These Chipotle Chicken Avocado Stuffed Peppers capture all the delicious flavors of the popular Panera sandwich with fewer carbs and fat.
It’s naturally gluten free and keto friendly, perfect for lunch, brunch or dinner.
- Do You Have to Boil Peppers Before Stuffing Them?
- What Color Bell Peppers are Best?
- What Other Peppers are Good for Stuffing?
- Is Chipotle Pepper Spicy?
- Can You Cook with Avocado?
- Recipe
Ingredients
This is a quick and easy recipe that can be made with any chicken you have handy.
You can use chicken breasts or chicken thighs, or a combination of both. Try using rotisserie chicken or even leftover turkey. It’s a great recipe to have for that Thanksgiving turkey!
You’ll need a little bit of canned tomato, three bell peppers, a couple of avocados, cheese and some seasonings. So easy!
For a quick and easy way to prepare your chicken, try this recipe for Instant Pot Shredded Chicken from Frozen.
Do You Have to Boil Peppers Before Stuffing Them?
If you have pre-cooked your filling, it’s best to pre-cook your peppers. You don’t necessarily need to boil them, but pre-cooking them is still important.
If you don’t prepare your bell peppers for stuffing, you will end up cooking your filling too long, drying it out.
Have a browse at all |
For my Dirty Rice Stuffed Bell Peppers, I boiled the peppers first. For this recipe, I’ve roasted the peppers instead.
What Color Bell Peppers are Best?
Any color bell pepper will work for this recipe. I’ve seen red, yellow, orange, purple and, of course, green.
My favorites are yellow and orange. They’re sweeter. It seems like green is a little bitter, but will work just as well.
What Other Peppers are Good for Stuffing?
Because I’ve added Chipotle Powder to the chicken filling, I decided on mild peppers. You don’t get any milder than bell peppers, of course.
You may also want to try Cubanelle, Poblano or Anaheim. For spicier chile peppers, try Hatch or Jalapeno. See my Scoville Heat Scale for more details on each.
Is Chipotle Pepper Spicy?
Chipotle pepper is fairly spicy. I’ve used a teaspoon of chipotle powder in this recipe. You can expect some spicy heat.
If you aren’t prepared for that heat, go ahead and use red chile powder instead (US version). It adds the flavor of red chile peppers without the heat of chipotle.
Using the more generic chile powder will also remove the smoky flavor of the jalapeno (Chipotle is actually a mature, smoked jalapeno), which is a key layer of flavor. If you have some Liquid Smoke, you could add about a teaspoon to the chicken filling.
As you’re making the filling, keep in mind that it’s fully cooked. You can taste it for flavor as you go. Remember that you can add, but you can’t remove.
Can You Cook with Avocado?
I’ve got to admit that anything named chipotle chicken avocado melt had me a little concerned. I’ve never heated avocado before.
Panera didn’t steer me wrong, though. You’re only heating the avocado for about five minutes. It’s just long enough to melt the cheese so it’s all good. Trust me.
Recipe
Chipotle Chicken Avocado Stuffed Peppers
Tap to leave a star ratingFor more information, be sure to check the recipe details in the attached 24Bite® post.
Equipment
- 9 x 11" baking dish
Ingredients
- 3 Bell Peppers
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Salt, Himalayan Pink Salt used
Chipotle Chicken Filling
- 2 Chicken Breasts, boneless, skinless, cooked, shredded
- ¼ cup Canned Diced Tomatoes
- ¼ cup Tomato Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Salt, Himalayan Pink Salt used
- 1 teaspoon Chipotle Powder
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce, (optional)
- 2 Avocado
- 6 ounces Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- With long, sharp knife, cut bell peppers in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out seeds and membranes. I left the stems as a purely aesthetic feature. Brush insides and outsides of peppers with olive oil and place in baking dish. Sprinkle a little salt inside each.
- Place in preheated oven and roast the peppers until just undercooked, about 20 minutes.
- While cooking the peppers, prepare the filling: mix together shredded chicken, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, chipotle powder and (optional) Worcestershire sauce.
- After 20 minutes, remove the peppers, tipping out and removing any accumulated liquid inside the peppers. Scoop prepared filling evenly inside each bell pepper half. Place back in the oven and continue cooking for 10 minutes.
- Remove skin and seeds from avocados and slice. After the 10 minutes, remove the peppers and place slices of avocado on top. Evenly distribute the shredded cheese on the top. Place back in the oven for 5 more minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Note: If there is a video, it will not display while there is an adblocker.
Notes
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. All amounts are estimates and 24Bite® takes no responsibility for actual figures since calculations vary by packaging and supplier. Please calculate the amounts yourself based on package labeling if you have specific dietary requirements. 24Bite®, Kim Guzman or Christian Guzman shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on this website or actions you take as a result.
© 2019-2024 Kim Guzman and Christian Guzman. All rights reserved. Subscribe to 24Bite email newsletters.
Follow 24Bite:
Join the Conversation