Chef notes
Spicy stuffed peppers are a staple meal in my house. They’re easy and quick to make, and have the perfect amount of flavor and spice. Having easy meals like this in your arsenal is an essential part of avoiding takeout food and cooking at home more. These stuffed peppers are also packed with protein and veggies – two things everyone needs to start their year off right! These can last a couple of days in the fridge, and can even be made ahead of time and frozen as an easy meal prep idea!
Get Ingredients: If you don’t have everything you need on hand, you can easily purchase all of the ingredients (just click the orange button below that says ‘Get Ingredients’). You can pick and choose exactly what ingredients you need based on what’s in your pantry and they’ll be on your doorstep before you know it.
Technique Tips: Prep all of your ingredients ahead of time! This will make putting the peppers together much faster. I use frozen jasmine rice to make this recipe even easier to make. If freezing stuffed peppers for future meals, reduce the baking time by 5 to 10 minutes.
Swap Option: You can swap in several different kinds of meat in this recipe. A lean ground beef, beef sausage, and lean ground turkey (93%) are all great options.
Ingredients
- 3 large bell peppers, halved and seeds removed
- avocado oil spray
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1/2 pound smoked turkey sausage
- 1 large green bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 1 pound chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground fennel
- 3 cups frozen jasmine rice
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 5 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup shredded Mexican-blend cheese
- sea salt, to taste
- ground black pepper, to taste
- chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Preparation
1.Heat the oven to 400 F.
2.Spray the insides of the bell pepper halves with avocado oil, then place them face down on a baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes.
3.Set a large nonstick skillet on medium high heat. Once hot, add avocado oil and sausage. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the edges of the turkey are seared, then add the diced bell pepper, yellow onion and celery and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the peppers have softened and the onions are slightly brown and translucent.
4.Make a hole in the center of the ingredients, and add the chicken breast to the center. Let the chicken cook without stirring or agitating so that it sears, about 2 minutes, then begin tossing everything together in the skillet.
5.Add the chili powder, Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, and and frozen rice. Stir to combine, then add broth and tomato paste, salt and pepper. Stir and cook until the mixture has thickened.
6.Spoon the mixture into the baked bell peppers, dividing evenly among the 6 peppers, and sprinkle some cheese on top of each. Cover the baking tray with foil and bake for 20 minutes, removing the foil for the final 5 minutes of cooking. Garnish with parsley and serve.
