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Taco stuffed peppers are the perfect low carb meal for taco Tuesday or any weeknight meal. Full of Mexican inspired flavor, veggies and meat of choice. You will love these.
Why Make These Taco Stuffed Peppers
These Mexican stuffed peppers are full of veggies, easy to whip up and totally customizable to your dietary needs. They are low carb, nutrient dense and you can choose between ground turkey, beef or chicken for the meat. The topping ideas are endless and they are very filling. These are great for weeknight meals, entertaining and impressing guests or you can meal prep them for lunch.
Ingredients Needed
- Ground Beef, Chicken or Turkey. Please choose what suits you best. I love lean ground beef for this recipe. Choose lean since we are making a thick sauce with beef broth and tomato paste.
- Beef Broth. This makes the mixture more saucy and helps keep it from drying out while baking
- Tomato Paste. To help thicken the sauce we are cooking the meat in.
- Zucchini. Will be mixed in with the beef.
- Onion. I use red onions.
- Bell Peppers. Any colors will do.
- Seasonings. Paprika, cumin, chili powder, garlic, salt, chipotle pepper, oregano
- Garlic.
- Cilantro. For garnish
- Optional Toppings. Sour cream, cheese, salsa, avocado
How To Make Taco Stuffed Peppers
- Step One. Preheat oven to 375º Chop all veggies, tomatoes, onion, garlic, zucchini, into small even pieces, the smaller you chop them the less noticeable they will be.
- Step Two. Brown the meat in a large skillet or pan on medium high heat. Add in seasoning, onion, zucchini. Let it brown for about 5 minutes, add in the garlic.
- Step Three. Add in broth, simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes or until the veggies are softened and the paste and broth has combined and thickened (photo 1-2).
- Step Four. While the meat mixture is thickening, prepare the bell peppers. Slice in half vertically and discard the white flesh, stem and seeds. Fill each pepper to the brim with the taco meat mixture. Press it into the pepper so it’s “stuffed” (photo 3).
- Step Five. Top the peppers with cheese and pop into the oven for about 15 minutes or until cheese is melty and golden on top (photo 4). Let them cool a bit and serve with toppings of choice.
What Goes Well With Stuffed Peppers
These are great and filling on their own, they are full f great nutrients. But if you are looking for something to serve with them, I have you covered! Try beans, rice or a Mixed Green Salad. Charred Broccoli or Crack Green Beans are also a yummy veggie side.
Taco Stuffed Pepper Tips
- Don’t over cook the meat! Keep a close eye, and let it simmer with all the veggies and seasonings to keep it moist.
- Add more broth if needed. This keeps the meat from drying out and adds extra flavor. It also helps soften the peppers in the oven.
- Use your favorite toppings. In addition to the toppings listed, use avocado slices, salsa, tortilla chips or anything you enjoy with tacos.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container or tightly place foil over the baking dish with peppers in it. Store in the fridge for up to 5 day. Add toppings (lettuce, avocado, tortilla chips) as you eat, do not top the peppers with them or it will wilt. Reheat the peppers in a microwave.
Recipe FAQs
No, any lean ground meat will work wonderfully.
No, this meat mixture will be excellent as a taco or burrito, or served over a salad or burrito bowl.
Other Taco inspired Meals
Appetizers
Chicken Tinga Toastadas
Dinner
White Chicken Enchiladas
Dinner
Crispy Black Bean Tacos
Dinner
Fish Taco Bowls
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Taco Stuffed Peppers
Equipment
- 9×13 baking dish
- large skillet
Ingredients
Taco Stuffed Peppers
- 4 bell peppers, any color
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 tbsp ground chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp dried crushed oregano
- ½ tsp chipotle powder
- 1 cup chopped zucchini
- ¼ cup red onion, diced
- ⅓ cup fresh chopped tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1⅓ cup beef or chicken stock , *you may need a little more later to thin sauce
Toppings
- ⅓ cup mexican shredded cheese, optional for topping
- ¼ cup chopped romaine, optional for topping
- fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375º Chop all veggies, tomatoes, onion, garlic, zucchini, into small even pieces, the smaller you chop them the less noticeable they will be.
- Brown the meat in a large skillet or pan on medium high heat. Add in seasoning, onion, zucchini. Let it brown for about 5 minutes, add in the garlic.
- Add in broth, simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes or until the veggies are softened and the paste and broth has combined and thickened.
- While the meat mixture is thickening, prepare the bell peppers. Slice in half vertically and discard the white flesh, stem and seeds. Fill each pepper to the brim with the taco meat mixture. Press it into the pepper so it's "stuffed"
- Top the peppers with cheese and pop into the oven for about 15 minutes or until cheese is melty and golden on top. Let them cool a bit and serve with toppings of choice.
Notes
- Don’t over cook the meat! Keep a close eye, and let it simmer with all the veggies and seasonings to keep it moist.
- Add more broth if needed. This keeps the meat from drying out and adds extra flavor. It also helps soften the peppers in the oven.
- Use your favorite toppings. In addition to the toppings listed, use avocado slices, salsa, tortilla chips or anything you enjoy with tacos.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container or tightly place foil over the baking dish with peppers in it. Store in the fridge for up to 5 day. Add toppings (lettuce, avocado, tortilla chips) as you eat, do not top the peppers with them or it will wilt. Reheat the peppers in a microwave.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe turned out well despite missing in the recipe key things like the addition of spices. I caught it but a beginning cook might not. Overall it was tasty but also took double the time covered in the oven to cook the peppers until they were tender.
Hi Rebecca, as a home chef whose always cooking, i can occasionally miss little details when writing a blog sorry about that! As for the cooking time, this is going to vary greatly depending on your pepper sizes and ovens, different ovens are always touchy with temps (this is with all recipes). The peppers should be uncovered in the oven as the recipe says so they cook a little quicker. Thanks for the feedback, I added in a note then cooking time can vary for others to keep in mind:). Glad you enjoyed the recipe overall! Xoxo, happy cooking.
Wow these were so good. I was hoping we would have leftovers but my husband and I ended up having seconds and it was gone.
So happy to hear this! Thanks for the feedback.