Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers. Loaded with ground turkey, rice, enchilada sauce, black beans, and corn. Healthy, satisfying, and loaded with flavor, these stuffed peppers are cooked until perfectly tender. A filling, hearty, and flavorful meal that’s naturally gluten-free and can easily be made vegetarian or vegan. The best part? It’s so quick and easy to throw together!
Looking for more stuffed pepper recipes? Try my amazing Chipotle Chicken Stuffed Peppers or my Healthy Mexican Quinoa and Turkey Stuffed Peppers!
There is so much you can do in a slow cooker. From desserts to breakfast, you can basically make anything in a slow cooker. Throw everything together and come home to a warm meal – nothing beats that!
I wanted to make one of my favorite recipes in the slow cooker. I adapted my recipe for Healthy Mexican Quinoa and Turkey Stuffed Peppers and made it slow cooker friendly. This time I used brown rice in place of quinoa and added enchilada sauce for extra flavor and a little kick.
Vegetarian? No problem! To turn this recipe into vegetarian stuffed peppers, just skip the meat and amp up the beans and veggies! You can even try adding a different bean, like chickpeas to change things up a little! To make them vegan stuffed peppers, use vegan cheese instead of dairy.
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email below & we'll send it straight to your inbox! You will also receive other new recipes in your inbox weekly!
Ingredients for the BEST stuffed peppers
The full ingredient list and measurements are listed in the printable recipe below.
- Bell Peppers: I used red, yellow, and green. Any color of bell pepper will work well – pick your favorite!
- Lean ground meat: You can use either ground beef, pork, chicken or ground turkey depending on what you have on hand. They all would taste great in this!
- Rice: The rice adds some starch and makes the stuffed peppers more filling.
- Black beans: For a little extra protein with a Mexican twist!
- Enchilada Sauce: Either a store-bought enchilada sauce or a homemade sauce. It adds so much flavor to these slow cooker stuffed peppers!
- Spices: Cumin and chili powder give the filling a little kick and flavor.
- Cheese: Shredded Mexican cheese is perfect in this recipe! It really brings all of the ingredients together and makes the peppers more filling.
How to make stuffed peppers in the slow cooker
- Prep the slow cooker and ingredients: Spray the bottom of a slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray and then place the peppers inside.
- Add ground turkey, rice, black beans, corn, enchilada sauce, cheese and seasonings to a large bowl. Mix to combine.
- Stuff the peppers with the filling.
- Cook & serve: Cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 4-6 hours or until the meat is cooked through.
- Serve immediately with some of the optional toppings listed below, if desired. Serve these Mexican stuffed bell peppers with a side salad to make it a full meal!
What kind of rice should I use and can I use another grain?
You can use either cooked white rice or brown rice. These Mexican slow cooker stuffed peppers are also great if you have leftover rice you need to use up. Throw in some leftover Spanish rice, white or brown rice. You really can’t go wrong, so toss in what you have on hand.
If you want to use something other than rice, try quinoa or cauliflower rice!
What toppings should I serve with Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers?
There are plenty of options! Here are a few of my go-to’s:
- Cheese (Mexican, cheddar, or queso fresco)
- Sour cream
- Greek yogurt
- Salsa (red or green)
- Enchilada sauce
- Hot sauce
- Avocado
- Pico de Gallo
- Fresh cilantro
- A squeeze of fresh lime
How to store and freeze stuffed peppers
- Store: Leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheat: To heat up the leftovers, simply add the Mexican stuffed peppers to an oven-safe dish and reheat in the oven or microwave until heated through.
- Freezing: Freeze this dinner for up to 3 months in the freezer. When you’re ready to eat it, thaw it completely before heating it up in the oven.
more quick and easy Mexican recipes to try:
- Instant Pot Chicken Carnitas
- Loaded Mexican Sweet Potatoes
- Refried Black Beans
- Mexican Salmon Salad
- Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
- Mexican Chicken Rice Bake
- Slow Cooker Mexican Beef
Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 5-6 depending on size tri-color bell peppers, tops cut off and seeds and ribs removed
- 1 lb ground turkey, uncooked
- 1 cup rice, cooked (mexican, brown rice, or white rice)
- 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
- 1 cup red enchilada sauce
- 3/4 cup shredded Mexican cheese, plus more for topping, if desired
- 1/2 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
Optional Toppings
- cilantro
- sour cream
- shredded mexican cheese
- salsa
- enchilada sauce
- avocado
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Spray the bottom of a slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Place the peppers inside.
- In a large bowl combine ground beef or turkey, rice, black beans, corn, enchilada sauce, cheese, seasoning and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- Place the filling into the cavity of each pepper.
- Cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 4-6 hours or until the meat is cooked through.
- Serve immediately with some of the optional toppings, if desired. Goes great with a side salad!
Notes
Nutrition Information
Did you make this?
I’d love to hear your feedback! Leave a review and make sure to share your pictures on social media! Don’t forget to follow @thechefsavvy.
Tressa Rockwood
This is a fabulous and easy recipe. I browned the ground beef first however and combined in all the beans, sauces, seasonings as the recipe suggests while the meat was browning. Then I stuffed the peppers. This added flavor, and didn’t require cooking to the point the peppers got too overcooked. Everything else was the same and my family loves this meal!
Anita
Just read your recipe and directions. Concerned about not adding a small amount of water in the bottom of the slow cooker to keep the insert from cracking.
Kelley
Hi Anita,
You are more than welcome to add a bit of water. I have not had any issues with this and not adding water but I am sure it won’t hurt.
Thanks & Enjoy!
Kelley
Savannah
Hi I love this recipe as do my kids although they are not a big fan of the black beans could I replace with diced tomatoes if so how much?
Kelley Simmons
Hi Savannah!
So glad you and your kids enjoy this recipe! I would add 1 cup of diced tomatoes in place of the black beans. You could also use the tops of the bell peppers and chop them up and add them to the filling in place of the black beans.
Thanks!
Kelley
Lauren
I always loved my moms traditional stuffed peppers but these top all of the recipes I’ve tried! I love them!
Kelley Simmons
Hi Lauren,
So glad you enjoyed this recipe so much! Thanks so much for sharing!
Kelley
Eerika
I’m really sorry if these things have been asked before, I didn’t have time to read all the previous questions and I’m new with the slow cooker and its recipes. So:
1) You say you use a 6-quart slow cooker. 6 quarters of what? I’m from Finland and I use a 2 liters slow cooker, so I think 4 peppers is the absolute max I can do at a time, maybe even just 3. Sorry for being stupid with your measure units.
2) Is your “serving” size one pepper? Sorry if you told it already and I missed it…
Kelley Simmons
Hi Eerika!
No problem at all!
1. 6-quart is the size of the slow cooker and how much liquid it can hold. I’m guessing your slow cooker can hold about 2 quarts or so. I would try cutting the recipe in half so you can fit in 3 peppers in your slow cooker.
2. Yep serving size would be one pepper.
Hope you enjoy this recipe! Thanks so much!
Kelley
Svetla
Can you cook this in the oven if no slow cooker available?
Thanks
Kelley Simmons
Hi Svetla!
You could just follow my other stuffed pepper recipe instructions for baking if that help! https://chefsavvy.com/healthy-mexican-quinoa-and-turkey-stuffed-peppers/
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until the filling is hot.
Thanks and enjoy!
Kelley
Rachel
Loved this. So easy. My husband doesn’t like corn and beans so I added more rice and seasoning.
Kelley Simmons
So glad you enjoyed this! Thanks so much for sharing!