I’ve had a mild obsession with poblano peppers as of late. Ever since making Deb Perelman’s delicious corn risotto-stuffed poblano peppers from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook I’ve been dreaming of making my own version of stuffed peppers. I even planted a poblano pepper plant in our garden this year in hopes of having fresh peppers from our yard to use in my recipes. Alas! Our pepper plant produced no peppers.

Pepper tragedies aside, I finally picked up a few poblanos from the grocery store the other week and put together this recipe for you guys! I’ve tried it with bell peppers as well and it was just as delicious. I prefer the smoky flavor of poblanos, and while most of these peppers are fairly mild, you can get a rogue spicy one in the mix. If you have a strong aversion to spicy food, I recommend using bell peppers for this recipe.

This recipe can easily be halved to serve less people. I’ve been making the full filling recipe (but have been using less peppers) so that I can have leftovers of the filling the next day. It’s delicious in a tortilla or just reheated and served with leftover lime crema and cilantro.

Spicy Stuffed Poblano Peppers with a Fresh Lime Crema

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Servings 4 -6

Ingredients

  

• 6-8 poblano peppers or 4+ bell peppers if you prefer

Filling Ingredients

• 2 c cooked rice
• 1 lb ground beef and spices brown and season according to this recipe or use a packet of taco seasoning mix
• 2 c freshly shredded cheese I like using 1 c cheddar and 1 c pepperjack
• 1/2 c feta
• 1 c frozen corn thawed

Lime Crema Ingredients

• 1/4 c sour cream
• 1/4 c plain Greek yogurt
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• Pepper to taste

For garnish

• Cilantro chopped

Instructions

 

• Cook rice according to package instructions and set aside to cool.
• Brown ground beef and season according to this recipe (or use a packet of taco seasoning mix if you wish.) Set aside to cool.
• Optional step: If you don't like the skins on your peppers, you can broil the peppers whole till the skins are charred, remove them from the oven and cover them with foil for 5 minutes or so till they've cooled a bit, then carefully remove the skins. I have found that I like doing this with bell peppers but I don't mind the skins on poblano peppers. If you do this step, it does make the peppers a bit more difficult to stuff with the filling later.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Combine all lime crema ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Combine 2 c cooked rice, ground beef, feta, most of the shredded cheese (save some for topping the peppers later), and corn in a large bowl to create filling.
• If using poblano peppers, cut them down the center, stem to point, to create little boats. If using bell peppers, carefully use a knife to cut a hole around the stem (like you would to carve a pumpkin!) Remove the seeds and membranes from the peppers (careful with the poblanos, they can be spicy.)
• Stuff each pepper with filling, place in a glass baking dish, top with extra shredded cheese, and bake at 400 degrees F for 12-15 minutes, until heated through and peppers are tender. Broil for a few minutes to brown the cheese if you wish.
• Remove the peppers from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Serve with lime crema drizzled on top and garnish with cilantro.

Notes

Try adding a can of black beans (rinsed and drained) to your filling if you wish!

A note about poblano peppers - many are very mild, but you can get an occasional spicy one in the mix. If you have a strong aversion to spicy food, you may want to stick with bell peppers.

This post contains affiliate links but all opinions are my own.