Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers with Barley and Ground Turkey

Looking for ways to use barley in recipes? These Mediterranean stuffed peppers are loaded with ground turkey, barley, and fresh vegetables. They are super easy to make and so healthy and delicious.

Stuffed peppers are a great way to add extra fiber and nutrition to your meals.

Getting kids to eat veggies is not always easy, but that is not the case with these barley stuffed peppers. For some reason, eating dinner out of a pepper makes the whole meal more fun. The kids will really dig into these.

These ground turkey stuffed peppers are great served with a simple side salad, or try them with my recipe for Southern coleslaw. It has lots of texture and crunch to offset the softness of the pepper stuffing.

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Ingredients for Mediterranean stuffed peppers

To make these barley stuffed peppers, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• 6 large bell peppers
• Sea salt and cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 12 ounces of ground turkey
• 4 mushrooms, chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes
• ½ cup of pearl barley
• 1 cup of water
• 2 cups of baby spinach
• 3 tablespoons of fresh basil, chopped
• ½ cup of grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Let’s make some Mediterranean stuffed peppers

This recipe calls for 6 bell peppers, the size that you normally get at the store.  The ones from my garden are a bit smaller, so I am using 8 of them.

Prepare the oven and pan

• Start by preheating the oven to 350°F (180°C).
• Spray a baking pan.

Trim the peppers

• Cut the tops off the peppers and save them to use in the filling.
• Scoop out the seeds and membranes and discard them.
• Cut a small slice from the bottom of the peppers so that they sit evenly.
• Season the inside of the peppers with salt and pepper.

Make the filling for the peppers

• Chop up the tops that you cut off the peppers to use as part of your vegetable filling.
• Add olive oil to a non-stick pan.
• Cook the ground turkey, chopped pepper tops, mushrooms, onion, and garlic until the turkey is browned and the vegetables are slightly tender.

• Add the water, barley, and tomatoes.
• Cook until the barley is tender.
• Mix in the spinach and fresh basil to the turkey mixture.
• Cook 1-2 minutes until the spinach wilts.

• Season the mixture with additional salt and pepper to taste if needed.
• Remove the pan from the heat.

Stuff the peppers

• Spoon the mixture evenly into the bell peppers.
• Sprinkle the top with grated Parmesan cheese.
  

• Bake for 20-25 minutes until the filling is hot and the peppers are tender.
• Remove and serve warm.

The tomatoes give the stuffing mixture a nice, bright color, and the barley adds loads of healthy fiber and a delightful texture. So much tasty nutrition in each stuffed pepper!

How do stuffed peppers taste?

In a word – amazing!  The mixture is rich and has a wonderful texture. Fresh vegetables and fresh herbs add a wonderful home-grown garden taste, and the ground turkey is light but still filling.

One of the great things about this recipe is that it makes wonderful leftovers for lunches later in the week. They taste as good cold as they do warm!

Their cup-like shape makes them easy to transport, even as a bagged lunch. And if you want, just pop them in a microwave for a minute or two to serve them warm.

Nutritional information for barley stuffed peppers

This recipe for barley-stuffed peppers serves six with 239 calories for each serving. The dish is high in fiber and protein and is a great source of vitamins and minerals.

Even though this recipe is fairly high-carb, the carbs come from the barley and vegetables. Barley has many health benefits. It has a low glycemic index, so it doesn’t raise the blood sugar as significantly as some other grains (particularly refined grains) do.

Tips for making stuffed peppers

Time for some of my cooking tips. These little tips will help you get the most out of any stuffed pepper recipe.

They are so versatile! They are so adaptable because you can switch out the fillings with whatever you happen to have on hand in the fridge that needs eating up.

• Don’t have mushrooms?  Use some extra chopped peppers or zucchini for the filling. No ground turkey?  Use ground chicken or ground beef.
• Don’t like barley? Use brown rice instead. The sky is the limit on what you can put into them.

Even-sized veggies help.  Be sure to chop your vegetables into even-sized pieces. They will cook down a little, but if you chop them fairly small and evenly, it will make filling the peppers easier.

Chop those tops! Some recipes call for the pepper top to sit on top as a lid.  I like to chop it up to give extra fiber and flavor to the filling.

Season well.  I like to season the inside of the peppers themselves with sea salt and cracked black pepper, so the whole dish is well-seasoned.

Cook the meat first. Cooking the ground turkey, barley, and vegetables first on the stovetop allows you to season the filling to taste. The peppers will cook more quickly and won’t wrinkle as much in the oven.

Go lightly on the cheese.  The filling for these stuffed peppers is super tasty. That means that you can go a lot lighter on the cheese than some recipes call for. I only used 1/2 cup for all 6 servings, and this kept the total calories below 250.

More Mediterranean-inspired recipes

Looking for more Mediterranean recipes? Try these:

• One Pot Chicken Barley Stew – Hearty vegetable stew recipe
• Easy Mediterranean Chicken Salad – Healthy & full of flavor!
• Garbanzo Bean Salad – Mediterranean chickpea salad recipe

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🌶️✨ Fresh, flavorful & satisfying! These Mediterranean stuffed peppers are filled with ground turkey, barley, and veggies for a healthy, fiber-packed meal that’s perfect for weeknights or leftovers! 😋🍅 #HealthyDinner… Share on X

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Admin note: This recipe for turkey and barley stuffed peppers first appeared on the blog in July 2018. This post has been updated with new photos, a printable recipe card, and a slideshow video.

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