Mexican Chicken and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Mexican Chicken and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers are a delicious and healthy dinner!
Anyone Else?
Anyone else love the show Parenthood? I watched it on Netflix a few years ago and now I'm rewatching it and can I just say it is SO different watching it now that I have a kid and a little more life behind me? Yikes. Like real tears every. damn. episode.
Right now I'm watching an episode where Drew has a date and all I can think about is Lars on his first date. Which, as far as I'm concerned, he will invite his mother to. Ha.
The nice thing about re-watching a show is that I can kind of half-watch it while I'm doing other things. Like blogging and reading political articles that are never ending these days. I don't have to be 100% focused on it to really get the gist. I started watching The Crown which I really liked but it really requires all of my attention. Plus some rewinding to fully understand the British accent.
Anyways. I've been wanting to make stuffed peppers for awhile now because I love the thought of them. Everything in one dinner being contained in a bell pepper!
GO VEGGIE
Inside the peppers is a mixture of ground chicken, quinoa, corn, black beans, some spices, and GO VEGGIE Cheddar Shreds. They make this entire dish lactose free if you want. The GO VEGGIE Cheddar also makes this dish lower in calories, saturated fat, and cholesterol which - yay! I'm not lactose-free, nor is anyone in our family, but I love using GO VEGGIE cheese for a healthier every day alternative.
You can feel good about serving this to your family regardless of what kind of cheese you use because this dish is all around super healthy. Not only is it good for you but it can also be a pretty quick weeknight meal.
Some Tips
So now for a couple tips to make these Mexican Chicken and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers a super fast weeknight meal:
- You can cook the quinoa a day in advance.
- You could actually cook all of the filling in advance if you'd like. Then all you'd have to do the night of is stuff the peppers and bake!
I used ground chicken in this dish but you could also use rotisserie chicken and just finely chop it up to not have to worry about cooking the chicken.
Mexican Chicken and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
I topped our stuffed peppers with fresh cilantro and avocado which was delicious. I think some salsa, green onions, or plain yogurt would be great options too.
We all absolutely loved these Mexican Chicken and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers - even Lars! I was shocked at how much of it he ate. Toddler dinner for the win!
Mexican Chicken and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- ½ cup dry quinoa
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup corn
- 1 cup canned black beans
- 1 ½ cups GO VEGGIE Lactose Free Cheddar Shreds
- 6 bell peppers any color will work!, with tops cut off, white parts and seeds removed
- diced avocado for topping
- chopped cilantro for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place quinoa and water in a small pot and cook according to quinoa's package instructions. Typically this is to bring the water to a boil, reduce to low, cover, and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until quinoa has sprouted.
- While quinoa is cooking, heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
- Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add ground chicken, and continue cooking, breaking up the chicken into small pieces, until chicken is cooked through.
- Add chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and salt, and stir well to combine. Remove from heat.
- To the chicken, add corn, black beans, cheese, and cooked quinoa.
- Place bell peppers in a 9x13" baking dish, cut side up.
- Fill each bell pepper up with filling. Depending on the size of your bell peppers, you may have some filling left. Bigger bell peppers will fit a LOT of filling!
- Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, until cheese is melty and peppers are softened.
- Top with diced avocado and chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
This recipe was developed for GO VEGGIE as part of a long-term partnership. Thank you for allowing me to share my favorite brands with you!
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Stuffed peppers are always a hit around here! Love that you used quinoa in them!