How are you guys? Been listening to any good music lately?
There is something about the combination of music and food that leaves me feeling completely content. I mean, I LOVE creating dishes more than anything in the world. Music tunes out everything else. I end up being happiest in my brain thinking about flavor combinations.
Therefore, I made you a new playlist you can jam to while making these delicious enchilada chicken quinoa stuffed bell peppers. Dance it out!
I forgot to mention that it’s my birthday is this weekend (omg I’m turning 30!), followed by Christmas (duh) and then Tony’s birthday.
All I want to do is relax and eat a big giant bell pepper stuffed with goodness and dripping in enchilada sauce. Maybe pop in a movie and forget about everything else. I’m ready to chill and stop grocery shopping for cookie ingredients. How about you?
Maybe you’ll make some time this weekend to make these glorious chicken & quinoa stuffed peppers. One of my favorite things I’ve made in a while. I swear all it takes is one bite and you’re in a world full of deliciousness.
That was a serious statement by the way.
By now you should know that I don’t joke around when it comes to southwest flavors.
Here are the ingredients in these quinoa stuffed bell peppers:
Quinoa.
Chicken.
Cilantro.
Garlic.
Enchilada Sauce.
Gooey Cheese.
Southwest spices. OMG. What else?
In my world these are a dream come true. They’re savory, easy, healthy, roasted, gluten free and basically just FREAKIN’ AMAZING. Combining chicken & quinoa with enchilada sauce and then stuffing it in a pepper is probably one of the best decisions I’ve made.
I know you’ll be happy if you do it too. If you make these stuffed bell peppers, let me know by leaving a comment below. You can also follow me on Instagram and use the hashtag #ambitiouskitchen when you make any AK recipes — I love seeing your creations! xo.
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
Cheesy Chicken Quinoa Enchilada Meatloaf Muffins
Slow Cooker Black Bean Quinoa Pumpkin Chicken Chili
Skinny Refried Bean & Chicken Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce
Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Black Bean, Corn & Sweet Potato
Jalapeño-Cheddar Stuffed Enchilada Turkey Meatloaf
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Enchilada Chicken & Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- For the quinoa:
- 1/3 cup uncooked quinoa
- 3/4 cup water
- For the stuffed peppers:
- 1 pound 93% lean ground chicken or lean ground turkey
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/2 white or yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup red enchilada sauce, divided
- 4 red bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
- 1 cup shredded mexican or cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- First cook the quinoa: add 1/3 cup quinoa and 3/4 cup water to a medium pot and place over high heat. Once water boils, immediately cover, reduce heat to low and cook quinoa for exactly 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, fluff quinoa with a fork, then transfer to a bowl and place in the fridge to help cool the quinoa down.
- In a large bowl combine ground chicken, egg, cilantro, onion, diced jalapeno, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce. Mix well, then gently fold in the cooled quinoa (it can still be slightly warm).
- Stuff each pepper half with the mixture. Top each bell pepper with 1 tablespoon of enchilada sauce. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add about 2 tablespoons cheese on top of each bell pepper. Bake for 5 more minutes.
- Serve with extra enchilada sauce, cilantro, avocado and jalapeno slices. Serves 4; 2 pepper halves each.
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen Photography by: Yoga of Cooking
Could I replace the meat with ground beans? I have one vegetarian coming for dinner so I’m thinking of an easy swap for one portion
Yes feel free to use beans or even crumbled tofu!
I made this recipe the other day and I was not disappointed! I had to make a slight substitution because I didn’t have chili powder – so I added some paprika. I also prefer green enchilada sauce and used that instead of red and it came out DELICIOUS!!! I love how easy it was to make and so high in protein! Very flavorful and fulfilling. I will definitely be making this again in the future. Thanks for another great one, Monique!
This one’s great for customizing! So glad you loved them 🙂
This was amazing! Great recipe! Will deff make this again but next time I won’t get medium enchilada sauce. The jalapeño was enough spice for me.
Thank you!! So glad you loved them 🙂
My husband and I love the recipes that you have for the stuffed peppers! Very full of flavor and filling. We thank you for your recipes. 😋
One of my favorite go to dinner recipes! Easy and so delicious!!
Instead of ground meat, I used some leftover shredded chicken I had. Still worked great! However, I had a TON of the meat mixture left that didn’t fill up the peppers. Overall, fun idea and good flavors. We threw on some guacamole as well.
Nice–that’s a great sub! Happy you enjoyed these!
Haven’t made this yet, but it looks delish! We have an egg allergy at home – do you think this would be fine if I left the egg out? any suggestions for a binder if not? Thanks!
I think they would turn out just fine without the egg!
10/10 so good, all of the recipes come out perfect!
So happy to hear that!!
I wanted this to be more Keto friendly, so I changed the Quinoa to Cauliflower Rice, left the rest of the ingredients the same. It ends up being 15 net carbs and 30 protein according to My Fitness Pal. Yummy! Thank you for the delicious recipe.
Perfect! Glad that swap worked out.
Yummy! This is so mouthwatering! 🙂
They’re delicious!
These look so delicious! Exactly what I’m craving right now after all these cookies!
Absolutely! Perfect dinner.
how do you prepare the enchilada sauce?
Check out my homemade enchilada sauce here!
Any reason you can’t make a day ahead and refrigerate so you can just pop in the oven next day?
Hi this looks delicious ….is there a way to print the recipe without having to include so many pages? Thanks
Kim
I made these for dinner last night and they were SO GOOD!!!! 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!!
Made this tonight with your super easy and delicious enchilada sauce. We like it! I used ground turkey and put a little broth in the pan while they were baking. Also served with extra enchilada sauce on the side. Love the colors too. Thanks for the recipe.
I’m loving looking at your wonderful recipes! I made your Whole Wheat Applesauce Oatmeal Banana Bread and it turned out great – I think next time I will add a little more applesauce and a little more honey. Wanted it to be a tiny bit more sweet and moist – any other suggestions? But then I ate it with a little pumpkin butter and it was delish!
It's really easy to make. We make big batches and freeze it
This looks ABSOLUTELY DEE-LISH. I cannot wait to try these!!!
one question…i live in Vancouver, British Columbia…anyone know where I can find enchilada sauce? Don't know that I've seen that around the grocery store…
Most of your grocery stores should carry it in the international aisle. I have it where I am in Ontario so you should have it as well.
Thank you for this recipe. I am going to try it, it looks delicious.
I cannot wait to try these recipes.
do these freeze well
Would green enchilada sauce work instead of red?
Yep!
I used veggie crumbles and substituted diced tomatoes for the enchilada sauce. I had some left over, and it makes a GREAT nacho dip!!!
Sounds good!
Can you use diced chicken instead of ground? and would that then need to be cooked first?
I have some cooked, chopped chicken, can I make this Quinoa/Chicken stuffed pepper recipe with it ? Does it alter cooking time ?
You bet! You actually won’t have to cook it as long (because the chicken is already cooked).
Would it ruin the recipe to use a whole egg instead of egg whites? I hate to waste the egg yolks if not necessary. I would also be cutting the recipe in half if that makes a difference in measurement on the eggs. Looks delicious!
You can use 1 egg!
So you don't cook the chicken or turkey prior to mixing in the other ingredients and stuffing the pepper? I can't tell from the pictures, but the ingredient list doesn't show that it is pre-cooked… I've always cooked the meat first.. Thanks!
You do not cook the meat prior to stuffing the peppers. It will cook when you bake it in the oven.
Is it ok if I did? I just assumed to so I did cook the meat first!
Thanks for the quick response! I'm getting ready to cook up a batch now! 🙂
oh my do these look fantastic!!! Going to try this soon. We are having chicken enchilada stuffed shells tonight. I like this take on enchiladas much more!
Love Bon Iver! Love your food! Good luck with your big news. I hope all goes well.