Learn how to make delicious stuffed peppers! The stuffing is made with ground chicken, rice, melty Italian cheese, and a medley of herbs and spices to create incredible flavor. I absolutely love this recipe. It always makes for a great weeknight meal and provides delicious leftovers!
Stuffed peppers were one of my childhood favorites that my mom would make! It was comforting, and typically made when the weather got crisp and chillier. This recipe is inspired by my mom’s version I had growing up, but made with my own spin on it.
Typically, stuffed peppers can be really simple, and sometimes the flavor is too simple as well. I wanted to build as much flavor as possible into the filling by layering it with spices, herbs, and flavorful cheeses. It’s not complicated, but the flavor is absolutely delicious! I’ve yet to have a better stuffed pepper than these.
I also did a pre-roast on the peppers to ensure they’re beautifully roasted and sweet in flavor, as I am not a fan of undercooked peppers. I’ve tested this recipe many times to ensure the results are consistently delicious, and so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Ingredients
For the full list of ingredients and measurements, please see the recipe card below.
Bell peppers. I use a variety of colors, but typically enjoy red, yellow, and orange bell peppers the most.
The “stuffing”. You’ll need a yellow onion, garlic cloves, ground chicken, and cooked rice. If you prefer to use an alternative protein, you can substitute the ground chicken with lean ground beef or ground turkey.
Seasonings. To make the “stuffing” flavorful, you’ll need dried garlic and onion (don’t worry, it will not be too onion-y or garlicy). As well as one of the most important spices, dried fennel seeds! This will add a beautiful and essential flavor to the filling. Alongside, you’ll need fresh rosemary, basil, and parsley! Dried herbs can be substituted, but fresh herbs are recommended for the best flavor.
Cheese: To flavor the filling, I use freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. This will add a beautiful creamy consistency to the rice and also add a salty flavor. For the melty cheese on top, you’ll need slices of provolone.
Sauce: a quality marinara is needed to add to the filling and also to top the peppers with while they roast in the oven, once they’re stuffed.
How to Make it
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1
Halve the peppers and season. In a large roasting pan, place the halved and cleaned peppers in. Brush or spray with 1-2 Tablespoons of oil, and sprinkle with a healthy pinch of salt. Cover with foil and roast at 400F for 30 minutes.
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2
Roasted peppers. Once the peppers are roasted, carefully remove the foil, let them cool and discard any water from the inside that can release while roasting.
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3
Sauté the onions. In a large skillet or pan, heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the diced onions with a pinch of salt until soft (about 3 minutes).
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4
Cook the ground chicken. Then add the ground chicken along with a generous pinch of salt to season the chicken. Cook the chicken with the onions and until the meat is no longer pink. Then add the pressed garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute.
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5
Add the seasonings. Then add the rosemary, basil, parsley, garlic and onion powder, dried fennel seeds, cooked rice, marinara, the chicken stock, and Parmigiano Reggiano.
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6
Cook for several minutes. Let everything cook together for several minutes until the cheese has melted nicely and the consistency is a little creamier.
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7
Stuff the peppers. Fill each pepper with the rice and chicken mixture, patting it down so it packs into the pepper nicely.
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8
Spread with sauce, then bake, then add the cheese. Spread the tops of the stuffed peppers with 1 tablespoon of sauce per pepper. Then bake uncovered at 400F for 30 minutes. Remove the peppers, top with slices of provolone and bake another 10 minutes uncovered. Then remove the peppers and let them cool for several minutes before serving!
Tips for Success
Fresh herbs are best. I always like to stress that using fresh herbs will give a more pungent and bright flavor to any recipe they’re added to, so they are recommended! However, I know in different seasons, they can be challenging to find fresh herbs. Dried herbs can be replaced, but you will need to use less than you would for fresh herbs.
Other proteins you can use. If you prefer to substitute ground chicken for another protein, you can also use lean ground beef or ground turkey.
Stuffed Peppers
Video Tutorial
Ingredients
- 6 bell peppers (you can use red, yellow, green, and orange), halved and seeds/core removed
- 3 Tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil, divided
- 1 medium to large yellow onion, diced
- 1 lb ground chicken, Can also subsitute with lean ground beef or turkey
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried fennel
- 1/2 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 3 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 3/4 cup marinara, divided
- 2/3 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 8 oz cooked rice, brown or white rice works
- kosher salt & pepper, to taste
- 6 provolone slices, halved to make 12
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Pre-roast the peppers: Place the halved and cleaned peppers in a large roasting pan. Brush or spray the peppers with 1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil or avocado oil, then sprinkle the inside of the peppers with a pinch of salt. Cover with foil and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Make the filling: In a large saucepan or skillet, cook the diced onion with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt until soft (about 3-4 minutes). Then add the ground chicken, season with a generous pinch of salt, and cook until no longer pink. Use a wooden spoon to break the meat into small pieces. Then add the minced or pressed garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute with the chicken.
- Add the seasonings: Add the garlic powder, onion powder, fennel seeds, and fresh rosemary, basil, and parsley. Stir in 1 cup of marinara sauce, the cooked rice, and chicken stock until everything is combined. Add a pinch of salt and a generous pinch of black pepper, then on a low heat, stir in the shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Cook everything for about 3 minutes, or until the rice mixture has a creamier consistency.
- Stuff the peppers: When the peppers are done pre-roasting, remove them from the oven. Carefully remove the foil (the steam from the peppers roasting can be really hot). Discard any water or moisture that accumulates in the center of the peppers – this can occur during the roasting process. Transfer the roasted peppers to a new baking dish (I used a 9×13 lasagna dish). Scoop the rice and chicken filling into each pepper until just filled. I like to use the back of a spoon to press it down so it's slightly packed into the pepper. Any leftover filling can be used to top them off. Note: I prefer to use a muffin scoop/cookie scoop for filling the peppers – it's great for portioning out the stuffing.
- Top with sauce: Spoon and spread 1 Tablespoon of marinara over the top of each stuffed pepper.
- Bake: Then bake the stuffed peppers uncovered for 30 minutes at 400F. Remove from the oven and top with slices of provolone. Then bake for an additional 10 minutes until the cheese is melted. Let the peppers cool for several minutes before serving!
I made them with beef instead of chicken they were delicious and I put mozzarella instead of provolone because that’s all I had. Your recipe is perfect. Everyone love them.
I really enjoyed this post! The recipe turns stuffed peppers into such a cozy and flavorful meal. The roasting step and the blend of herbs make everything taste so fresh, almost like the earthy aroma you get from a lawn of Monarch Sod after rain. It adds a warm, homey vibe to the whole dish. Thanks for sharing this delicious inspiration!
NEW VIEWER HERE. I’ve SUBSCRIBED. I actually watched your meatball recipe show first. I too use Ricotta cheese in them. I must say, I’m embarrassed that it never occurred to me to use a really big shallow pot to simmer my meatballs in the sauce. How dumb am I? And I’m 100% Italian. Just goes to show you that you can do something because that’s how your mom did it and that’s how your grandmother did it but you’re right, it is a challenge to rotate the meatballs in the traditional tall pot. Which is why I always screamed at people NOT to touch my meatballs why there were simmering because I didn’t want them to break my meatballs. So I thank you very much. It also never occurred to me to make CHICKEN stuffed peppers or to roast the empty peppers first. Much easier to deal with than the boiling nonsense. I liked your stuffed peppers approach very much. I will make them soon. Anyway, looking forward to more videos. I’m going to sniff around and see if you have an eggplant parm recipe. I like MY approach to eggplant very much. I think most people make eggplant parm that’s a messy glop! My eggplant parm is much more firm than the traditional eggplant perm. Firm but moist. I also put mushrooms (pre-sauteed) and uncooked spinach as well. And I’ve learned NOT to go heavy on the red sauce. You don’t need much actually. I’ve also recently started baking my breaded egg plant slices instead of frying. SO there you go. Enjoying discovering you. AND, a pet peeve of mine is I won’t watch videos if the host/hostess has a poor speaking voice. Life’s too short to listen to annoying voices. YOU, I’m happy to say, have a lovely speaking voice. Having DREW (unsure if I spelled that right) come on at the end of the video and taste the food I ALWAYS think is a wise and fun choice. AND I would encourage the taster to really give an honest appraisal. There’s nothing wrong in saying you enjoy something but say, for the taster, too much basil or would prefer more garlic. That kind of thing. I think viewers can relate that it’s ok to slightly modify recipes proportions to suit the tastes of the intended, uh, EATERS! LOL.
This recipe is being printed and saved as I type! The stuffed peppers were delicious. Plenty of flavor with all the seasonings.
I’m so glad to hear it, Eileen! And also happy to hear they had plenty of flavor. 🙂 Appreciate you sharing!