Healthy Bell Pepper Pizzas with Ground Turkey

• servings: 8 servings
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground turkey (90-94%)

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

1½ cups pizza sauce

4 bell peppers (sliced in half from top to bottom, and deseeded)

½ to ¾ cup part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

¼ cup cherry tomatoes (sliced in rings like mini pepperonis)

½ cup red onion (finely chopped or thinly sliced)

Preferred seasonings (garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, etc. and chopped fresh basil for garnish)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350˚. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place peppers on top, cut side facing up.

Mist a large skillet with nonstick oil spray and warm over medium heat.

Cook turkey with the Italian seasoning, a sprinkling of salt, and optional crushed red pepper in the skillet for about 4 minutes, or until turkey is no longer pink, breaking it up into crumbles. Drain off fat, then add about 1 cup pizza sauce and cook for an additional minute.

Fill each bell pepper with an equal amount of the meat-sauce mixture. Place in the oven and cook for 25 minutes.

Remove peppers from oven and top each with 1 tablespoon of the reserved sauce. Next, sprinkle mozzarella then Parmesan, tomatoes, and onions evenly over the tops of each pepper.

Place pepper pizzas back in oven for an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese is melty and bubbly. Garnish with any preferred extra seasonings and fresh torn basil leaves. Allow to set 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 2 poppers
• Calories: 280 kcal
• Total Fat: 6 g
• Saturated Fat: 3.5 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 2.5 g
• Cholesterol: 75 mg
• Sodium: 330 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 15 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3 g
• Total Sugars: 9 g
• Protein: 31 g