Stuffed Poblano Peppers

These stuffed poblano peppers taste just like a chicken enchilada, without the fuss of having to roll up lots of corn tortillas.

What Are Poblano Peppers?

Poblano peppers are a mildly spicy, large pepper native to Mexico. You may know them from the Mexican dish, Chile Relleno, which are poblano peppers that are also stuffed, but get coated in batter and fried. They’re not quite as spicy as a jalapeño peppers, but they do pack a little bit of heat. If you’re sensitive to handling jalapeños, you might also be sensitive to poblanos, so wearing gloves while preparing this recipe is recommended.

Poblanos are more rectangular, long, and somewhat flat compared to their bell pepper cousins, which tend to be more round and bell-shaped. They can also be a little lumpy and curvy, making them challenging to stuff sometimes. For easier stuffing, I like to cut the poblanos in half, lengthwise, in a very specific way. If you prefer stuffed bell peppers, you can read my tips for How to Stuff Bell Peppers instead.

How To Cut The Peppers

Because poblano peppers are somewhat rectangular and flat, you’ll see a wide side (which is the side it’s most likely resting on) and a skinny side to the pepper. When you cut the pepper in half, you want two wide pieces. So, if you think about how you would butterfly or fillet a chicken breast to make a cutlet, you’ll want to cut the poblano in the same way, giving you two wide halves.

Insert the knife into the skinny side of the poblano and make a horizontal cut, just like you would with a chicken breast.

If you cut the poblano the other way, you’ll end up with two skinny halves. That limits the amount of stuffing you can add, and they also easily fall over, causing the filling to spill out.

How To Make Stuffed Poblanos

Before the peppers are cut though, you’ll want to preheat the oven and then prepare the filling. If you don’t have leftover rice, you can make a small batch on the stove or in your Instant Pot.

This chicken enchilada inspired filling is a mixture of diced chicken breast, crushed corn tortilla chips, green chiles, and your favorite enchilada sauce. The corn chips soften and act as a binder for the filling, without having to use flour, so the filling stays together while baking. It also adds the flavor of a corn tortilla to the filling, without having to roll up actual enchiladas. 

In a large bowl combine the chicken, green chiles, crushed tortilla chips, enchilada sauce, and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Set that aside while you prepare the baking dish and peppers.

In a large baking dish, like something you’d use for lasagna or a roast, add olive oil and the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix this together and spread it all over the bottom of baking dish.

Cut the poblano peppers in half lengthwise so that you have two wide pieces. Remove any seeds and white membranes, which will make the peppers spicier. Transfer the peppers to the baking dish and toss them all around in the salted oil until all sides are well coated. Then turn the peppers cut side up in the baking dish so they’re ready for stuffing.

Add 2 tablespoons of the rice inside of each pepper and spread it around evenly. Then spoon the chicken mixture evenly into each pepper, piling it up high as needed. 

Place the baking dish into the oven and bake the stuffed peppers for 25 minutes. Remove the dish from oven and top each pepper with cheese. Place the dish back into the oven and bake for 5 minutes more until the cheese is nice and melted.

Serve these immediately with lots of fresh cilantro, sour cream, pico de gallo, and if you’d like, a little extra enchilada sauce.

Stuffed Poblano Variations

Now, I love the chicken enchilada stuffing in the recipe, but you can absolutely use other things in your filling. Just think about all the different kinds of stuffed bell peppers and get creative.

Try ground beef or ground turkey with diced tomatoes and taco seasoning. Or make it vegetarian by using black beans as your protein. You can even use cooked quinoa instead of rice. It’s so fun to switch up the ingredients including the spices and cheese.

Podcast Episode: Making Stuffed Poblanos

This post originally appeared in October 2022 and was revised and republished in May 2024.