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These Italian Turkey Sausage Stuffed Peppers are about to become your new favorite weeknight dinner. Instead of using store-bought sausage, I made my own lean, flavor-packed Italian sausage from scratch using 93% lean ground turkey, ground Indian fennel, black pepper, and salt. For those who like their Italian sausage on the spicy side you can added red pepper flakes to the ground turkey mixture.
This simple swap packs every bite with savory Italian flavor and high-quality protein while keeping the meal incredibly light. In fact a serving of these stuffed peppers is loaded with 31 g of protein. A variety of fresh side salads, vegetable dishes, or bakery items all pair well with these Italian turkey sausage stuffed peppers and round out the meal nicely.
Whether you are prepping a quick family dinner or looking for a dish that scales up easily to feed a crowd at your next potluck, these tender peppers deliver all the cheesy, marinara-infused satisfaction of an Italian meal—minus the guilt.
Please see the recipe card below for exact amounts and directions.
Ingredient Round Up
- Large bell peppers – I used a red and an orange one.
- 93% lean ground turkey
- Ground Indian fennel
- Black pepper
- Salt
- Water
- Grated Romano or Parmesan cheese – I used Romano cheese.
- Prego no sugar added tomato sauce or your favorite marinara
- Shredded fat free mozzarella
Sodium Alert: The sodium content per serving of stuffed pepper is 582 mg. The sodium is coming primarily from the Prego and fat free mozzarella. If you use Francesco Rinaldi no salted added tomato salt you can lower the sodium content to 442 mg. If you couple the no salt added tomato sauce with eliminating salt and using a salt substitute instead, you can lower the sodium content to 356 mg.
Making the Stuffed Peppers
- Wash and dry the bell peppers. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise, remove the core and seeds. Place them on a foil lined baking pan and place in the oven to par-bake briefly to soften them up a bit. Remove from the oven when done and set them aside.
- While the peppers are baking, place the ground turkey in a bowl along with the ground fennel, black pepper and salt.
- Use your hands to mix the ground turkey and spices together. Pinch off a piece of meat about the size of a half dollar, flatten it out and place it on a napkin. Microwave it until cooked. Let it cool briefly and then taste it. Add more fennel and salt if you think it’s needed.
- Break up the ground turkey mixture into a skillet. Add some water to facilitate cooking. Cook the turkey mixture until it is done.
- Drain off the water and fat from the cooked ground turkey mixture and then return it to the skillet. Add the grated Romano cheese and tomato sauce to the mixture and stir to incorporate them.
- Add the shredded mozzarella to the turkey. mixture and stir to incorporate the cheese. Use the wooden spoor or fork to divide the meat mixture into four portions.
- Use a clean paper towel and blot any moisture that collected in the par-baked peppers. Stuff each half of bell pepper with a portion of the Italian sausage turkey mixture.
- Top each stuffed pepper half with shredded fat free mozzarella. Place in the oven and bake until the turkey mixture is bubbly, the pepper is fork tender and the mozzarella is melted.
- Remove the stuffed peppers from the oven when done and allow them to sit briefly.
- Serve and enjoy. Refrigerate leftovers.
Serving Ideas
- Fresh and crispy sides such as a side garden, tossed Italian or Caesar salad balances the savory Italian turkey sausage in these stuffed peppers.
- Not in the mood for a salad, then roasted Parmesan asparagus, grilled zucchini or Italian marinated portobella mushrooms pair well with these Italian stuffed peppers.
- For those who need a bread fix, garlic bread made from low carb 647 Kaiser rolls or basil, garlic and Romano cheese muffins are great additions to the meal plus they work great to sop up any extra marinara and juice from the turkey sausage and peppers.
- If you prefer a starchy side, polenta, pasta, garlic cauliflower rice are nice accompaniments to Italian stuffed peppers.
WW 2 pt per stuffed large bell pepper half, 6 pt for entire recipe, makes 4 servings
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 256kcal
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- large skillet with cover
- Cutting board
- Chef knife
- baking tray or pan
- Wooden spoon
- meat masher
- measuring cup and spoons
Ingredients
- 2 large bell peppers - I used a red and a orange one.
- 1 lb 93%. lean ground turkey
- 1 tbsp ground Indian fennel
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅓ c water
- ⅔ c marinara - I used no sugar added Prego
- 2 tbsp grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
- ⅓ c shredded fat free mozzarella, for final turkey mix
- 6 tbsp shredded fat free mozzarella, for top of stuffed peppers
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400℉.
- Rinse and dry the bell peppers. Cut them in half lengthwise and remove the core, stem and seeds.
- Place the bell pepper halves on a foil lined baking pan and place them in the oven. Bake at 400℉ for 8-10 min to soften them up. Remove them from the oven when they are done par-baking and set them aside.
- While the peppers are par-baking, place the ground turkey, ground fennel, black pepper and salt in a mixing bowl. Use your hands to mix the ground turkey and spices together. Pinch off a piece about the size of a half dollar , flatten it out on a napkin or paper towel and microwave for about 26 sec or until it is done. Let it cool for a min and then taste it. Add more fennel and/or salt if you think it is needed. If you like your Italian sausage spicy, you can add red pepper flakes at this point.
- Break the turkey mixture into small chunks into a skillet. Add ⅓ c of water to the skillet to facilitate cooking. Cook until the turkey until it is no longer pink. Drain off the excess water and fat and then return it to the skillet.
- Add the grated Romano or Parmesan cheese and marinara to the cooked turkey sausage and mix together.
- Add ⅓ c of shredded fat free mozzarella to the turkey sausage mix and fold it in to the mixture. Using the wooden spoon to spread out the turkey into an even layer in the skillet. Then using the spoon, divide the mixture into 4 equal portions.
- You are ready to stuff the peppers. Use a clean paper towel to soak up any liquid that has pooled in the par-baked peppers. Stuff each pepper half with a portion of the Italian turkey sausage mixture.
- Top each stuffed pepper with 1½ tbsp of shredded fat free mozzarella. Place the stuffed peppers into the oven and bake at 400℉ for 20 - 25 min. You are looking for the peppers to be fork tender, the turkey sausage mixture to be bubbly and the mozzarella to be melted. Remove the stuffed peppers from the oven when done.
- Let the stuffed peppers sit for 5 min so the cheese can set up. Serve and enjoy. Refrigerate any leftover.
Notes
If you like your Italian turkey sausage on the spicy side, add 1/4 - 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes to the meat mixture before cooking.
You can use Parmesan or Romano cheese. I use Romano cheese because I like the more robust flavor.
When I am making 4 servings, I use 1 lb of ground turkey to make the sausage. If I am going to make 6 servings, I use 2 lb of ground turkey. I use the 8 oz of left over turkey sausage mixture to make sandwiches on 647 kaiser rolls, freeze it to use over pasta or use it to make stromboli.
The sodium content per serving of stuffed pepper is 582 mg. The sodium is coming primarily from the Prego and fat free mozzarella. And of course I added 1/4 tsp of pink salt. If you use Francesco Rinaldi no salted added tomato salt you can lower the sodium content to 442 mg. If you couple the no salt added tomato sauce with eliminating the1/4 tsp of salt and use a salt substitute instead, you can lower the sodium content to 356 mg.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 10.5g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 9.8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 582mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5.5g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
