Thanksgiving Stuffed Peppers
Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes | Serves: 4 – 8
While I was drafting my Hearty Stuffed Peppers with ground turkey, and Thanksgiving coming quickly upon us, I considered a stuffed pepper recipe with Thanksgiving table flavors… sweet potato, cranberry, pecan, etc.
Poultry Seasoning is an essential flavor in traditional dressing/stuffing recipes. Adjust the amounts to your preference. It is delicious in these stuffed peppers.
If you don’t pre-soften the peppers, they will not be tender by the end of your oven cooking time. Popping them into the microwave to steam for a few minutes helps get your peppers ready for their final baking. I would not skip this step.
You can certainly use leftover, shredded or chopped Thanksgiving turkey! Use about the same amount as called for in the recipe.
This recipe lists dried cranberries, a.k.a. Craisins. I chopped mine, but you can leave them whole. I also added mine to the rice mixture so they plump up in the vegetable stock. If you would like more “chew” to your cranberries, just add them to the bowl when you add the seasonings and pecans.
This recipe is great year-round when you’re feeling nostalgic, but aren’t up to cooking a whole turkey. The stuffed peppers are quite filling, hearty, and a great family dinner.
Enjoy!
Thanksgiving Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 cup wild rice blend
- 2 cups vegetable stock, or chicken stock, divided
- 1 cup Craisins/dried cranberries, roughly chopped, see Notes
- Sea salt, to taste
- Freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
- 4 bell peppers, any colors
- 1 pound ground turkey, or leftover Thanksgiving turkey, shredded or chopped
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, more if needed while sautéing
- 1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/4" pieces (approximately 1 cup)
- 1 leek, chopped
- 1/2 cup celery, small-dice
- 1 shallot, small-dice
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
- 4 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped, divided
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (Fontina, Havarti, Muenster, etc.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bring the stock up to a boil. Add the rice, Craisins and any salt and pepper as needed, especially if using unsalted stock.
- Place the lid on the pot and turn the heat down to a gentle simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Scrape the rice into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- While the rice is cooking, cut the peppers in half from the top to the bottom. Remove any membranes, seeds, and the thick, white part of the core and discard.
- Place the peppers in a bowl with about an inch of water, layering them on top of each other is fine. Microwave them for about 8 minutes on high, or until just softened. (If your microwave is large enough to hold your 9x13” dish, you can place the peppers cut-side up in the dish with about a cup of water and microwave them to soften. Pour out the water before filling; you may have to remove the peppers to drain, then return them to the dish.) If you microwaved the peppers in a bowl, once softened, place them cut-side up in the baking dish. Set aside.
- While the rice is cooking, brown the ground turkey in a medium skillet (nonstick works well) until cooked completely through. Drain and set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the sweet potatoes, leeks, and celery. Cook, stirring often, until the sweet potato is just tender, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. (Some caramelization is fine and good.)
- Add the shallot and stir often until just softening, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for about 20 seconds. Turn the heat off and add the Worcestershire sauce, poultry seasoning, garlic and onion powders, thyme, pecans, 2 tablespoons parsley, and the drained turkey.
- Toss all the ingredients together. If you’d like more moisture in the filling, add ¼ cup of the stock. Stir, and add more stock if preferred. Since the turkey has been fully cooked, it is safe to taste the mixture for seasoning and adjust as desired.
- Place the peppers, cut-side up in the baking dish. Evenly divide and mound the turkey-rice mixture into the peppers. Top each pepper with cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the filling is lightly bubbling and the cheese has melted.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley before serving.
- Serve very warm.
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