Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Stuffed Poblano Peppers are a brilliant way to serve capsicum peppers or poblano peppers. Filled with a mixture of chicken breast, sun dried tomatoes, corn and black beans this is a firm household dinner favourite here. Even if you can't get poblano peppers, these are a great stuffing for capsicum peppers! This is a pushy recipe Dear Reader.

I remember when I first got poblano peppers in my vege box I was completely confused by them. I tried grilling them like capsicums and they were quite thin and it wasn't as good as grilled capsicum. But honestly this filling is the total bomb! If you're looking for a low carb stuffing without rice and just lots of tasty chicken and seasonings then this stuffed poblano pepper recipe is for you!

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

What are Poblano peppers? Poblano peppers are a mild chilli pepper commonly used in Mexican cuisine named after Puebla in Mexico where they were first grown. They have a slight sweetness and are the peppers used for chiles rellenos. When they are dried they’re known as ancho peppers which are often used to add flavour to salsas and mole. Poblanos are versatile and can be roasted, stuffed, or chopped and they have a subtle heat to them.

Tips For Making Stuffed Poblano Peppers

1 When choosing poblano peppers for this dish, try and find smooth and fat peppers. These are easier to stuff than peppers that are curled over with kinks in them.

2 If you can't find poblano peppers you can also substitute them with capsicum peppers. However they may need a bit more time in the oven because the skins are thicker and they're usually larger.

3 Mr NQN is now eating a lot of chicken breast so we always seem to have some grilled chicken breast in the fridge. But feel free to sub with the meat of a rotisserie chicken or chicken thigh meat, whatever you like.

4 I use sun dried tomatoes that aren't stored in oil, if you use the ones in oil you may not need to use much more oil in the filling.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

5 I like to stuff the peppers really well, the filling will stick together thanks to the cream cheese.

6 Some people ask if you need to peel the skin off poblano peppers. I never bother doing this.

7 Store poblano peppers in the crisper in a freezer bag. They last for a couple of weeks this way.

Other Capsicum Pepper Recipes That You Might Like

The very first time that I tried poblano peppers was as ancho chillies. Monica had given me some to make mole. She goes to Mexico once a year and knows a lot about Mexican food and one day, hopefully, we will travel to Mexico together where she can introduce me to more food than what we get here (which is improving on what it was like but it's a cuisine with a lot of history and regionality).

Monica and I were recently at a restaurant. It was a really lovely restaurant that was holding a special dinner. I didn't realise that it would be just one very long table of patrons. I'm more used to that but Monica isn't so much of a fan. As an introvert, she doesn't necessarily want to sit next to people she doesn't know. I remember she had grabbed my arm in alarm as we walked in.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

When you're with your friends at your own table you can say what you want but you do have to behave when you're sitting at one big table because people can easily hear you. And I could tell that she was not vibing with the crowd. I think I'm just a bit more used to encountering some really odd people because a lot of media functions have you sitting next to some really interesting people. I could tell that she was bursting to tell me something about someone but I signalled her to tell me later.

Later on we went to the bathroom together and as I was drying my hands she was humming a song. "Is that the theme song for Entertainment Tonight?" I asked her laughing. And that set us off singing the jingle to each other. Somehow pistol fingers got involved, there was dancing and there was air guitar and we were just behaving like complete idiots outside the restaurant.

Our eyes were filled with tears of laughter and we were gasping for breath. We wiped our eyes before breathing in and looking at each other. "OK we have to behave now," I said to her solemnly. I pretended to pull down a blind on my face and smoothing down our outfits we walked back into the restaurant. I love that I can be a total fool with my friends and they will act the fool with me too!

So tell me Dear Reader, do you like share tables or do you prefer your own table? Have you ever cooked poblano peppers?

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

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An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Makes: 6 stuffed peppers

  • 6x 90g/3oz poblano peppers or equivalent weight capsicum peppers
  • 1 tablespoon oil for frying
  • 80g/2.8ozs or 1 medium onion, peeled and finely diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely diced
  • 350g/12.3ozs chicken breast, finely chopped (I love making these with the Mexican spiced chicken breasts)
  • 150g/5ozs corn kernels
  • 100g/3.5ozs tinned black beans (drained weight)
  • 70g/2.6ozs sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves or stems
  • 1 teaspoon tajin seasoning or chilli powder
  • 150g/5ozs cream cheese, cubed
  • 2-3 tablespoons oil for drizzling

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F fan forced and line a baking tray with parchment. Fry the onion on medium heat until soft, then add garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Add the chicken breast, corn, black beans, sun dried tomatoes and coriander and fry until everything is warmed through and mixed together. Add the cream cheese and allow to melt and stir through the mixture distributing it well (this will bind the filling together).

Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Cutting a slit down the top and stuffing and propping against the side to keep the lid on

Step 2 -Slice the very top off the peppers but reserve the top to use as a lid. Using scissors cut a small slit down the top of the peppers but don't cut all the way down. Using a teaspoon, stuff the peppers with the filling making sure to get in deep down into the pepper - you can make it bulge a bit too. Press down the filling with the back of the spoon and put the top back on and rest it against the side of the baking tray so that the lid stays on. Drizzle each pepper with oil and then bake in the oven uncovered for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

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