Stuffed Poblanos with Ground Turkey

Stuffed Poblanos with Ground Turkey have a deliciously cheesy filling, and I love this tasty recipe with slightly-spicy flavors! And if you’ve never cooked with Poblano chile peppers before, you’re really in for a treat.

PIN the Stuffed Poblanos to make them later!

Stuffed Poblanos with Ground Turkey is my Friday Favorites pick this week. And if you haven’t eaten Poblano chiles you should try this right away! Every time I’ve used them in a recipe I’ve fallen for this mild chile pepper a bit more! But I think this recipe for Stuffed Poblanos might be the biggest WOW of all my recipes that use these flavorful peppers!

When I decided to make a stuffed chile pepper with ground turkey I tried experiments with both Jake and Kara. Then made them once more myself before I had a version I was happy with. But the Stuffed Poblanos recipe you see here is a winner, and it’s been popular on the blog. I hope you’ll try it if you like Mexican flavors!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• ground turkey
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• 10 oz. can Green Chile Enchilada Sauce (affiliate link)
• Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
• Ground Cumin (affiliate link)
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
• fresh lime juice, I used my fresh-frozen lime juice
• Poblano Chiles 
• grated Mozzarella cheese
• green onion

What are Poblano Chile Peppers?

For a while now I’ve been infatuated with slightly-spicy Poblano chile peppers. (They’re often called Pasilla chiles in U.S. grocery stores.) Poblanos have a milder flavor than most green chiles and are a medium to large sized chile.

Can you use other meat for the stuffed Poblano Peppers recipe?

If you’re not a fan of ground turkey you can also use ground beef to stuff into the Poblano peppers for this recipe.

What makes these stuffed Poblanos so flavorful?

This recipe simmers browned ground turkey with green chile enchilada sauce and spices to get it infused with flavor. Then lime juice, chopped poblano, sliced green onion, and grated Mozzarella is added to the turkey mixture. It’s stuffed inside poblano halves that were softened in the microwave. Then each pepper is topped with more Mozzarella and baked until the filling is bubbling hot and the cheese is browned.

How low in carbs are Stuffed Poblanos with Ground Turkey?

These amazing stuffed peppers have only 3.5 net carbs per serving with 39 grams of protein!

How to Make Stuffed Poblanos with Ground Turkey:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Heat the oven to 375F/190C and spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.
2. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and brown the ground turkey; then add the Green Chile Enchilada Sauce, Minced Garlic cumin, salt, and pepper. Simmer until all liquid is evaporated and the turkey has absorbed the flavors.
3. While the turkey simmers, cut two of the Poblanos in half lengthwise, cut out seeds and cut away them stem. (I used kitchen shears (affiliate link) for that.) Then microwave them about 2-3 minutes, or just until softened enough to be able to fully open for stuffing.
4. Chop up enough of the other Poblano to make 1/2 cup chopped poblano and slice 1/2 cup of green onion. (Cut the onions and peppers a bit smaller if you don’t like biting into a piece of barely cooked chile pepper or green onion.)
5. When the sauce has reduced so the turkey mixture is fairly dry, turn off heat and stir in lime juice, chopped Poblano chile, sliced green onion, and one cup of grated Mozzarella.
6. Pick up each softened Poblano half and hold it over the pan with the meat as you pack in the filling.
7. Top each one with about a tablespoon of grated Mozzarella.
8. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until the filling is very hot and the cheese is melted and starting to brown.
9. Serve Stuffed Poblanos hot, with sour cream, hot sauce, or salsa to add at the table if desired!

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

The Stuffed Poblanos with Ground Turkey would be a wonderful low-carb meal with any of these side dishes:

• Tomato Salad with Cucumbers, Avocado, and Cilantro
• Spicy Mexican Slaw with Lime and Cilantro
• Tomato Avocado Salad with Edamame
• Jicama Carrot Radish Slaw
• Heart of Palm and Avocado Salad

Want More Low-Carb Mexican Food?

Check out Keto Mexican Food Dinners or Low-Carb Mexican Food Favorites for more amazing recipes with Mexican flavors!

Continue to Content

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Yield: 4 servings

Stuffed Poblanos with Ground Turkey

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

I love the spicy ground turkey filling in these Stuffed Poblanos with Ground Turkey, or use ground beef if you prefer.

Ingredients

Toggle ingredient group

• 1 lb. ground turkey (see notes)
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 10 oz. can Green Chile Enchilada Sauce, gluten-free if needed (see notes)
• 1 T minced garlic
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
• 2 T fresh or fresh-frozen lime juice (see notes)
• 2 large Poblano Chiles + 1/2 cup chopped poblano pepper (see notes)
• 1 1/4 cups grated Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup sliced green onion

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Spray a baking dish (that’s large enough to hold four Poblano halves) with non-stick spray.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the ground turkey and cook over medium-high heat until the turkey is cooked through, any water is evaporated, and turkey is nicely browned. As it cooks, break it apart with your turner or mash with an old fashioned potato masher (affiliate link) like I do!
3. When the turkey is browned add the green chile enchilada sauce, minced garlic, dried cumin, salt, and pepper and simmer over medium-low heat until the sauce has reduced and the meat mixture looks dry.
4. While the turkey cooks, cut the two large Poblanos in half lengthwise; then use kitchen shears (affiliate link) or a small knife to cut out the seeds and cut away the stem part.
5. Discard seeds and stems; then put the chile halves on a plate and microwave 2-3 minutes, just until they’re barely softened enough to fully open to be stuffed.
6. Chop enough of the other Poblano chile to make 1/2 cup chopped Poblano (or use it all if you’re a Poblano fan. You can chop the Poblano a bit smaller than I did if you prefer.) Slice 1/2 cup green onion.
7. When the turkey mixture has simmered enough that the bottom of the pan looks dry, turn off the heat. Stir in the lime juice, chopped Poblano and the sliced green onion. Then stir in the cup of grated Mozzarella.
8. Hold the pepper half over the frying pan while you stuff each chile with the meat mixture (some will fall down into the pan!) You may need to pile it on and press down on it to use all the meat.
9. Put filled peppers in the baking dish and top each one with about a tablespoon of additional grated Mozarella.
10. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until the filling is very hot and the cheese is melted and starting to brown.
11. Serve the Stuffed Poblanos hot, with sour cream, hot sauce, or salsa to add at the table if desired.

Notes

You need three Poblanos; the third one can be a bit smaller.

I used Casa Fiesta Green Enchilada Sauce (affiliate link) which comes in a 10 oz. that only contains ten carbs in the whole can. Look for the brand of green enchilada sauce with the least carbs, and if you only find the larger size can and want to use the full can you can do that, you’ll just have to simmer the meat mixture a little longer.

I used my fresh-frozen lime juice. Lime juice is definitely optional, or use less if you're not a big fan of lime.

This recipe was inspired by Poblanos Stuffed with Cheddar and Chicken at Fine Cooking, and it was perfected with help from Jake and Kara.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 480Total Fat 31gSaturated Fat 10gUnsaturated Fat 17gCholesterol 148mgSodium 604mgCarbohydrates 6.5gFiber 3gSugar 7gProtein 39g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
These Poblano peppers stuffed with lean ground turkey and cheese are a great dish for low-carb or Keto diets or for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. Look for green chile enchilada sauce with the lowest possible carbs if you’re making this for a low-carb diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Oven Dinners to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
The cheesy Stuffed Poblanos were first posted in 2016 and they’ve been a hit on the blog ever since. This recipe was last updated with more information in 2026.