The Testosterone Blueprint
Back to recipes

Turkey and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Most stuffed peppers come out with crunchy peppers and a dry filling. The fix is to roast the empty halves first, so they soften, and to keep the filling slightly saucy, as it soaks up liquid in the oven. They reheat well, so make the full batch.

Dinner

60

Serves 4

Roasted red pepper halves stuffed with turkey, quinoa and tomato, topped with melted mozzarella and parsley

Ingredients

  • 4 large red peppers, or a mix of colours, halved and deseeded
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 500g lean turkey mince (5% fat or less)
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp ground cumin and 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 120g quinoa, rinsed
  • 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 80g baby spinach
  • 125g ball light mozzarella, torn
  • A small handful of parsley, chopped

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan). Put the pepper halves cut side up in a roasting tin, brush with 1 tsp of oil and roast for 15 minutes, until starting to soften.
  2. Meanwhile, cook the quinoa in plenty of boiling water for 12 to 15 minutes until tender, then drain well.
  3. Heat the rest of the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the onion for 5 minutes, then add the turkey and garlic. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, breaking up the mince, until browned with no pink left.
  4. Stir in the spices, tomato puree and tinned tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes, then stir in the spinach until wilted and the quinoa. The mixture should be moist and slightly saucy; add a splash of water if it looks dry. Season to taste.
  5. Spoon the filling into the peppers, pressing it down and piling it high. Spoon any extra filling around them in the tin.
  6. Top with the mozzarella and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the cheese is melted and golden. Scatter over the parsley.
  7. To meal prep, cool and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through.

Why it works

Two pepper halves have about 40g of protein for around 450 calories, from lean turkey, quinoa and mozzarella. Turkey mince is one of the leanest minced meats you can buy, so the protein comes without much fat.

Quinoa does more than bulk it out. It contains all nine essential amino acids, which is unusual for a plant food, and adds fibre. Together with the peppers, tomatoes and spinach, a serving has about 8g of fibre.

Red peppers are one of the richest everyday sources of vitamin C, and each serving counts as at least two of your 5 a day. Roasting softens them and brings out their sweetness, which is why there is no sugar in the sauce.

With plenty of protein, fibre and vegetables and a modest amount of carbohydrate, this is a good fit for steady blood sugar. That is useful around menopause, when the risk of type 2 diabetes rises: see menopause and diabetes risk.

Make it vegetarian by swapping the turkey for two 400g tins of drained black beans or green lentils; the protein will be lower, at about 25g a serving. For another lean turkey dinner, try the turkey meatballs with courgetti.