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These chicken stuffed peppers are a fun and easy way to change up your dinner routine! Bell peppers get stuffed with a flavorful mixture of chicken, rice, corn, cheese, and enchilada sauce, then baked until tender. Serve these chicken stuffed peppers with a dollop of sour cream or guacamole for extra deliciousness!
Bell peppers are ideal with zesty Mexican flavors and taste great with ground chicken. The rice and corn help to bulk up the filling, so these stuffed peppers are nice and hearty. Serve them with a tossed green salad and no-knead Dutch oven bread.
For more versions of stuffed deliciousness, check out our crab stuffed shrimp and our bacon wrapped stuffed chicken. We also have stuffed poblanos and stuffed grape leaves.
Here is Why This Stuffed Pepper Recipe Works
Flavorful Filling: Ground chicken and Mexican spices make these stuffed peppers taste like miniature Mexican meatloaves.
Sweet and Spicy Glaze: A touch of heat and sweetness gives these peppers the perfect finishing touch.
Rice as a Binder: Rice helps hold the filling together and keeps the stuffing tender and moist.
Make-Ahead Friendly: Prep and stuff the peppers up to 2 days in advance, then refrigerate until ready to cook. Perfect for busy weeknights.
Ingredient Highlights
Cooked rice. You can use white rice, brown rice, or wild rice. Make sure you cook it before adding it to the stuffing mixture. You can also replace the rice with cooked farro, such as einkorn wheat berries.
Onion, jalapeño pepper, garlic. The stuffing will not be too spicy if you remove the seeds and membrane from the jalapeño pepper.
Enchilada sauce. You can use storebought sauce or make your own enchilada sauce.
How to Make Chicken Stuffed Peppers
Here is a brief overview to get an idea of what to expect with the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for all the details.
Slice the tops off the bell peppers and remove the membranes and seeds from the center.
Combine the ground chicken with all the filling ingredients (just like making a meatloaf).
Stand the bell peppers upright in a baking dish and heap the chicken filling mixture inside the peppers.
Add a splash of water to the baking dish, cover with foil, and bake.
Make the glaze and spoon over the top of the chicken stuffed peppers, then bake for a few more minutes.
Finish by melting cheese on top. Garnish with cilantro, parsley, or green onions.
Tips for Success
- Don’t overmix the ground chicken filling. It is like making a meatloaf; over-mixing the raw meat will make the chicken stuffing dense and tough.
- Heap the ground chicken filling on the bell peppers in a bit of a mound. The filling will shrink down slightly as it cooks.
- Try to select peppers that are all the same size so they cook evenly.
- If you want smaller portions, cut the bell peppers in half and bake the pepper halves on their sides. Bake them until they reach an internal temperature of 160-165°F.
- You can substitute Panko bread crumbs, crushed crackers, or cooked wheat berries for the cooked rice.
- A mix of green and red peppers (or another color) will make the dish look prettier, but any color will work.
Recipe Variations
- Add black beans or pinto beans to the mixture.
- Substitute the chicken with any ground meat. You can use ground beef, turkey, or lamb.
- Substitute the Mexican spices and enchilada sauce for Italian seasoning and Marinara sauce.
Mexican spices make these ground chicken stuffed peppers taste like miniature Mexican meatloaves. They are hearty and filling, and the sweet and spicy glaze gives them a delicious finishing touch. These chicken stuffed bell peppers are a meal the whole family will love.
For more chicken dinners, try my chicken and dumpling casserole or my green chile enchiladas.
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Chicken Stuffed Peppers
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Ingredients
For the Peppers
- 4 bell peppers, any color
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1½ cups grated cheddar cheese, reserve 1/2 cup
- 10 ounces frozen corn kernels, thawed
- 1 cup cooked rice
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 1 jalapeño pepper, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or grated
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- ¾ cup enchilada sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup water, added to the baking dish
For the Glaze:
- ¼ cup enchilada sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- fresh ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon Tabasco hot sauce, optional
Instructions
For the Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers:
- Preheat the oven to 375° and coat an ovenproof dish with cooking spray
- Slice 1/2 inch from the tops of the peppers and remove the stems from the tops. Remove the membrane and seeds from the inside of the peppers. (See notes)
- If necessary, cut away a very thin slice of pepper from the bottoms so the peppers can stand upright. Or, place standard canning jar rings in the bottom of the baking dish to keep the peppers upright.
- Use a toothpick to prick several holes in the bottom of each pepper to allow juices to drain out.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, 1 cup of the cheese, and the remaining ingredients, except the garnish of cilantro and lime wedges. Mix until well combined, being careful not to over-mix. Fill each pepper but do not pack the peppers too firmly. Heap the filling on top as it will shrink as it cooks.
- Set the stuffed bell peppers upright in the dish and add 1/2 cup of water to the bottom of the dish. If the peppers tip over, you can place them in Mason jar lid rings.
- Spray a sheet of aluminum foil large enough to cover the dish with cooking spray and place it sprayed side down to cover the dish.
- Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes.
For the Glaze:
- Whisk together the enchilada sauce, tomato paste, honey, salt, pepper , and hot sauce, if using in a small dish.
- After the stuffed peppers have baked for 60 minutes, transfer them from the oven and remove the foil cover. Spoon the glaze over the top of each stuffed pepper and bake, uncovered, for an additional 10-15 minutes.
- Add 1-2 tablespoons of the reserved cheese to each pepper and bake until the cheese melts.
- Transfer from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
- Choose bell peppers of a mix of colors or of a single color.
- You can get 5 to 6 stuffed peppers from this recipe if you have small bell peppers.
- Try to select peppers that are equal in size, so they all cook equally.
- Use scissors to cut the inside membranes, then turn the pepper upside down and shake the seeds and membrane out.
- The bell peppers can also be cut in half, stuffed, and baked for smaller portions. The baking time will vary depending on the size of the peppers and whether they are cut with the tops off or cut into halves. We suggest using a meat thermometer for perfect results and cooking them to a temperature of 160-165°F.
- Panko breadcrumbs can be substituted for cooked rice.
- Mozzarella, Pepper Jack, Monterey Jack, or Provolone are other cheese choices that work well.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
This is such a brilliant spin on stuffed bell peppers. Will have to try it this way as they look and sound beyond amazing !
Thank you, Florentina….I hope you enjoy them as much as we did 🙂
I have been wanting to make stuffed peppers lately- these look amazing!
Hi, Melanie….I think you will like these! 🙂
I like stuffed peppers and I make it often at my home. Such a delicious dinner idea!