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Kids and adults will love these Halloween Stuffed Chili!Funny faces and delicious fillings, these are as easy as mine Greek Stuffed Tomatoes, but make a delicious dinner before trick-or-treating night. add, Pumpkin Lantern Stuffed Peppers Use simple ingredients that you can easily customize!
Why You’ll Love This Halloween Stuffed Chili Recipe
- Delicious and full of meat
- Hearty Ground Meat with Tender Rice and Beans
- easy to find ingredients
- 15 minutes of hands-on time
- Naturally gluten free
- The most fun and healthy dinner for Halloween!

Ingredients and Substitutes
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for stuffed Halloween peppers, what each ingredient does in the recipe, and substitution options.For measurements, see Recipe card below.
- orange bell pepper – Since these are jack-o’-lantern stuffed peppers, the orange color makes them look more pumpkin-like. However, any color still works in the recipe!
- olive oil – I prefer to use extra virgin olive oil, but you can use any neutral cooking oil you like.
- Aromatic hydrocarbons – Yellow onion and minced garlic. Any color onion will do. While fresh minced garlic can improve the flavor, you can also use canned minced garlic to save time.
- ground turkey – You can easily substitute lean ground beef or ground chicken with your Halloween stuffed peppers if you want.
- cooked rice – You can use traditional rice, brown rice, or even cooked rice Cauliflower Fried Rice For lower carb options.
- black beans – The black bean flavor is delicious here, but you can easily switch to pinto, navy, kidney, or even chickpeas (with extra i Roasted Chickpeas Recipe! ).
- ketchup – do not confuse Italian Tomato Sauce! This is a regular canned sauce made only from tomatoes.
- seasoning – dried oregano, dried basilSea Salt and Black Pepper.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese – Adds flavor and locks in moisture so the filling doesn’t get too dry in the oven. You can use any shredded cheese you like as long as it melts easily. You can also opt for dairy-free without the cheese, but you may need a little more ketchup or other liquid to avoid the dry filling.

How to Make Pumpkin Lantern Stuffed Peppers
This section shows how to make stuffed pumpkin lantern peppers, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique to help you visualize it.For complete instructions, including quantities and temperatures, see Recipe card below.
- Prepare the peppers. Cut the peppers off with a sharp knife skin-peeler, remove the ribs and seeds, and cut a pumpkin lantern noodle on one side of each pepper.Put the peppers upright 9×13-inch baking pan.
- Fried essence. in a hot oil large frying pan Over medium fire. Add the onions and cook until translucent.


- brown meat. Add ground meat and garlic. Cook until browned.
- Complete filling. Add rice, beans, ketchup and seasoning. Cook until the rice absorbs the sauce. Remove stuffing from heat.
Tip: Cooking time will vary depending on the rice.
If using cauliflower rice, it will absorb the sauce faster.


- gather. Spoon rice into each pepper. Top with cheese.


- bake. Pour water into the bottom of the pan. Bake the Halloween stuffed peppers until the cheese is melted and the outside is starting to soften.
Tip: Why add water?
The water added to the roasting pan helps the peppers steam and soften.

recipe changes
- Sculpting Ideas – Carve these “pumpkins” however you want! Make sure to leave enough room at the bottom to keep water from seeping in, and carve the sides small enough to keep the filling from overflowing.
- add other vegetables – Zucchini, carrots, peas, or any chopped veggies work well for the filling mix. Use your favorites, just make sure they are cooked first.
- Readjust the padding – Are there more fillers? Use it to stuff other vegetables like zucchini, tomatoes or mushrooms…or just serve it as a side dish!
- Make Pumpkin Stuffed Peppers vegan – Substitute two 15-ounce cans of beans for the meat (recipe uses a total of 3 cans or 45 ounces). If you prefer, replace the meat with an equal amount of meatless ground protein substitute.
Storage Instructions
- Shop: Cover leftovers in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Meal preparation: You can prepare the filling ahead of time for stuffed bell peppers for Halloween and store until ready to use, or prepare the filling and assemble the peppers ahead of time. When ready, just bake!
- Reheat: Heat in microwave or 350°F oven until warm.
- freeze: Cool, cover, and refrigerate peppers for 2-3 months. While you can bake them from frozen, it’s best to thaw them in the refrigerator overnight before reheating to prevent overcooking.
what to serve with stuffed peppers for halloween
If you’re making stuffed peppers for Halloween, try it with these easy dishes:
Healthier Stuffed Chili Recipes
Stuffed peppers are one of the easiest and healthiest dinners. Try these versions next!
Jack-O-Lantern Halloween Stuffed Chili
Halloween Stuffed Chili (aka Pumpkin Lantern Stuffed Chili) makes a cute, festive, healthy holiday dinner with simple ingredients!
Prepare: 15 minute
chef: 25 minute
All: 40 minute
Serving Size: 8 (Adjust the scale recipe)
raw material
Click on the underlined ingredients to see where to get them. Please turn off Safari reader mode to view ingredients.
instruct
Tap the time in the instructions below to start the kitchen timer while cooking.
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Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
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Cut off the tops of the bell peppers. Remove the ribs and seeds from the inside.use one small paring knife, cut the jack-o-lantern face on one side of each pepper.put peppers in a 9×13-inch baking pan.
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Heat olive oil in a pan large frying pan Over medium fire. Add onion.cook about 5 minutesstirring occasionally, until translucent.
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Add ground turkey (or ground chicken or beef) and garlic.Cook 7-10 minutesseparate the meat wooden spoon or rubber spatulauntil browned.
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Stir in rice, black beans, tomato paste, oregano, basil, salt and pepper.chef 3-5 minutes, or until the rice starts to absorb the sauce. (Cauliflower rice will be faster.) Keep away from heat.
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Spoon a generous amount of the rice filling into each pepper. Top each with an equal amount of shredded cheese.
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Pour 1 1/2 cups water into the bottom of the pan.baked, bare, for 10 minutesor until the cheese is melted and the peppers are starting to soften.
recipe notes
Serving Size: 1 stuffed pepper
nutrient content
Amount per serving. Serving Sizes in Recipe Instructions Above.
Calories 290
fat 13 grams
protein 19 grams
total carbohydrates 27.9 grams
net carbs 20.2 grams
fiber 7.7 grams
sugar 7.7 grams
Nutrition Facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about the calculation or why you get different results?see our nutrition policy.
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