Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers

Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers with ground turkey, rice and salsa are easy to make and cook in half the time as traditional stuffed peppers in the oven. Serve them with a side salad for a filling lunch or dinner!

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Why you'll love these air fryer stuffed peppers

• They're easy to make and you only need 9 ingredients.
• They cook in just 15 minutes in the air fryer.
• With ground turkey and brown rice, they make a healthy and wholesome meal.
• They can be prepped in advance and the recipe can easily be doubled.

Details on the ingredients

• Peppers - I used a mix of red, orange and yellow bell peppers, but you can use all of one kind or add green peppers to the mix. You'll want to use peppers that are roughly the same size with sturdy bottoms so they can stay upright in the air fryer.
• Ground turkey - I used lean ground turkey but feel free to use lean ground chicken instead.
• Brown rice - You'll need a cup of cooked brown rice. I usually cook my own but you can buy pre-cooked rice to save time. Just keep in mind that pre-cooked rice packages sometimes have oil and/or salt added.
• Salsa - You can use store-bought or homemade. Just make sure it is chunky and not too watery. I used a medium salsa in this recipe, but you can use mild or hot depending on your preference.
• Seasonings - A simple mix of chili powder, garlic powder and salt add flavour and a hint of heat to these peppers. I didn't over do it on the seasoning, so feel free to add more to suite your taste.
• Cheese -  I used tex mex cheese, but you can also use mozzarella or cheddar. I would just stick with regular cheese instead of light as it melts better.
• Oil - Just a little to cook the turkey mixture.

How to make stuffed peppers in the air fryer

• Cook your rice according to the package instructions and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the ground turkey and seasonings and fry until the turkey is fully cooked.
• Stir in the rice and salsa and let it heat through for a few minutes.
• While the turkey mixture is cooking, prepare your peppers by cutting the tops off and scooping out the seeds and membranes.
• Air fry the unfilled peppers on 400F for 5 minutes.
• Add the turkey filling to the peppers and continue air frying for 8-10 minutes.
• Add the grated cheese to the tops of the peppers when there is 2-3 minutes of air frying time left.

How do you prevent stuffed peppers from getting soggy?

The key to delicious stuffed peppers is all about texture (okay, and the filling too, but texture is important!)

You want the peppers to be soft yet firm.

To avoid soggy peppers, just make sure your filling isn't watery. So, for this recipe, you'll want to choose a thick and chunky salsa instead of a thin and runny salsa.

If your turkey mixture looks too watery, just cook it off in the skillet for a few minutes before adding it to the peppers.

Another way to avoid soggy peppers is to pre-cook the peppers before stuffing them. And, of course, be sure not to overcook them once they're stuffed.

Do you need to cook the ground turkey and rice first?

Yes. The peppers don't take long to air fry, so you'll want to cook your filling ingredients first.

How do you make these stuffed peppers in advance?

Prepping all of the ingredients in advance makes these air fried stuffed peppers easy to assemble for a quick dinner. Here's how to do it:

• Cook the rice and fry your turkey (with the seasoning). You can either combine them both with the salsa and store in the refrigerator, or store them separately and combine them with the salsa just before stuffing the peppers.
• Prepare your peppers by cutting off the tops and removing the seeds and membranes. Store separately in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
• Shred your cheese and store in a container or resealable bag.
• When ready to enjoy, warm the rice and turkey mixture in the microwave and follow the recipe instructions for stuffing and air frying the peppers.

Additional recipe tips

• The recipe makes three peppers, but you can easily double the recipe. Just air fry the peppers in batches, or if you have a larger air fryer, you might be able to air fry them all in one batch.
• I used a smaller capacity 2.75 quart Philips air fryer for this recipe (not sponsored). Depending on the brand, model and size of your air fryer, you may need to adjust the temperature and air frying time slightly. If you know your air fryer runs a little hot, you may wish to reduce the temperature to 360F.
• Depending on the size of your peppers you may have some filling leftover. The recipe calls for large peppers, so if your peppers are on the smaller side, just use four instead of three.
• Make sure your peppers are not too tall for your air fryer. I had to cut a little extra off the tops of mine because they were too high for the air fryer basket. Once you have the peppers filled and the cheese on top, you want to make sure that the peppers are not touching the heating element on top of your air fryer.
• I would normally say you can leave out the cheese to make this recipe dairy-free; however, the cheese on top of the peppers protects the ground turkey from browning too much, so I would suggest adding a little.
• The turkey filling for the peppers is medium spicy. If you like spicier food, feel free to add more chili powder and use a hot salsa. If you're not a fan of spicy, just reduce the chili powder and use a mild salsa.

Recipe variations

• Use ground chicken, pork or beef instead of turkey.
• Replace the brown rice with white rice, wild rice or quinoa.
• Top the peppers with a different kind of cheese.
• Add some more heat to the filling by using cumin, smoked paprika or crushed red pepper flakes.

More pepper recipes

• Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers
• Air Fryer Peppers and Onions
• Sausage Frittata with Peppers

If you make this recipe, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments below!

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📖 Recipe

Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers

Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers with ground turkey, rice and salsa are easy to make and cook in half the time as traditional stuffed peppers in the oven. Serve them with a side salad for a filling lunch or dinner!

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 3 peppers

Author: Leanne

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ ½ pound lean ground turkey
• ▢ ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1 cup cooked brown rice
• ▢ ¾ cup chunky medium salsa
• ▢ 3 large bell peppers
• ▢ 3 tablespoons grated tex mex cheese

Instructions

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

• Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the ground turkey, chili powder, garlic powder and salt, and fry together until the turkey is fully cooked to a safe temperature of 165F.
• Stir in the cooked rice and salsa and let the mixture heat through for a few minutes.
• While the turkey mixture is cooking, prepare your peppers by cutting the tops off and scooping out the seeds and membranes.
• Grease the bottom and sides of the air fryer basket with non-stick cooking spray and arrange the unfilled peppers in the basket. Air fry on 400F for 5 minutes.
• Pull the air fryer basket out and carefully add the turkey filling to the peppers and continue air frying for 8-10 minutes.
• Add the grated cheese to the tops of the peppers for the last 2-3 minutes of air frying.
• Serve immediately with additional toppings such as salsa, guacamole and chopped green onions.

Notes

1. I used a mix of red, orange and yellow bell peppers, but you can use all of one kind or some green peppers.
2. You'll want to use peppers that are roughly the same size and have sturdy bottoms so they can stay upright in the air fryer.
3. If your peppers are small, you will have some turkey filling leftover. You can always fill extra peppers and air fry in batches if you need to.
4. Make sure the peppers are not too tall for your air fryer. Once they are filled and topped with cheese, they shouldn't be touching the heating element in the air fryer.
5. You can use store-bought or homemade salsa. Just make sure it is chunky and not too watery. I used a medium salsa in this recipe, but you can use mild or hot depending on your preference.
6. I didn't over do it on the seasoning, so feel free to add more to suite your taste. How much seasoning you add depends on how salty and spicy your salsa is.
7. I used tex mex cheese, but you can also use mozzarella or cheddar. I would just stick with regular cheese instead of light as it melts better.

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Nutrition Facts per Serving

Calories: 290kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 735mg | Potassium: 808mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 5629IU | Vitamin C: 211mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 2mg

Disclaimer

Nutrition information is an estimate only and will vary depending on the substitutions made and the brands used.

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