Unstuffed peppers are just what they sound like and they're a perfect slow cooker meal prep loaded with veggies and protein!
If you love the flavors of stuffed peppers but don't want to do the work of hollowing them out, stuffing, and then baking them, this is the recipe you need. The fact that you can put it all together in a very hands-off manner in the slow cooker is even cooler. It's all the tastes you love of stuffed peppers, with a fraction of the work. How's that not an awesome and healthy meal prep?
Slow Cooker Unstuffed Peppers Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 tsp. dried oregano
- ½ tsp. fennel seeds
- ¼ tsp. crushed chili flakes
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 4 bell peppers chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 ¼ cups brown rice
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 ¼ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
How to Make Slow Cooker Unstuffed Peppers
Lots of slow cooker recipes start by having you brown the meat and onions with seasoning in a skillet first. This helps you develop some flavor before letting the ingredients simmer in a slow cooker for hours. That's how this one works, too. Once the ground turkey and onion have been browned and combined with the seasonings, they're transferred to the slow cooker along with the bell peppers, rice (uncooked), tomato sauce, chicken broth, and garlic powder. Then you set it on high for 3 to 4 hours, and you're good to go.
How to Store and Serve Slow Cooker Unstuffed Peppers
These are great for meal prepping because you can just store everything in simple single-ingredient containers; no need for little compartments. This dish has all the food groups in one meal! Make sure it's airtight, and keep it in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. You can also really easily freeze this recipe. Just defrost it overnight in the fridge and reheat, or pop it in the microwave, or in a saucepan on a stovetop. Make sure it's totally hot!
This unstuffed peppers recipe is also great with a green salad with a red wine vinaigrette and a loaf of crusty bread. It doesn't really need much though.
Substitutions and Alterations
Use any combination of bell peppers you want here; it will be nice and colorful.
Use brown rice or white rice; either will work. Normally, we love cauliflower rice and recommend it as a swap, but in this case, it will get soggy very fast, so we don't advise that. You could, however, cook it separately and mix it in, once the rest of the unstuffed peppers are ready.
Feel free to substitute ground chicken, beef, or pork with this recipe, instead of the turkey.
If your slow cooker is big enough, you can easily double this recipe and freeze it for a future date. Just leave the cheese off if you're planning to freeze.
We like to brighten this up with a sprinkling of freshly chopped parsley.
MORE SLOW COOKER RECIPES TO LOVE!
- Slow Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken Meal Prep
- Slow Cooker Asian Pot Roast Meal Prep
- 31 Slow Cooker Meal Prep Recipes
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- ¼ teaspoon crushed chili flakes
- Kosher salt to taste
- 4 bell peppers chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 ¼ cups brown rice
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ¼ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Brown the turkey, crumbling with a wooden spoon.
- Add the diced onion and sauté for 5 more minutes, or until the turkey is cooked through and onion is soft. Season with the oregano, fennel seeds, chili flakes and ½ tsp. kosher salt, or to taste.
- Transfer the turkey and onions to a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker, followed by the bell peppers, rice, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and garlic powder. Stir in an additional ½-1 tsp. kosher salt, or to taste. Mix well to combine. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 ½ to 4 hours, or until rice is tender.
- Remove the lid and stir a few times. Fold in 1 cup of the cheese, then season to taste with additional salt.
- Divide among 4 meal prep containers and top each with 1 tbsp. of the remaining cheese. Allow to cool, then cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
