Whew, what a week… after having out of town visitors for the past four days, I am finally getting back into my routine (school, blog, sleep… school, blog, sleep… school, blog… well, you get the idea). Anyway, I needed something quick an easy to make today that would feed me for the rest of the week. Stuffed poblano peppers fit the bill. Well, they weren’t exactly quick (thanks to the rice and pepper roasting process) but a lot of that time was “passive cooking” so I was able to take care of other business at the same time.
I decided to do a vegetarian stuffed poblano but if you have extra chorizo, other sausage or chicken waiting in your freezer, by all means cook it, chop it and add it into the mix! My peppers contained seasoned rice, black beans, salsa and cheese. It is a classic combo that I can’t ever seem to get enough of. Stuffing it into smokey and slightly spicy poblano peppers just made it extra special. I love these stuffed peppers because they are a cute little self contained meal that is easy to reheat and devour whenever I’m hungry. Normally I would put a dollop of sour cream right on top too but I gotta watch the saturated fat to keep my cholesterol in check so… you know.
Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked long grain rice ($0.30)
- 2 cubes bullion, vegetable, or chicken ($0.24)
- 1/4 tsp chili powder ($0.05)
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro ($0.17)
- 6 poblano peppers ($2.98)
- 4 oz. cheese ($0.99)
- 3/4 cup divided salsa ($0.52)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($0.87)
- non-stick spray (if needed) ($0.10)
Instructions
- Cook the rice in a medium pot with 1.75 cups of water and two buillion cubes. (instructions for cooking rice here) While the rice is cooking, finely chop the cilantro. Mix the cilantro and chili powder into the rice after it has finished cooking. Set the rice aside until you are ready to use it.
- While the rice is cooking, roast the poblanos. Preheat the broiler to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet and coat all sides of the poblano peppers with non-stick spray (you can rub olive oil all over them but I find spraying is much easier). Place the baking sheet a few inches under the broiler (I use the second rack level) and broil on each side for 5 minutes.
- After broiling the poblanos, the skin should be blistered and bubbly. Immediately place the peppers into a ziplock bag for about 15 minutes to allow the steam to loosen the skin. Remove them from the bag and peel away as much of the skin as possible (be gentle and it is okay if you can’t get ALL of the skin).
- Cut a boat shaped piece out of each pepper and then carefully remove the seeds and seed pod. Save the pieces of pepper that are removed to make the openings because it makes a great ingredient for salads, burrito bowls or quesadillas (breakfast quesadilla anyone?).
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (bake, not broil this time). Gently fill the peppers with layers of seasoned rice, salsa, cheese and beans. I began with rice (1/3 to 1/2 cup), then 1 Tbsp of salsa, 1/3 oz. of cheese, beans (as much as I could stuff in), then more salsa and cheese (same amounts as before).
- Place the peppers back in the oven and bake until they are heated through and the cheese is melted (about 20 minutes). Enjoy!
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Nutrition
Step By Step Photos
Cook the rice using 2 bullion cubes then mix in minced cilantro and chili powder after cooking.
Prepare the poblanos for roasting by coating them in oil and placing them on a baking sheet. Place under the broiler for 5 minutes on each side.
After roasting the skin will be blistered. Place in a ziplock bag for 15 minutes to allow steam to loosen the skin.
Peel off the skin, cut an opening in each and remove the seeds and seed pod.
Layer in the rice, salsa, cheese and beans… I added more salsa and cheese after this picture. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees until they are heated through and the cheese is melted. Dig in!
NOTE: I had a little left over rice and beans so I piled that into a container with salsa and the chopped up bits of poblano that were cut away to make the openings. I sealed up the container and put it in the freezer. Later I can just pull it out, defrost in the microwave, add some sour cream or cheese and have a nice little burrito bowl! YUM!
hi
Hey Beth, I made this tonight and it was absolute DELICIOUS. Thanks for another great recipe to add to my family favorites. Even my picky 5 year old asked for second helpings! I posted a review on my blog. This dish was so great I honestly had a hard time with the review. Good food cannot be put into words.
http://ambers-recipe-collections.blogspot.com/2010/03/recipe-review-stuffed-poblano-peppers.html
Looks good!
mmm…I’m making these tomorrow night for dinner! I’m going to use chorizo like Megan suggested. Thanks for the recipe! :)
oh, yeah, bell peppers have a much thinner skin and softer flesh. you won’t need to blister/peel them. hopefully they still taste great!
Okay, found the peppers…but only got 3 for $3 and used Bell Peppers as the rest since they were on sale.
Unfortunately, my peppers got cooked during the blistering phase…so it kind of became layered peppers rather than stuffed peppers. However, I think it’ll still taste awesome! It’s cooking for only 15 minutes to meld everything together and I won’t be eating them for dinner. It’ll be dinner and lunches this week!
So glad I found this delicious recipe as I’ve been searching for a great stuffed chili rellanos type recipe for a long time. This one looks healthy too!
I definitely live next to the cheapest Mexican grocery store known to mankind. If I tried to do this blog people would revolt because the produce & meat prices are unreal. It’s February, and my poblano peppers were 99cents/lb and the cilantro was 33cents. Ridiculous. In June, I literally got peaches 20/$1.
Beth,
Try using plain yogurt instead of sour cream (and it does double duty because you can put fruit and granola into it and eat it for bfast too). I love 2% as a topper for alot of my dishes including black bean veggie soup and a rice dish I do that seems a bit Mexican inspired to me
Megan- I originally wanted to put chorizo in mine, I’m really jealous that you found it for $2/lb!
I didn’t realize that this recipe would even be considered Italian, I thought of it more as Central American. Interesting!
I assumed the other comment was a ruse because, well, it just didn’t make sense. Either way, it wins the award for the most interesting comment received to date :)
I can’t tell if that Louise person is for real, but I’m Italian, born in Calabria and raised here and this is right up our alley. Not all Italian food is super fancy.
Well, I’m sorry that your recipe doesn’t suit Miss Hoity Toity, but it sure did my poor college self happy! I cooked it w/some chorizo I got from the deli counter @ the local Mexican grocery (only $2/lb and it only took about 1/3 lb to spice this up!). Man, it was DELICIOUS and I can’t wait to try it again. Next time though, I have to work on my roasting/steaming technique because my peppers didn’t peel very well, so they were pretty tough.
We Italian immigrants of the upper class do NOT eat this type of food. And, I, as the board matron of the Serious Eats website will not view you favorably.
lolololol
You have such a great variety of dishes on your site and this one does not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoy reading your blog!
I’m sooooo making this! Although, I’m not sure where you found those peppers so cheap…I was just at a grocery store and didn’t even see these.