Chicken and rice stuffed peppers
Bell peppers baked tender and packed with salsa chicken, rice, black beans and melted cheese, a tidy dinner that packs well for lunch.
- 75 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.96 a serving
- 560 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- ¾ cup long-grain white rice, rinsed
- 4 green bell peppers
- 1 lb chicken breasts, finely diced
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 cup Mexican blend cheese, divided
- ½ cup sour cream (optional)
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 1½ cups water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
Each serving has about 560 calories, 43 g protein, 58 g carbs and 17 g fat, and costs about $2.96 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No green bell peppers? Red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers work.
- No chicken breasts? Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins work.
- No black beans? Pinto beans or kidney beans work.
- No salsa? Pico de gallo works.
- No Mexican blend cheese? Shredded cheddar or cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack cheese works.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 375°F. Bring the rice and water in a small over high heat.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
once, cover, turn the heat to low and cook 18 minutes, then take it off the heat with the lid on.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Low heatTimer: 18 min
the peppers from stem to tip, pull out the seeds and ribs, and set them cut side up in a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Halve. Halving means cutting something into two equal pieces. Even halves cook at the same speed, so one doesn’t dry out while the other finishes.
How you’ll know: The two pieces look like mirror images of each other.
the chicken small and wash your hands and board.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Heat the oil in a large over medium-high and cook the chicken with the chili powder, cumin and salt 5 to 6 minutes, until the biggest piece reads 165°F.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Take the pan off the heat and in the rice, beans, salsa and half the cheese.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Pack the filling into the pepper halves, pour ¼ cup of water into the dish, and cover it with foil.
Dolly’s tip: The splash of water steams the peppers so they turn tender instead of staying crunchy.30 minutes, then uncover, sprinkle the rest of the cheese, and bake 10 minutes more, until the peppers are tender and the cheese bubbles.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Timer: 40 min
Top with sour cream and cilantro.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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