Cinco de Mayo is one of our favorite bean-related holidays, and trust us there are more than you might expect! This celebration of Mexican culture has a major focus on cooking great food, and beans are a staple in Mexican cuisine. It’s fair to say, any Cinco de Mayo celebration without beans simply means you are doing it the wrong way.
Want the dish you bring to the table to stand out at this year’s party? This twist on stuffed peppers is perfect for the occasion! Delicious Randall Beans black beans pair perfectly with ground turkey, quinoa, and spices to make a healthy dish honoring traditional Mexican ingredients. Turkey is great at absorbing the spices you cook alongside it, making it just as flavorful of a protein option than beef and chicken, but with a lower fat content.
Poblano peppers aren’t quite as spicy as their jalapeno cousins, but they have a smokier taste than bell peppers and compliment the sweetness of the stuffing that includes sweet corn. A lime crema to top brings it all together and cuts the heat. Topped with cheese and served with fun toppings, your friends and family can create their own plate to their liking! Stuffed peppers are a great Mexican recipe for feeding a large crowd because they are so simple to make, and you can always adjust this recipe for more peppers.
By omitting the ground turkey, adding more beans, and using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, this easily becomes a vegetarian stuffed peppers dish. No matter what your dietary choices or restrictions are, everyone deserves to try Cinco de Mayo recipe THIS good!
Ingredients
- One 15.4 oz. jar of Randall Black Beans
- One pound of ground turkey (optional)
- Three or four large poblano peppers
- One Roma tomato
- One bunch of scallions or green onions
- One cup of quinoa
- One 13.4 oz can of sweet corn, drained
- One cup vegetable or chicken stock
- One lime for crema, plus additional for serving, if desired
- 4 Tbsp sour cream
- One pouch of taco seasoning
- Two Tbsp of taco sauce
- Shredded pepper jack cheese (at least 1 cup)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil
- Additional sour cream, salsa, and guacamole to top, if desired
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Wash all produce, thinly slice scallions and separate whites from greens. Drain corn, finely dice tomato, zest and quarter lime, and halve Poblanos horizontally and remove ribs and seeds. Set aside.
3. For lime crema, add the lime zest and squeeze the juice into 4 Tbsp of sour cream. Mix well and set aside.
4. Bring one cup of stock to boil in a small pot, add quinoa, cover, and reduce heat to a slow simmer. Cook until quinoa is tender and liquid has evaporated, 15-20 minutes.
5. Rub each pepper half with enough olive oil to coat and place peppers skin side up on a cookie sheet. Roast on middle rack of oven until tender 15-20 minutes.
6. While quinoa is cooking and peppers are roasting, place a large, deep oven-proof pan (we used cast iron) with a tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Add scallion whites and ground turkey, cooking until crumbled and cooked through at 165 degrees. Drain meat and return pan to stove at medium heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Add taco seasoning packet and two tablespoons each of water and taco sauce to meat mixture, stirring to combine. Add corn, beans (no need to drain), and tomato to pan and mix well. Allow to simmer 4-6 minutes, or until tomato breaks down into the sauce.
8. Once simmering, add cooked quinoa to the mixture, mix well, and remove pan from heat.
9. When poblanos are done roasting, remove the blackened, peeling skins (be careful of steam!) and stuff each half with as much mixture from the pan as it will hold. Nestle stuffed peppers on top of remaining meat and grain mixture in pan (or separate baking dish if you need something larger or don’t have an ovenproof pan) and top each pepper with pepper jack cheese.
10. Return pan or baking dish to oven and set broiler to high or oven to 500 degrees. Broil or bake until cheese is melted and lightly browned, 2-3 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and top with lime crema, scallion greens, and any additional toppings, such as salsa, lime wedges, or guacamole.
Serves 6-8.
