Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Stuffed poblano peppers with chicken, rice, enchilada sauce, and cheese. This is an easy stuffed pepper recipe with a Southwest twist.
Stuffed peppers are tricky. Anytime you cook something “stuffed,” you risk the vessel that holds the stuffing – in this case, peppers – ending up either overcooked or undercooked.
My research mostly involved reading reader comments on the plethora of stuffed pepper recipes on the interwebs, with under and overcooked peppers being the main complaints. The same goes for the stuffing. It’s a delicate balance I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about, which I tend to do. I’ve been thinking about stuffed poblano peppers for at least six months, so this recipe has been in the works for a while now.
Instead of ground beef stuffed bell peppers, I’m sharing a little twist: mild poblano peppers for bell peppers, shredded cooked chicken for beef, and enchilada sauce instead of the ketchup-based sauce I see in many traditional stuffed pepper recipes. There’s some brown rice to fill them out, and the flavors have a nice southwest vibe.
How to Make the Recipe
The trick for stuffed peppers is pre-cooking them so you don’t have to bake them until they’re tender and the stuffing mixture is overcooked. When it’s all said and done, the finished peppers are softened but with a crisp bite. If you want extra soft peppers, I recommend adding three to four more minutes when pre-cooking them.
I hope you give this recipe a try!
Poblano pepper Recipes
Poblano Chicken Enchiladas | Roasted Poblano Chicken Chili | Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken
Stuffed Poblano Peppers
These southwest-style stuffed poblano peppers are easy to make thanks to shortcuts like rotisserie chicken and quick-cooking rice.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 stuffed peppers 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mexican-American
Ingredients
- 4 large poblano peppers, sliced in half lengthwise with stems, seeds, and ribs removed (see note)
- 1 cup minute brown rice (see note)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, divided
- 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 11/2 cups store-bought or homemade enchilada sauce
- 8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Place the peppers in a large microwave-safe bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and pop a few holes in the top to allow steam to escape. Microwave the peppers for 5 minutes. Keep them covered in the bowl while you make the filling. (see note)
- Bring the stock, lime juice, salt and pepper to a boil in a small saucepan. Once boiling add the rice, cover the pan and remove it from the heat. Let the rice stand until the liquid is almost completely absorbed, about 5 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and 1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro to the rice and stir to combine.
- Coat the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with 1/2 of the enchilada sauce. Fill each pepper with some filling and place it in the pan. Spoon the rest of the enchilada sauce over the peppers and top with the shredded cheese.
- Cover the baking dish with foil. Bake the peppers for 20 minutes. Uncover the dish and bake for another 10 minutes.
Notes
Choose big poblano peppers wide enough to hold the stuffing. If you like extra soft peppers, I recommend cooking them in the microwave for three to four minutes longer. If you like bell peppers better, you can use them instead of poblanos.
These make great leftovers. Store the stuffed peppers in an airtight container and they will keep in the fridge for several days.
You can use any kind of rice, but I like minute rice for this recipe because it significantly reduces the cooking time.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 stuffed pepper
- Calories: 296
- Sugar: 3.3g
- Sodium: 637.9mg
- Fat: 3.8g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 25.5g
- Fiber: 2.5g
- Protein: 19.3g
- Cholesterol: 52.2mg
The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
More Ways to Use Rotisserie Chicken
Stuffed poblano peppers are just one way I use rotisserie chicken for easy dinners. Here are a few more recipe ideas you might like, too!
Looking forward to trying this recipe! For 296 calories is that 1/2 pepper or both halves for one total pepper? Please advise. Thanks.
Sonja
It’s for a 1/2 pepper – hope that helps!