Spooky Stuffed Peppers with Ground Chicken by Xena’s Kitchen

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Xena’s Kitchen

Hey, I'm Xena! I cook the kind of food that makes people wander into the kitchen asking, "What smells so good?" Around here, you'll find easy dinners, comfort-food favorites, and recipes that don't require a culinary degree or a 47-step process. Xena's Kitchen is where I share the meals I actually crave: bold flavors, cozy vibes, and dishes that make you want to lick the plate (no judgment here.)
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Spooky Stuffed Peppers with Ground Chicken These stuffed peppers pair large bell pepper halves with a seasoned ground chicken and cooked grain filling, then finish in the oven with tomato sauce and melted cheese. The peppers are baked covered first, allowing the filling and peppers to cook together before the cheese is added for the uncovered final bake.

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Watch How to Make It

The recipe uses 4 to 6 large bell peppers, so the number of filled halves depends on the size of the peppers selected. Any bell pepper color works, and each pepper is sliced lengthwise, seeded, and positioned cut-side up in the baking dish.

Four yellow bell peppers carved like jack-o-lanterns, filled with meat sauce and topped with shredded cheese in a glass baking dish.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

The filling comes together in one large skillet before it is spooned into the prepared peppers. Onion and garlic are cooked first in olive oil, followed by ground chicken seasoned with dried basil, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper.

Cooking

Tomato sauce is used in two stages. One-half cup is stirred into the filling, while additional sauce is spooned over the tops of the stuffed peppers before baking. This keeps the filling step separate from the final sauce layer.

A dollop of thick tomato paste centered on a pan of cooked ground meat and rice mixture.

The cheese is intentionally held back until after the first 25 minutes of baking. Once the foil is removed, the peppers are topped generously with shredded mozzarella and returned to the oven uncovered until the peppers are tender and the cheese is melted and golden.

Ingredients You'll Need

Large bell peppers are the vessels for the chicken filling. After slicing them in half lengthwise and removing the seeds, arrange the halves cut-side up in a lightly greased 9×13-inch baking dish. The instructions also note that the peppers may be placed in the dish whole.

Ground chicken is the main filling ingredient, with 93% lean ground chicken listed as the preferred option. It cooks with finely diced yellow onion, minced garlic, olive oil, dried basil, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper.

Use 1 cup of cooked brown rice or quinoa in the filling. This cooked grain is added only after the chicken has browned and the skillet has been removed from the heat, along with 1/2 cup of the sauce.

The ingredient list calls for 1 cup, possibly more, of roasted tomato sauce divided between the filling and the tops of the peppers. In the instructions, this sauce is referred to as marinara sauce. The stated amount for mixing into the filling is 1/2 cup, with the remaining sauce used as needed over the stuffed peppers.

Shredded mozzarella is added near the end of baking. The ingredient list also permits a Parmesan and mozzarella mixture in place of all mozzarella. Fresh chopped basil or parsley is reserved for garnish after the peppers come out of the oven.

Roasted diced tomatoes and tomato paste are also listed among the ingredients, with the tomato paste identified for thickening the mixture. The provided instructions do not specify a step for adding either of these ingredients, so the stated skillet-to-pepper procedure below follows the directed method.

Preheat and Prep

Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Place the halved bell peppers cut-side up in the dish (or whole).

Ground meat, rice, and tomato sauce topped with shredded cheese.

Sauté Aromatics

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute until fragrant.

Cook the Chicken

Add the ground chicken, dried basil, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper to the skillet. Cook, breaking the meat apart with a wooden spoon, until the chicken is browned and no longer pink, about 6-8 minutes.

Mix the Filling

Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the cooked brown rice or quinoa and 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce, combining the cooked grain with the seasoned chicken mixture before filling the peppers.

Stuff the Peppers

Spoon the chicken and rice mixture evenly into each pepper half, pressing down gently to fill them. Spoon a little extra marinara sauce over the top of each stuffed pepper.

Bake

Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil, top each pepper generously with the shredded mozzarella cheese, and bake uncovered for another 5-10 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the cheese is melted and golden.

Serve

Garnish with fresh chopped basil or parsley.

How To Make It

Preheat and Prep: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Place the halved bell peppers cut-side up in the dish (or whole).

Sauté Aromatics: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute until fragrant. Cook the Chicken: Add the ground chicken, dried basil, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper to the skillet. Cook, breaking the meat apart with a wooden spoon, until the chicken is browned and no longer pink (about 6-8 minutes).

Mix the Filling: Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the cooked brown rice (or quinoa) and 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce.

Stuff the Peppers: Spoon the chicken and rice mixture evenly into each pepper half, pressing down gently to fill them. Spoon a little extra marinara sauce over the top of each stuffed pepper. Bake: Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake for: 25 minutes. Remove the foil, top each pepper generously with the shredded mozzarella cheese, and bake uncovered for another 5-10 minutes until the peppers are tender and the cheese is melted & golden.

Serve: Garnish with fresh chopped basil or parsley.

Serving & Variations

Choose either cooked brown rice or cooked quinoa for the filling. The recipe treats these as interchangeable options at the point where the grain is stirred into the cooked chicken and sauce mixture.

For the cheese layer, use shredded mozzarella or the listed Parmesan and mozzarella combination. In either case, add the cheese only after removing the foil following the initial covered bake.

Diced canned tomatoes added to a pan of cooked ground meat.

Fresh basil and fresh parsley are the two garnish options. Chop the selected herb and add it at serving time, after the peppers have completed the uncovered bake.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use quinoa instead of brown rice?

Yes. The filling can be made with 1 cup of cooked brown rice or quinoa.

What temperature should I bake Spooky Stuffed Peppers at?

Bake the peppers at 375F.

How long do the stuffed peppers bake?

Bake them loosely covered with foil for 25 minutes, then add the mozzarella and bake uncovered for another 5-10 minutes.

When should I add the cheese?

Remove the foil after the first 25 minutes of baking, top each pepper with shredded mozzarella, and return them to the oven uncovered.

How do I know when the peppers are ready?

They are ready when the peppers are tender and the cheese is melted and golden.

Wrapping Up

These stuffed peppers follow a clear sequence: prepare the pepper halves, build the filling in a skillet, fill and sauce the peppers, then bake in two stages. Covering the dish for the first 25 minutes comes before the cheese is added, while the final uncovered bake is what melts and browns the topping. The recipe’s flexible choices are limited to the stated options: bell peppers in any color, brown rice or quinoa, mozzarella alone or a mozzarella-Parmesan combination, and basil or parsley for the garnish.

Recipe created by Xena’s Kitchen for Trust Me Try It.

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