Exactly one year ago this week we were packing up our mariachi band and heading for a Mexican whirl in beautiful Playa Mujeres. We’re daydreaming of when international travel will be possible again, but until, we’re going to bring some cultured cooking to La Cucina and share some recipes from our favourite international destinations with you over the coming weeks, like this easy, simple & delish one for your next at-home fiesta. Set aside some meat from Taco Night & reinvent your leftovers with this Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers recipe. I’ve removed steps & extra ingredients to keep this as simple as possible with compromising the taste. The kids can remove the “guts” of & stuff the peppers. Enjoy!
About the Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers’ Ingredients:
- We used leftover taco-seasoned turkey ground for this recipe. Vegetarian families can swap meat for a meatless ground. Because the meat/protein is already cooked & full of flavour, you won’t need extra seasoning or salt for this recipe.
- You can cut your peppers around the tops for stand-up stuffed peppers, or slice down the middle for half portions (good option for smaller appetites).
- Use up all your taco night leftovers or chop up some fresh. If you made Mexican rice, swap that in instead of making a fresh pot of rice. In addition to brown rice, we used salsa, Tex-Mex cheese blend, diced avocado & jalapeno peppers for the “stuffing”, and sour cream + chopped chives for the topping.

Slice the peppers into halves for smaller appetites. © House of Kerrs – All Rights Reserved
Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers
Equipment
- Baking dish
Ingredients
- 6-8 Bell Peppers any colour
- 1 ½ cups Lean Ground Meat cooked with Taco Seasoning or meatless ground
- 4 tbsp Olive Oil
- ¾ cup Salsa any
- 3-4 cups Cooked Rice *approx. 1 cup dry*
- 1½ cups Tex-Mex Shredded Cheese Blend
- *Optional: diced avocado, jalapeno peppers, sour cream/plain yogurt for stuffed pepper toppings*
Instructions
- Cook rice according to directions. If you don't have leftover taco meat, this is the time to prep some fresh using 1 package of lean ground meat or meatless ground + 1 taco seasoning package - cook according to directions. (*set rice & meat aside*)
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cut the tops off the washed peppers in a circular motion. Remove the seeds & the membrane, and chop off extra pepper remaining around the stem. Discard of the stems. Add olive oil & a bit of water to the bottom of the baking dish & place peppers open top up. If you prefer, you can also cut the peppers in half & lay each piece shiny side down for smaller portions. Both ways pictured here.
- In a large bowl, add cooked rice, salsa and 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Mix well. Stuff each pepper with a generous amount of the mixture, then top each pepper with a sprinkle of the remaining shredded cheese.
- Cover baking dish with foil & cook peppers on middle oven rack for 20 mins. Remove foil, then cook another 15-20 mins until cheese is light golden brown. Remove from oven & let set 5 mins.
- Serve with dollop of sour cream/plain yogurt, chopped chives, avocado/jalapeno peppers. Enjoy!
If you enjoyed this taco night leftover recipe, we think you should check out some of our other favourites too:
Tex-Mex Pasta Bake
Sheet Pan Quesadillas
4 Taco Night Leftover Makeover Recipes! by HouseOfKerrs on Jumprope.
We’d love to hear some of your favourite ways to enjoy taco night leftovers!
Keep well, eat well!
The peppers look yummy and easy to make. I love Mexican food.
Thanks so much! 🙂 We love Mexican too!