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This Easy Chicken Stuffed Peppers Recipe combines juicy chicken, fresh bell peppers, rice and cheese. Stuffed peppers with chicken are flavorful, healthy and so delicious!
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Pin It NowCHICKEN STUFFED BELL PEPPERS ARE EASY AND DELICIOUS!
Raise your hand if you too are a Costco fan. I love a good trip to Costco, and every time I go, I find myself buying their stuffed peppers — they are a staple. Like, I can’t get enough (BTW, what are your Costco favorites?).
The last time I was there, I forgot the stuffed peppers but left with an infamous Costco rotisserie chicken and a bag of bell peppers that were going to be used for something else, and that’s how this recipe came to be.
Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers are easy to make, (I use bell pepper halves, cooked chicken, and cooked rice to speed the process along!) versatile, and bake in the oven in just 25 minutes. Vibrant bell peppers combined with the flavorful chicken filling is simply perfection.
Let’s head to the kitchen and make these!
❤️ Ashley
WELCOME TO THE KITCHEN, LET’S COOK CHICKEN STUFFED PEPPERS
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to make stuffed peppers with chicken. The full instructions including ingredient amounts are below in the printable recipe card.
Chicken Stuffed Pepper Ingredients:
Gather your ingredients. In addition to bell peppers, cooked chicken, rice, marinara sauce, and cheese, you also need onion (I forgot to include it in the photo!), along with the following seasonings:
- salt
- black pepper
- chili powder
- onion powder
- Italian seasoning
Prepare bell peppers to be stuffed:
Choose peppers that are ripe and firm. Any colors are fine. I like using red, yellow and orange. Green peppers are also an option. I prefer to cut them in half lengthwise instead of cutting the top off of a whole pepper because the halves cook faster.
If you like a more tender stuffed pepper, you will pre-cook the peppers. To do that, cook them in the microwave for about 3 minutes, or parboil them for 3-5 minutes.
Parboiling peppers: bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pepper halves and boil for 3-5 minutes. Remove the peppers from the boiling water and dry well.
Make Chicken Stuffed Pepper Filling
The filling for these chicken stuffed peppers comes together so quickly and is SO good! The filling is the perfect way to use leftover cooked chicken and/or leftover cooked rice. You can also make chicken in the slow cooker or the Instant Pot.
Some stuffed pepper recipes call for uncooked rice. My recipe uses cooked rice so that we can reduce the amount of time they need to bake in the oven. I like to buy rice in the frozen section at Trader Joe’s that cook in just a few minutes in the microwave.
Stuff the Bell Peppers
Fill up the peppers, then top with cheese. I mean…. c’mon, they look delicious, even before they are baked!
Bake
Cover with foil, then bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for another 10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and starts to lightly brown.
Let’s eat! What goes with stuffed peppers?
I love to make these stuffed peppers to have for dinner one evening, and then I enjoy the leftovers all week long for lunch.
Stuffed peppers are a well-balanced, pretty healthy dinner idea. Here are some ideas of what you can serve with stuffed peppers:
- A garden salad with homemade ranch or lemon vinaigrette dressing.
- Grilled Asparagus
- Roasted Garlic Parmesan Broccoli
These Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers are SO delicious, and it’s a pretty healthy meal I feel good about eating and making for my family. If you try this recipe, please let me know what you think. I love to hear from you!
Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 large bell peppers
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup onions – chopped
- 2 cups cooked chicken, diced
- 1 ½ cups cooked white rice or brown rice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 3 cups marinara sauce (24 ounces), divided
- 2 cups shredded cheese (mozzarella and cheddar), divided.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉
- Prepare peppers: wash peppers, then cut them in half lengthwise from the top down. Remove the stem if you wish. Remove seeds and membranes.
- Optional: If you like your stuffed peppers more tender, pre-cook the peppers. Microwave peppers for 3 minutes or parboil for 3-5 minutes.
- Make the stuffed pepper filling: in a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until the onions are tender and translucent.
- To the pan, add in cooked chicken, cooked rice, 2 cups marinara sauce, and season with salt, black pepper, chili powder, onion powder and Italian seasoning.
- Stir in ½ cup of shredded cheese and reserve the remaining cheese for topping the peppers. Simmer the stuffed pepper mixture for 5 minutes.
- Pour 1 cup of marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 inch casserole dish.
- Arrange the pepper halves in a single layer in the bottom of the casserole dish. Season the insides of the peppers with salt and black pepper.
- Stuff the peppers – divide the meat mixture evenly among the 8 pepper halves.
- Top with remaining cheese, then cover the casserole dish with foil.
- Bake: bake covered for 15 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.
Stuffed Pepper Variations:
- Tex-Mex Style: to the meat mixture, add in black beans, corn and taco seasoning! Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.
- Low-carb/keto: use cauliflower rice in place of white rice or brown rice for a low-carb variation
Frequently Asked Questions for Stuffed Peppers
You do not need to cook bell peppers before stuffing them, but it is a good option if you like a softer stuffed pepper.
This recipe calls for bell pepper halves which cook faster. They will bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes (15 of those minutes they should be covered with foil).
I like to use a combination of cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. It is always best to shred your own cheese if time allows, it melts better and tastes better.
Yes. Ground turkey, ground beef or ground chicken are all great options in place of cooked diced chicken. Use about 1.5 pounds of ground meat and cook it with the onions, making sure to drain any excess grease before adding the additional ingredients to make the meat mixture.
