Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 500°F or set to high broil.
- In a large skillet, combine chicken, 1 cup of water, and the taco seasoning. Cook over medium-high heat until boiling. Lower heat to simmer for 10 minutes until heated through.
- Prepare quinoa according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Place black beans in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until heated through.
- Cut peppers lengthwise in half, remove seeds. Place on a baking sheet, cut side down. Broil for 5 minutes or until the skins blister. Remove from oven and turn peppers over.
- Combine quinoa with beans and stir gently until combined.
- Add taco seasoning to your chicken and bean-quinoa mixture and stir thoroughly.
- Fill peppers with the chicken and bean-quinoa mixture and top with cheese.
- Broil for an additional 2-3 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Top with crema mexicana and cilantro. Serve warm.
Nutrition
Notes
- Use rotisserie chicken — Pre-cooked rotisserie chicken cuts prep down to about 20 minutes. Shred it, season it, heat it through. The taco seasoning carries all the flavor work.
- Blister before you fill — Cut side down, 500°F broiler, five minutes. The skin blisters and the walls soften—easier to eat and a subtle smokiness that raw pepper doesn't have. Don't skip this step.
- Control the heat level — Poblanos are mild by default. Leave some seeds in the pepper, add a pinch of cayenne to the filling, or finish with sliced jalapeños to dial it up.
- Stagger the sides — Quinoa takes about 15 minutes; beans take 5–7 on low. Start the quinoa first, then drop the beans on the back burner. By the time the chicken finishes simmering, everything's ready to combine.
- Cover the filling edge to edge with cheese — Press the cheese down lightly so it reaches the rim of the pepper. The broiler blisters and bubbles it in 2–3 minutes—full coverage means no dry spots.
- Mexican rice or cilantro lime rice is the natural base—something to catch the filling that spills when you cut in. Cilantro lime rice especially mirrors what's already in the pepper without doubling down on any single flavor.
- Put out salsa roja, pico de gallo, and lime wedges at the table. Pico brings freshness that cuts through the richness of the crema. A squeeze of lime over everything at the end sharpens the whole plate.
- Sliced avocado or a spoonful of guacamole on top adds the fat that rounds out the taco seasoning. Warm flour tortillas are good for scooping up any filling that escapes the pepper.
- Store leftover stuffed peppers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 325°F oven covered with foil for 15–20 minutes—the foil keeps the filling from drying out and the cheese from over-browning.
- Freeze fully assembled peppers for up to 2 months. Wrap each pepper individually in foil before placing in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat covered at 325°F until heated through, about 20–25 minutes.
- The filling alone—chicken, beans, and quinoa combined—also freezes separately. Store it flat in a quart freezer bag, thaw overnight, and stuff fresh peppers when you're ready to serve.