Turkish Stuffed Peppers (Etli Biber Dolması) | Best stuffed peppers recipe | Easy stuffed bell peppers | Old fashioned stuffed peppers recipe | Farci | Low carb meal | Keto style easy dinner | Turkish cuisine | #thenavagepatch #easydinner #keto #lowcarb #eatclean #eatinghealthy | TheNavagePatch.com

Turkish Stuffed Peppers (Etli Biber Dolması)

Turkish stuffed peppers (etli biber dolması) are a favorite around here. If you’ve never tried them, here’s your chance to taste the best recipe out there!

Turkish Stuffed Peppers (Etli Biber Dolması) | Best stuffed peppers recipe | Easy stuffed bell peppers | Old fashioned stuffed peppers recipe | Farci | Low carb meal | Keto style easy dinner | Turkish cuisine | #thenavagepatch #easydinner #keto #lowcarb #eatclean #eatinghealthy | TheNavagePatch.com

The stuffed peppers of my youth were pitiable little things, wrinkled and desiccated like the mummified remains of some long-forgotten Pharaoh buried under the hot Egyptian sands. It took an iron will and a glass of milk to chew past their leathery exteriors and probe the mysteries of the arid inner chambers. Desert conditions prevailed within those oven-baked artifacts of meat and bell pepper, and a boy could choke if he didn’t haul in enough life-sustaining milk to see him through the excavation.

After those harrowing stuffed pepper adventures in my younger years, I shied away from them for decades, much as I did with pot roast. But then along came Handan and with her, a whole new take on the petrified stuffed pepper.

Turkish Stuffed Peppers (Etli Biber Dolması) | Best stuffed peppers recipe | Easy stuffed bell peppers | Old fashioned stuffed peppers recipe | Farci | Low carb meal | Keto style easy dinner | Turkish cuisine | #thenavagepatch #easydinner #keto #lowcarb #eatclean #eatinghealthy | TheNavagePatch.com

The Turkish stuffed peppers she made for me were juicy and salty and bursting with so many flavors I could hardly name them all! They were a revelation, and I vowed to crack their code and make them over and over and over again.

Turkish Stuffed Peppers (Etli Biber Dolması) | Best stuffed peppers recipe | Easy stuffed bell peppers | Old fashioned stuffed peppers recipe | Farci | Low carb meal | Keto style easy dinner | Turkish cuisine | #thenavagepatch #easydinner #keto #lowcarb #eatclean #eatinghealthy | TheNavagePatch.com

Over the past four years, I have developed my own recipe for Turkish stuffed peppers, using all the same ingredients that Turks would use in their cuisine, but I’ve apparently combined them in a way that Handan says most Turks wouldn’t. But she also agrees, they are the best stuffed peppers she’s ever had in her long Turkish life. For this post, I used bell peppers, but I’ve also included a pic from last year (pictured above) for which I used cubanelle and banana peppers from my garden. This is one of my favorite uses of my peppers each summer.

Turkish Stuffed Peppers (Etli Biber Dolması) | Best stuffed peppers recipe | Easy stuffed bell peppers | Old fashioned stuffed peppers recipe | Farci | Low carb meal | Keto style easy dinner | Turkish cuisine | #thenavagepatch #easydinner #keto #lowcarb #eatclean #eatinghealthy | TheNavagePatch.com

These stuffed peppers are healthy and low carb. Though there is rice in this recipe, I use a lot less than the traditional recipe calls for. They’ll work on a paleo or keto diet.

Turkish Stuffed Peppers (Etli Biber Dolması) | Best stuffed peppers recipe | Easy stuffed bell peppers | Old fashioned stuffed peppers recipe | Farci | Low carb meal | Keto style easy dinner | Turkish cuisine | #thenavagepatch #easydinner #keto #lowcarb #eatclean #eatinghealthy | TheNavagePatch.com

Okay, enough of my blabbing. Let’s make some Turkish stuffed peppers! Oh, by the way, in Turkish it’s written etli biber dolması (pronounced et-lee bee-BARE dole-MA-suh).

Turkish Stuffed Peppers (Etli Biber Dolması)

Turkish Stuffed Peppers (Etli Biber Dolması) | Best stuffed peppers recipe | Easy stuffed bell peppers | Old fashioned stuffed peppers recipe | Farci | Low carb meal | Keto style easy dinner | Turkish cuisine | #thenavagepatch #easydinner #keto #lowcarb #eatclean #eatinghealthy | TheNavagePatch.com

Turkish Stuffed Peppers (Etli Biber Dolması)

Turkish stuffed peppers (etli biber dolması) are a favorite around here. If you've never tried them, here's your chance to taste the best recipe out there!
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Turkish
Servings 6

Ingredients
 

  • 2 pounds ground beef - 80% lean
  • 1 pound tomatoes - diced
  • 1 sweet onion - finely diced
  • 1 bunch parsley - chopped
  • 1 bunch dill - chopped
  • 8 ounces feta cheese - crumbled
  • 1/2 cup rice
  • 4 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon dried mint
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon pul biber (Turkish hot pepper) - optional
  • 1 teaspoon isot biber (Turkish hot pepper) - optional
  • 12 bell peppers (can sub almost any style pepper) - tops removed, seeded and ribs removed
  • 1 quart beef broth
  • plain yogurt - for serving

Instructions
 

  • In large mixing bowl, combine first 12 ingredients and mix thoroughly with hands.
  • Stuff mixture into peppers and place into a large, wide-bottomed pot.
  • Add broth until the peppers are about half covered (may only take 2 cups).
  • Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes. 
  • Can be eaten right away or left to cool and then reheated (as the Turks would do it).
  • Serve with some of the flavored broth and a dollop of plain yogurt.
Tried our recipe?We love seeing our recipes being shared on Instagram. Don’t forget to mention @TheNavagePatch and tag #TheNavageEats!
Turkish Stuffed Peppers (Etli Biber Dolması) | Best stuffed peppers recipe | Easy stuffed bell peppers | Old fashioned stuffed peppers recipe | Farci | Low carb meal | Keto style easy dinner | Turkish cuisine | #thenavagepatch #easydinner #keto #lowcarb #eatclean #eatinghealthy | TheNavagePatch.com
Turkish Stuffed Peppers (Etli Biber Dolması) | Best stuffed peppers recipe | Easy stuffed bell peppers | Old fashioned stuffed peppers recipe | Farci | Low carb meal | Keto style easy dinner | Turkish cuisine | #thenavagepatch #easydinner #keto #lowcarb #eatclean #eatinghealthy | TheNavagePatch.com

Afiyet Olsun! 




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20 Comments

  1. Thanks a lot for this recipe – the rice you mix with the meat is raw or cooked? I guess raw, as later you simmer it all in broth, but just wanted to make sure. And one more question – for the delicious stuffed Turkish eggplant, is the procedure similar?
    Happy 4th of July!

    1. Hi Maigwen, the rice you add is raw – i will update the recipe. Thanks for reminding me about Turkish eggplant. I’ll have a recipe for that once my eggplants ripen in the garden!

      1. Looking forward to the eggplants recipe – my eggplants are still tiny but I can see some buds, so I hope I’ll see some of my own veggies to stuff Turkish-style 🙂

  2. Hi Greg. How do you think this recipe would work if I substituted ground turkey for the ground beef…. too dry, maybe??Thanks for all the wonders you and your lovely wife, Hansen share. You make this world a better place.❤️

    1. Hi Janise, I do think it would be a little dry unless you added some beef fat in there with it, but you certainly could give it a try. You are so very welcome, and thank you for your beautiful comment! You put a smile on both of our faces! 🙂

  3. Greg you crack me up. I am the mother of 3 sons all born within 5 years! Yes I’m crazy & have a wish to go to an asylum. My boys would get along very well with you & your wise ass attitude. I love your story about reaching out of your comfort zone & finding true love. Handan is such a smart amazing woman. How is she adjusting to America & our different culture? Along with a tricky, jokster husband?
    Thank you for the laughs & insite into your lives.

    1. Thanks, Marcia, that’s my goal! Handan is adjusting well – she’s been living abroad in various countries since her 20s, so it’s just another stop on the tour for her, really, lol! Send your boys over anytime. I’ll teach them the ways of the wise ass 😀

  4. I couldn’t wait to try these – made them during a family vacation this past weekend and WOW! They were as delicious as they were beautiful on a plate! My son-in-love ‘doctored’ the yogurt with a wee bit of mint, lemon, and garlic, though… The flavor was amazing (used aleppo pepper to season), and subbed bread crumbs because I forgot the rice. We WILL make these again – and soon!!!!

  5. My boyfriend is Turkish, living in the US and when I suggested stuffed bell peppers for dinner his eyes lit up as he asked me if I could do them Turkish style. I’m a pretty brave and competent cook and didn’t hesitate to start searching for a recipe. I stumbled upon this one. He said that I could safely substitute 1 tsp cayenne pepper for the Turkish spices listed. I did and it worked great. He hasn’t had this since he was ten years old and he was thrilled to death. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe that allowed me to give him this nostalgia. A definite new favorite.

    1. Oh, wow, what a great compliment! I’m thrilled to have my recipe validated by a real Turk (besides my wife and son)! Thank you so much, Ashley! 🙂

    2. I have some cooking now because I had way too many peppers and didn’t want to do the same old PA Dutch stuffed peppers that I usually do. I added a half teaspoon pepper flakes for the hot peppers. I’ll go with cayenne next time! Thanks for that!

  6. 5 stars
    Dear Handan and Greg,
    I came across this recipe via Internet search, and then read some of your back story (which was very unexpected and cool—congratulations!). I’m an Englishman now living in Greece, so the quality of produce is much better than I’m used to; the only problem is that I tend to prefer Lebanese and Turkish cuisine, so I’m always on the lookout.
    This recipe was effing fantastic! I made it with bell peppers, a long thin squiggly pepper and two large tomatoes. There should have been more than enough for two, but I ate the lot 😉
    So thanks, and I’ll try some more soon
    Best wishes
    Jolyon
    PS. Greg, your account of the (wannabe) Mercs and Engineers going to Afghan was very good and very funny.

    1. Hi Jolyon, I’m so happy to read this – especially how you’re living in Greece but prefer Turkish food! My wife, obviously, agrees with you too. Have a look at my other recipes – I love Turkish cuisine, so I’ve posted a few others. Were you in the military? Have you been on that flight from Dubai to Kabul?

  7. 5 stars
    We made these peppers for dinner tonight, 4 Turks + 2 Americans. We were delighted by not only how easy they were to prepare and cook but also how they bursted with flavor! We halved the recipe and used ground turkey, chicken broth, 1 can of drained finely diced Italian tomatoes (fresh are not in season), and 1 tbsp dried dill instead of fresh. Otherwise we used the spices and measurements as written. Çok sağ ol!

  8. I can have stuffed peppers in the heat of summer now. They were always a fall thing because they required an oven to bake forever. I never even considered putting them in a pot and cooking in broth. Thank you!!! This looks delish.