Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers

I live for easy weeknight dinners. LIVE for them, I tell ya.

Being a blogger as well as running a very busy food photography business for other bloggers, I spend much of my time cooking or baking. It’s my job!

So when dinner time rolls around, after juggling this work, taking care of my kids, homeschooling my first grader, and maintaining a somewhat-pulled-together household, I am often spent. Probably more so than the average person who doesn’t cook for a living. It’s so bad that we often make chicken nuggets for the kids and cheese and crackers for us.

But I’m working on it!

One of my goals is to make at least two weeknight meals that can be eaten over the course of two nights, so that I am having to cook half the time.

Stuffed peppers are where it’s at, guys! So easy, so versatile, fairly healthy, and absolutely scrumptious.

This version features my all-time favorite savory flavor: buffalo chicken!

Not a buffalo fan? No problem. Swap in your favorite sauce instead. For instance, BBQ sauce would be fabulous here – BBQ chicken stuffed peppers!

Or if you’re looking for something vegetarian, try this recipe instead. It’s actually one of my favorite, favorite, favorite stuffed pepper recipes and I’m feeling like I need to make them ASAP. So much flavor, it’s crazy. I think I’ll add them to our meal plan for next week. So good.

Recipes like this are seriously like a lifeline for me during this busy time. Sometimes, when I really have my act together, I will make and assemble a meal like this before anyone else in the house is awake, pop it in the fridge, and then bake it come dinnertime. It guarantees we’ll have something to eat that evening.

Here’s how these come together. We want to start by roasting the bell peppers a little bit before filling them. This way, they are perfectly tender without falling apart once they are filled and baked.

While the peppers are roasting, make your filling. Either buy a rotisserie chicken from the store or use up any cooked chicken you may have left over from other meals. Shred it up. Add it to a skillet with some onion, garlic, and celery and warm through. Stir in cooked brown rice (again, I use leftovers or buy the microwavable “Minute Rice” packs from the store), buffalo hot sauce, a little cheese, and some blue cheese or ranch dressing. Stir until everything is warmed through and gooey. This takes all of 10 minutes to make.

Then, fill your peppers! Top with a little more cheese and then bake! Dinner is on the table in less than a half hour.

I love to serve these with a light side salad or roasted veg on the side – but honestly, they could be eaten alone. They’re SO filling and delicious.

Dan, who doesn’t love bell peppers, said these were fantastic. He’s a sucker for buffalo chicken like me. I could serve it just about any way and he would love it.

These are a shoe-in for weeknight meals that taste delicious and satisfying without taking up too much time! They are my lifeline.

I hope they can be one for you as well!

Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers

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• Author: Molly
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x

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Description

These Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers are a cinch to make, come together quickly, and taste like spicy, tangy heaven! They are hearty, satisfying, healthy, and completely delicious. Shredded buffalo chicken is mixed with veggies, brown rice, and cheese and baked inside bell peppers. This is a lifeline meal for busy lives!

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Ingredients

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• 3 large bell peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• Salt and pepper
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup cooked brown rice (I love using quick-cooking rice for recipes like this)
• ½ cup fresh or frozen corn (no need to defrost if frozen)
• ½ cup buffalo hot sauce
• 3 tablespoons ranch or blue cheese dressing
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Optional Garnishes:

• Crumbled blue cheese (feta is a great substitute)
• Chopped scallions
• Chopped red onion
• Additional ranch or blue cheese dressing, for drizzling
• Lime wedges

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F and line the peppers halves up in a large baking dish. Brush the peppers all over, inside and out, with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Roast the peppers for 15 minutes while you make the filling.
3. For the filling, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the onion and celery and a pinch of salt and cook for a few minutes or until the veggies are softened.
4. Add in the garlic and cook for a minute more.
5. Add in the shredded chicken, brown rice, and corn and stir to combine everything. Cook for a couple minutes, just to warm everything through.
6. Stir in the buffalo sauce and dressing until everything is well combined. Once the mixture is hot, add in ½ cup of the Monterey Jack cheese to the mixture and stir until it is melted throughout. Season with a little salt and pepper, to taste.
7. Remove the skillet from the heat.
8. Take the peppers out of the oven and working carefully (everything will be very hot!), fill the peppers with the buffalo chicken mixture. Top each filled pepper with the remaining shredded Jack and cheddar cheeses.
9. Carefully pour ½ cup of water into the baking dish with the peppers, being careful to not get any water inside the peppers.
10. Bake the peppers for another 15-20 minutes or until they are tender on the outside and the filling is gooey.
11. Serve immediately, garnished however you prefer. We like a little crumbled blue cheese, chopped scallions, another drizzle of ranch/blue cheese dressing, and a healthy spritz of fresh lime juice.

Notes

• This is a great recipe for using up leftover chicken. I often cook off chicken for the week OR buy a rotisserie chicken for meals like this.
• You can use any rice you prefer for this. When planning out weeknight meals, I often cook up enough rice for the week OR use quick-cooking rice (aka, the microwavable “Minute RIce” variety at the store) – it is great in a pinch when you don’t feel like dirtying another pot or having dinner take twice as long to prepare.
• These peppers are great reheated and will keep, well covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days.

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Category: entrees