Stuffed with ground chicken and rice, these easy Taco Stuffed Peppers are a delicious and easy dinner. Top them with shredded cheese and they are a satisfying dinner any night of the week.
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What's in These Taco Stuffed Peppers?
Ground chicken- for this recipe I chose to use ground chicken. I like the taste of chicken better and I don't think it gets as fatty as a ground beef would. You could substitute ground turkey or a lean ground beef here if you would like.
Bell Peppers- Bell Peppers are low in calories and super nutrient dense! They are a great way to add nutrition to your diet without added fat. To make these peppers look better and to please my children who love to eat the most colorful things, I chose yellow, red, and orange peppers. If you only had red peppers or could only find yellow peppers that would work too. Try to stay away from green peppers though. They tend to not be as sweet as the other peppers that are more colorful.
Salsa- Use your favorite salsa here. I used a thick and chunky variety, but if you liked it more spicy, go with a spicier version! The salsa is an easy way to get extra flavor with not so many ingredients.
Corn- Use whatever type of corn you have on hand. I had canned corn (not creamed corn, just corn kernels in a can) for this recipe. Frozen corn would work perfectly here. If you were to use frozen corn, cook it a little longer when you add it into the chicken mixture. You could even use fresh corn if you had it in the middle of summer. Cut it off the cob and add it right to the pan with the chicken mixture.
How to Make This Recipe
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash the peppers and cut them in half, lengthwise. Discard the seeds that are inside the peppers. Spray a 9x13inch baking dish with cooking spray and place the peppers cut side up into the baking dish. Bake them for 20 minutes.
Cook the rice according to the package instructions. Set that aside.
While the peppers bake, chop the onions and garlic and add them to a sauté pan with olive oil. Cook them for 5-10 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the ground chicken and cook on medium high heat until the ground chicken is completely cooked through. It should take about 12 minutes.
Once the chicken is completely cooked through, add the rice, corn, salsa, and spices. Mix everything together until it is combined. Allow that to cook for 2-3 minutes and set it aside.
Take the peppers out of the oven and stuff them with the ground chicken taco mixture. Fill each of the peppers and top with cheese. Bake them in the oven for another 20 minutes until the peppers are al dente and the cheese is completely melted. Top with avocado and cilantro, if you would like, and serve immediately.
Questions about this Recipe
Sure! Quinoa would be a great replacement for the rice here. If you did not want to use white rice, brown rice would be great and have added nutrition. A great idea for the rice if you did not want to cook it is to keep Chinese food white rice in the freezer and use if for things like this recipe. Chinese food rice freezes perfectly and is a great thing to add to dishes like this.
Yes! If you did not want to use meat at all, we can still make this recipe work! You can add beans, mushrooms, or lentils instead of the ground chicken. Use your favorite non dairy cheese with those options and you have a perfect vegan dinner as well!
It does freeze, but the peppers do tend to get a little limp and soggy. When you freeze these peppers and then defrost them, the water content spills out and tends to make everything a little more soggy. They still taste amazing, but the texture will be a little different. If you want to make them ahead of time, just keep them in the refrigerator for a day or two and bake them off when you are ready to eat them.
Other Recipes to try!
Did you give these Taco Stuffed Peppers a try? I’d love to hear from you! Give me a shout on Instagram or Facebook and let me know (@Lynnswayoflife) !
- Roasted Vegetable Panzanella
- Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
- Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars
- Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini
Taco Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 Bell Peppers Orange, Yellow, or Red
- 1 Small Onion Diced
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Garlic Cloves Minced
- 1 Cup White Rice
- 1 Can Corn Drained
- ½ Cup Salsa Your Favorite Variety
- 1 LB Ground Chicken Ground Turkey is great too
- 1 Tbsp Chili Powder
- 2 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1 Cup Shredded Cheese
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to package instructions. Set that aside.
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- Wash the peppers and cut them in half, removing the stems and the seeds. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray and place the peppers in the baking dish cut side up.
- Place the peppers in the oven for 20 minutes.
- While the peppers bake, place the olive oil, onion, and garlic in a pan. Cook them together until the onions are translucent, about 5-8 minutes.
- Add the ground chicken to the sauté pan and cook until the chicken is completely cooked, about 12 minutes.
- Once the chicken is cooked, add the rice, corn, salsa, and spices. Mix everything together and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- When the peppers are done, carefully take them out of the oven and place them on a hot plate. Carefully stuff the peppers with the ground chicken mixture. Top each pepper with the shredded cheese and bake for 20 minutes.
- Serve immediately. Top with more cheese, avocado, sour cream, or cilantro if you would like. Enjoy!
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