliflower rice) in step 8.
Preparation
- Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with coconut oil.
- Bring 4 quarts (3.78 L) of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the bell peppers and 1 tbsp (0.6 oz / 17g) sea salt. Cook until the peppers just begin to soften, approximately 3 minutes.
- Remove the peppers from the water and drain them well. Place them cut side up on a clean towel to allow the steam to escape.
- Combine the 1 tsp (0.14 oz / 4g) olive oil, chopped onion, and 0.5 tsp (0.1 oz / 2.8g) sea salt in a 12-inch nonstick skillet. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until the onion is softened, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in the ground turkey or beef. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until it is no longer pink, approximately 4 minutes.
- Stir in the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the drained diced tomatoes and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl. (Note: This is the step where you would add your cooked rice, if using.) Stir in the 2 oz (57g) grated cheese and the 0.25 cup (0.53 oz / 15g) parsley. Season with additional sea salt and pepper to taste.
- Drain any excess water from the blanched peppers. Arrange them in the prepared 8-inch square baking dish and pack each pepper with the filling.
- In a small bowl, combine the 0.25 cup (2 oz / 57g) Ketchup and the reserved 0.25 cup (2 fl oz (56.7 g)) tomato juice, then spoon this mixture over the top of the filling in each pepper.
- Bake until the filling is hot throughout, approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Serve.
More Recipes You'll Love
Stuffed bell peppers filled with garlicky ground turkey, tomatoes and coconut milk cheddar. A quick blanch keeps the peppers tender-crisp, and a spoon of ketchup-tomato glaze finishes each one. Four peppers, one baking dish, and a dinner everyone recognizes.
Pro Tips
- Blanch the peppers about 3 minutes in well-salted water until they just begin to soften, then drain them cut-side up on a towel so steam escapes — raw peppers never fully tenderize in the bake.
- Cook the onion covered for a full 8-10 minutes until soft before the meat goes in; sweet softened onion is the filling's foundation.
- Let the filling cool a few minutes before stirring in the grated cheese and parsley — the cheese folds in evenly instead of melting into strings.
- Reserve a quarter cup of the tomato can's juice and mix it with the ketchup for the topping; it glazes the filling and keeps it moist.
- Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes until the filling is hot through — the peppers are already blanched, so all they need is heat.
Frequently Asked Questions
What about the rice?
The ingredient list skips it — and the recipe notes you can add cooked rice (or cauliflower rice) to the filling if you want it. Plain, the peppers stay fully paleo.
Can I use ground beef instead of turkey?
Yes — the recipe offers lean ground turkey or lean ground beef. Beef is richer; turkey keeps the filling lighter.
Which peppers work best?
Red, yellow or orange — the sweet varieties. Their color and sweetness suit the savory turkey filling far better than green.
Why blanch the peppers first?
Three minutes of boiling softens them just enough that the 25-minute bake finishes the job. Without it, the peppers stay stubbornly crunchy under the filling.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Method
- Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with coconut oil.
- Bring 4 quarts (3. 78 L) of water to a boil in a large pot.
- Add the bell peppers and 1 tbsp (0.6 oz / 17g) sea salt.
- Cook until the peppers just begin to soften, approximately 3 minutes.
- Remove the peppers from the water and drain them well.
- Place them cut side up on a clean towel to allow the steam to escape.
- Combine the 1 tsp (0.14 oz / 4g) olive oil, chopped onion, and 0.5 tsp (0.1 oz / 2.8g) sea salt in a 12-inch nonstick skillet.
- Cover and cook over medium-low heat until the onion is softened, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in the ground turkey or beef.
- Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until it is no longer pink, approximately 4 minutes.
- Stir in the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the drained diced tomatoes and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl. (Note: This is the step where you would add your cooked rice, if using.)
- Stir in the 2 oz (57g) grated cheese and the 0.25 cup (0.53 oz / 15g) parsley.
- Season with additional sea salt and pepper to taste.
- Drain any excess water from the blanched peppers.
- Arrange them in the prepared 8-inch square baking dish and pack each pepper with the filling.
- In a small bowl, combine the 0.25 cup (2 oz / 57g) Ketchup and the reserved 0.25 cup (2 fl oz) tomato juice, then spoon this mixture over the top of the filling in each pepper.
- Bake until the filling is hot throughout, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.
- Serve.
Note: The original preparation steps mention "rice," which is not included in this ingredient list. If desired, add your preferred amount of cooked rice (or cauliflower rice) in step 8.
