Light Chipotle Chicken & Rice Stuffed Peppers are healthy low calorie dinner recipe loaded with lean ground chicken, brown rice, black beans, corn and chipotle salsa and are topped with cheddar cheese and crunchy tortilla chips!
Chicken & Rice Stuffed Peppers
These Chipotle Chicken & Rice Stuffed Peppers are bursting with bold southwest flavors. This light and healthy dinner pairs wonderfully with a salad for a complete dinner the whole family will enjoy.
This Southwest Quinoa Salad would make for a fantastic side dish for a complete and hearty meal with lots of great vegetables. If you are looking for something a little lighter and low carb, I highly recommend this Zucchini & Squash Salad or Burrata Salad.
Low Calorie Stuffed Peppers
I don’t know about you, but I stuffed myself silly over this holiday weekend with wonderful foods like burgers, chips, potato salad, desserts and more! I did bring my Light creamy grape salad to our family gathering for a lighter low calorie option, but there was just too much goodness to resist. I really could have used some of these Light Chipotle Chicken & Rice Stuffed Peppers in my life!
On the bright side, I got lots of exercise during our Summer Olympics. Whether we were splaying slosh ball on a baseball field, chugging beers at second (that doesn’t negate the running does it?) and sliding into home on a slip-and-slide, or we were fighting to the death over wheel barrel races, we definitely got our fare share of activity and healthy competition in for the weekend. (Ok, I don’t know how healthy our family’s competition is, seeing we are a bit over the top, but we’ll just say it was a healthy ‘dose’ of competition)
Now that the holiday and the given indulgences are behind us, it is time to find some healthy and flavorful dishes to clean up our eating! These Light Chipotle Chicken & Rice Stuffed Peppers are just that. They are loaded with flavor and a surprise crunch from tortilla chips crumbled on top. You wouldn’t even guess they are healthy, but all of the veggies, lean chicken and Greek yogurt make these bad boys the perfect weeknight dinner you can feel good about.
How to make Brown Rice and Chicken Stuffed Peppers
- To get started, slice your peppers in half lengthwise and roast them for 20 minutes. This allows the pepper to get nice and soft and have sweeter taste. If you skip this step, your peppers will have more crunch and taste more like raw peppers.
- While the peppers are baking, saute the onion and ground chicken in a large skillet over medium-high heat. If you don’t already own one, I highly recommend getting a meat chopper. It’s one of the few chicken accessories that I rave about! Cook the onions and chicken with the spices until the chicken is no longer pink.
- When the chicken is cooked through add the corn, black beans, cooked brown rice and salsa and stir util it is well combined and heated through.
- In a sprayed 9″x13″ pan, arrange the partially baked peppers cut side up. Spoon the meat and rice mixture into the cut peppers and top with a little shredded cheese and tortilla chips. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Serve the cooked chicken and brown rice stuffed peppers with fresh cilantro and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt or sour cream. Enjoy!
Healthy Meal Prep Recipe
If you enjoy meal prepping for the week, this Chipotle Chicken Stuffed Pepper recipe is perfect for you! While “enjoy” might be a stretch, we all know how much better we eat when we have delicious and healthy recipes meal prepped for the week.
Prepare all of the ground chicken and rice mixture and arrange the stuffed peppers in a 9×13 pan. Leave off the cheese and chips and cover the pan. Refrigerate up to a few days before serving. When you get home a busy weeknight, pop this dish in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Add the cheese and chips to the top of the stuffed peppers and bake an additional 10 minutes.
To meal prep these stuffed peppers, it requires 30 minutes of bake time as opposed to 20 to warm everything back up. Be sure to check out some of our other great meal prep recipes as well!
More amazing stuffed pepper recipes!
- Mediterranean Lamb Stuffed Peppers
- Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Southwest Keto Stuffed Peppers
- Stuffed Pepper Skillet
Light Chipotle Chicken & Rice Stuffed Peppers
Equipment
Ingredients
Stuffed Peppers
- 3 bell peppers
- 1/2 lb. lean ground chicken turkey or beef
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 2/3 c. brown rice cooked
- 1/2 c. corn
- 1/2 c. black beans
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 16oz can Chipotle salsa, or any regular salsa
Toppings
- 3/4 c. shredded cheese
- 3/4 c. tortilla chips crushed
- Nonfat Greek Yogurt – optional
- Chopped cilantro – optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°.
- Cut your bell peppers lengthwise and remove all of the seeds. Place peppers cut side down on a greased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large saute pan sprayed with non-stick spray, add diced onions. Cook for a few minutes until tender and add chicken. With a meat chopper, break up the chicken so it is crumbled into small pieces.
- Once the chicken is cooked through, add the rice, salsa, corn, black beans and spices and remove from the heat.
- Spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick spray and arrange the bell pepper halves, cut side up. Spoon the meat and rice mixture into the peppers and top with 2 Tbsp shredded cheese and then 2 Tbsp crushed tortilla chips.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 350°. Remove from oven and serve warm with a dollop of Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of chopped cilantro.
Alison LaFortune says
So much lighter and more flavorful than traditional stuffed peppers. Definitely making again!
Julie says
These were so light, healthy and delicious! We all loved them, thanks for the recipe! We’ll definitely be making them again.
Megan says
Loved this healthy weeknight meal! It was the perfect light supper for my husband and I. Thanks for sharing!
Malinda Linnebur says
These turned out so well! I used a red, orange, and green bell pepper and it was so pretty and tasted so good!
Sam says
Am I cooking the rice before placing in the oven?
Danielle Green says
Yes, the rice is cooked before adding it to the peppers.
Kathleen says
These sound amazing and I can’t wait to try with the chicken. How ironic I just purchased a jar of chipolte salsa a couple of days ago and was thinking what to mak with it.. Was going to do chili but must try these first I make stuffed peppers often and usually in the crockpot with ground beef or turkey or half and half and use fresh mushrooms instead of rice with crushed tomatoes and alot of Mexican seasonings and top with cheddar or mozzarella and Yum!! I have frozen many times and just thaw and reheat them. Also chop up cold or slightly warm up and chop and put over a nice salad with all the fixings you like and makes a wonderful meal!! In the crockpot I leave them whole and clean out and fill and use a variety of colored peppers. May evev try them next time with chicken! Thanks so much!
Kathleen says
These sound amazing and I can’t wait to try with the chicken. How ironic I just purchased a jar of chipolte salsa a couple of days ago and was thinking what to mak with it.. Was going to do chili but must try these first I make stuffed peppers often and usually in the crockpot with ground beef or turkey or half and half and use fresh mushrooms instead of rice with crushed tomatoes and alot of Mexican seasonings and top with cheddar or mozzarella and Yum!! I have frozen many times and just thaw and reheat them. Also chop up cold or slightly warm up and chop and put over a nice salad with all the fixings you like and makes a wonderful meal!! In the crockpot I leave them whole and clean out and fill and use a variety of colored peppers. May evev try them next time with chicken! Thanks so much!
Ashley Haglin says
These are AMAZING!!! I love stuffed peppers but these are by far my new favorite, thank you!!!
Ashley Haglin says
These are AMAZING!!! I love stuffed peppers but these are by far my new favorite, thank you!!!
Mallory says
Have you ever tried freezing this recipe after preparing? I’m curious….
Danielle | Krafted Koch says
I have not yet tried, but I would anticipate these freezing well if you just left the tortilla chips off the top.
Kayla says
Can you please tell me what chipotle salsa is? Where do you find this and brand used?
Danielle | Krafted Koch says
Hi Kayla, it is a regular salsa with added chipotle flavor. I find this Carlita brand at my local, small-town grocery store, as well as big box stores. You can easily substitute any jar of your favorite salsa if you aren’t able to fine this particular brand.
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats says
These look fabulous! Love the extra crunch from the chips. PINNED 🙂
Christie - Food Done Light says
Red peppers are so cheap right now I was thinking of making stuffed peppers. I love that you added chipotle and kept it light with chicken.
Danielle | Krafted Koch says
Thanks Christie, stuffed peppers have really become one of my new favorites recently, and it doesn’t hurt that they are so affordable at the moment! 🙂