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!
I made these with smoked gouda. They were amazing!
Hi Beth, I discovered your website a couple of weeks ago and I find your recipes amazing! Just one quick question: can I freeze stuffed peppers?
Thank you for your help!
Cheres!
Yes, I think they will freeze well. They are already soft after baking, so the softness that occurs with freezing/thawing shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
What kind of cheese do you recommend?
I like monterrey jack cheese with southwest flavors. :)
I made these tonight, and they’re in the oven right now. My broiler setting on my oven is past 500 degrees and I don’t have an actual temp to set for it, so I roasted at 450 for about 15 min, turning in between. I also used added in ground sirloin and made a bechamel cheese sauce to go on top. Everything looks great and I can’t wait to try them. Thanks, Beth!
I also made it with bell peppers, because the 4 poblano peppers they had at my store looked pretty old and wilted. It turned out okay-although I had a hard time layering. I think next time I’ll add a little shredded chicken
With a couple of changes, I made this tonight for my husband whose a low fat vegan. Topped it off with avocado. He really enjoyed it and so did I. Will be making this again.
This recipe is fabulous!I made it for my sister, who is a vegetarian and VERY picky, she loved it! Thanks so much!
These are delicious! Instead of making them with the rice from this post, I made them with your simple spanish rice recipe instead and the flavors were incredible. Thanks for the great recipe!
We cooked ours on the BBQ! When it’s 93F the BBQ is the best. Turned out just PERFECT! A wonderful, tasty meal and I didn’t even heat up the house.
Anon – Yes, you can use regular green pepper, although poblanos have a lot more flavor :)
Hi Beth, can I use ordinary green bell peppers coz that’s the only peppers they have at the store here
Try it with fajitas seasoned chicken….yummy
Trying it with fajita seasoned chicken….
So, Very, Good.
This was for my dinner tonight and for the hubby’s and my lunch tomorrow. I paired it with the Jalapeno corn muffins (No Jiffy mix up here, but the last time I visited PA I bought quite a few boxes)
I will be waiting with baited breath to see if he likes his meatless meal or if he even notices :-)
As for me, it was spicy and hearty. I added a dollop of sour cream as suggested and it was over the top!
Can’t wait for lunch leftovers,
Beth, thanks again.
I made this for a dinner party last night and it was wonderful! We have new friends that are vegetarian so we wanted to impress. I made a tomatillo/avocado sauce and put under peppers! Thanks for this great recipe. It’s now a family favorite (ps. We used leftovers for breakfast scramble too!