Fresh green bell peppers become their own serving vessel when stuffed with chicken, rice, mushrooms, and a creamy sauce to create a weeknight dinner that puts the all the essential nutrients in one easy-to-make and totally delicious dinner.
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“Yum! The first time I made this was so good I had to make it again.” -Gail, FoodieCrush reader
This Is One of My Family’s Top 5 Favorite Dinners of All Time
My husband and I have been making a variation of these creamy chicken stuffed peppers for way longer than I’d care to reveal, ’cause you know, I was a child bride and all 😉.
Back in the day we used an onion soup mix as the main flavoring to spike a cream of mushroom soup concentrate to make the creamy filling. If anyone had tested our sodium levels post gorge we would have been straight-up mistaken for a salt lick thanks to the massive spike.
I set my man to task to create a lightened up, non-grocery store mix version. I’m stoked to say, he did it — and then some. It’s every bit as good, and I think way better thanks to the omission of the salty onion mix that we subbed with savory thyme leaves.
Today, we make a simple roux with butter, flour, and milk that’s reduced for a creamy filling with cooked rice and sautéed mushrooms. Plus this version gets its mushroom-y flavor from ground, dried porcini mushrooms combined with a load of sautéed cremini mushrooms added to onion and celery for a delicious trilogy of flavor.
Enjoy!
Ingredient Notes
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Bell peppers — I prefer using green peppers for this recipe, but I’ve also used red, orange, and even poblano peppers in the past.
- Mushrooms — A combination of sliced cremini mushrooms and dried porcini mushrooms gives the creamy filling tons of flavor.
- Aromatics — Celery and onion help flavor the sauce.
- Creamy sauce — It’s a simple béchamel sauce made with butter, flour, and milk. I also add some chicken stock to thin it out and make it thin enough to coat the chicken, rice, and veggies.
- Cooked chicken — A store-bought rotisserie chicken keeps this recipe weeknight-friendly.
- Cooked rice — I typically make the rice the day before (here’s my favorite method), especially if I’m using brown rice which takes much longer to cook. You can sub in cooked quinoa too.
- Cheese — Shredded cheddar or Monterrey Jack are my personal favorites.
How to Make Stuffed Peppers with Chicken and Rice
- Blanch the peppers. I do this by placing the trimmed and seeded peppers in a bowl with a little water and sprinkling their insides with kosher salt, and then microwaving them on high for 10 minutes or so. I prefer my peppers to be on the less-than-mushy side, so this technique works perfectly for a tender, but not over-cooked bell pepper.
- Make the creamy chicken and mushroom filling. After sautéing the aromatics and sliced mushrooms, melt the butter in the now-empty pan and stir in the flour. You need to let the flour cook for a couple minutes otherwise your béchamel will taste gluey. Whisk in the milk and chicken stock, then the spices and mushroom powder.
- Simmer, then stir in the chicken and rice. When the sauce has reduced by about a third, return the veggies to the pan along with the shredded chicken and rice.
- Fill the peppers, then bake. So long as you really pack the peppers into the baking dish, they should stand up one their own without issue so that you can really stuff them to the brim. Don’t forget to sprinkle the tops with cheese before baking until golden!
Heidi’s Tip: To grind the dried porcini mushrooms, we use a coffee grinder, or you could also use your food processor instead.
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
Give the peppers a cooking head start before stuffing them! I always blanch my peppers quickly in the microwave, that way they’re softened and ready for the already-cooked stuffing, making the baking process more of a warm-up instead of a full-on baking experience.
You can use a store-bought rotisserie chicken for this recipe. Or, if you’re a wanna be meal-prepper like me, roast or poach up a chicken of your own on the weekend, shred it, and store in the fridge for dinners like this.
Adjust the filling as desired. We’ve made versions of these stuffed bell peppers with chicken, without chicken, with rice on the side, with rice added and baked in. You can make this recipe your own by tweaking the filling as you see fit.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
Creamy Chicken Stuffed Peppers Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 green bell peppers , seeded and cut in half
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 stalks celery , diced
- 1 small onion , diced
- 2 pounds cremini mushrooms , sliced
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups cold milk
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme , crushed
- 5 teaspoons dried mushrooms (such as oyster or porcini) , ground into a powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt , divided
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups cooked chicken , shredded
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 1 ¼ cups shredded cheese (such as Monterey jack or cheddar)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- Par-cook the peppers. Remove the stems from the peppers and carefully remove the seeds and ribs from the inside. Lightly salt (about ¼ teaspoon) the inside of the stemmed and seeded peppers and place in a microwave safe bowl with ½ cup or so of water, cover and cook for 5 minutes until starting to soften.
- Sauté the aromatics and mushrooms. In a large skillet or dutch oven, sauté the onions and celery with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt over medium heat until they begin to soften, about 4-5 minutes. Add the cremini mushrooms and cook for another 5-7 minutes until the mushrooms soften then transfer to a bowl.
- Make the creamy sauce. In the same dutch oven or skillet, melt the butter over medium heat, scraping bits from bottom of pan if there are any. Whisk in the flour and cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly so flour taste cooks out and the mixture becomes lightly browned. Add the chicken stock and the milk to the butter and flour mixture, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add the thyme, crushing it between your fingers, the ground mushroom powder and season to with the salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to medium heat and cook until the sauce thickens and reduces by one third.
- Finish the filling. Add the mushroom mixture back to the pan along with the cooked chicken and rice. Simmer until warmed. Add more milk if the sauce is too thick.
- Bake. Place peppers in a 9×13-inch baking dish, skin side down, and fill pepper cavities with chicken mixture and top each pepper with a small handful of shredded cheese. Add extra filling around the peppers, if needed. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes or until bubbling and the cheese is melted. Rest for 5 minutes and serve.
Nutrition
What to Serve with Chicken and Rice Stuffed Peppers
Because stuffed bell peppers are literally a meal in one, the big question becomes what goes with them? Here are a few ideas to take your one-stage meal to upstage all the others:
More Easy Stuffed Pepper Recipes
- Breakfast Stuffed Peppers
- Stuffed Pasilla Peppers
- Ground Beef Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Southwestern Stuffed Peppers
- Mexican Stuffed Peppers
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Stephanie S
We really loved these! I blanched bell peppers first as we usually do. Seared and diced the chicken rather than shredding it. Also added some minced garlic. The remaining stuffing was fantastic as leftovers too!
Perfect Stephanie! Blanching the peppers is the same effect as giving them a quick zap in the microwave, so thanks for sharing!
Gail
Yum! The first time I made this was so good I had to make it again. My second attempt wasn’t as successful. The sauce didn’t thicken enough, so I diced the prepped peppers and poured the whole mixture over linguini. The result as fabulous! Thanks for sharing.
What a great idea to adapt it for linguini. I’ll have to try that!
Nancy
I didn’t see this question already asked, but if I missed it I apologize.
Are these freezeable?
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Totally! I’d freeze before baking!
Cinnamon Flowers
i have a question at the beginning of the recipe it says to cut the peppers in half and microwave them. but later it says to put the whole peppers in the microwave in a bowl with water and the picture shows whole Peppers being filled with the mixture. what are the cut in half Peppers at the beginning to be used for?
Andra
Its says cut in half but i see whole peppers in the picture? please advise…
Jerry
Made it. Ate it. Loved it. Great recipe.
So glad you liked it Jerry!
Marie Howell
Almond Boneless Chicken and rice from a Chinese restaurant was the inspiration to seek a recipe to use up the leftovers and this one is delicious! I combined the chicken and rice with mushrooms and half a can of mushroom soup, added some sauteed onions and added breast meat from a leftover rotisserie chicken,some seasonings, stuffed and placed in pan w/ diluted soup left from recipe – baked a little longer, as I used whole peppers. Will make this again!
Sarah
These were so, so, so good. I couldn’t stop tasting the filling before I filled up the peppers. Definitely an involved recipe that takes a good amount of time to put together. I would recommend cooking the rice and chicken ahead of time, and maybe use pre-shredded cheese and pre-sliced mushrooms to save even more time.
The instructions are confusing: the first step says to cut the peppers in half and microwave them (but the picture shows whole peppers) and then a few steps later there is a similar instruction (about salting and microwaving) but it doesn’t mention cutting them in half. I assumed that the second set of instructions was a duplicate from the first so I did not microwave them again for an additional 5 minutes. They turned out plenty tender/soft after being in the oven.
Sue
This was so good!! Subbed 1 box prepared long grain and wild rice for the white rice, so eliminated the salt. Had enough filling for 6 peppers, plus extra to bake on the side. Will definitely be making this again!! Thank you!!!
Candace
Great recipe! I have made this twice now. Thanks for sharing. Yummy!
Sue
Your instructions say cut peppers in half but your photos show whole stuffed peppers? Would prefer whole ones myself. Will give it a try though, recipe sounds good. Thanks!