These stuffed poblano peppers are the ultimate healthy dinner! They're fresh and light, easy to make, and filled with bold, zesty flavor.
This stuffed poblano peppers recipe might be my new favorite summertime dinner. It has all the best parts of stuffed bell peppers – a fresh, flavorful filling, fun garnishes, and juicy roasted peppers – but the poblanos add an extra layer of heat. The whole thing is super fresh, super flavorful, and really darn fun to eat.
If you’ve never cooked with poblano peppers before, they’re a chili pepper with a mild to medium heat level. On the Scoville scale, which measures how spicy peppers are, they range from 1,000 to 2,000 Scoville heat units. For context, bell peppers score 0, while jalapeños can range anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000. In my experience, poblano peppers are typically mild, but if you’re sensitive to spice, choose them with caution. Look for larger poblano peppers (they’re typically less spicy) or use regular bell peppers in this recipe.
Stuffed Poblano Peppers Recipe Ingredients
I make my stuffed poblano peppers filling with a mix of fresh veggies and heartier plant-based ingredients. It’s packed with bold, zesty flavor, but it feels really light and fresh at the same time. Here’s what’s in it:
- Rice and black beans – They make this recipe hearty and satisfying! White and brown rice both work great here, so use what you have on hand.
- Cauliflower – The secret ingredient that makes this filling so light! Broken into tiny pieces or pulsed into cauliflower rice, it makes you feel like you’re eating more rice than you really are.
- Spices – Cumin, coriander, and oregano add delicious aromatic flavor.
- Diced red onion, red bell pepper, and fresh spinach – They punch up the flavor and make these peppers feel super fresh.
- And lime juice and tomatillo salsa add tangy, zesty flavor!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Stuffed Poblano Peppers Variations
Once you prep the filling, you can finish these peppers three ways:
- Totally plant-based. My favorite variation! Top the peppers with avocado slices or guacamole, extra tomatillo salsa, and chile lime cashew cream. The cashew cream is a bit of an extra step, but it’s SO GOOD on these peppers and on this veggie burrito bowl. (Blend once, eat twice!) My regular cashew sour cream, cilantro lime dressing, or chipotle sauce would also be great here.
- With cheese in the filling. Mix crumbled feta or Cotija cheese into the filling before you stuff the peppers. Then, bake them and top them with the fixings suggested above!
- With melty cheese on top. This one is Jack’s favorite. If you’re someone who needs melty cheese on your stuffed peppers, top them with a layer of your favorite shredded cheese before they bake. I recommend Monterey Jack or sharp cheddar. Then, bake until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Yum!
What’s your favorite variation? Let me know in the comments!
Serving Suggestions
This recipe yields 1 poblano pepper (2 stuffed halves) per person, which is enough for a light dinner. Enjoy them on their own, pair them with a simple green salad, or serve them with any of these fresh side dishes:
- Corn on the Cob
- Grilled Vegetables
- Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Grilled Fajita Veggies
And don’t forget the margaritas to drink! Enjoy!
More Favorite Tex Mex Recipes
If you love these stuffed poblano peppers, try one of these tasty Tex Mex recipes next:
- Sheet Pan Nachos
- Homemade Taquitos
- Vegetarian Tacos
- Jerk-Spiced Jackfruit Tacos
- Best Breakfast Burrito
- Healthy Taco Salad
Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 medium poblano peppers
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 1/3 cup diced red onion or chopped scallions
- 1 heaping cup cauliflower florets, broken into small pieces
- 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 cup cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cooked white or brown rice
- 3 cups fresh spinach
- 2 tablespoons lime juice, plus wedges for serving
- ¼ cup tomatillo salsa, store bought or this recipe
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- optional: Monterey Jack cheese, for topping (see note)
Serve with:
- avocado slices
- tomatillo salsa
- green chile cashew cream, or cotija or feta cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment pepper.
- Slice the peppers in half and remove the seeds and ribbing. Place on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and pinches of salt and pepper, and roast cut side up for 15 minutes.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, cauliflower, red pepper, cumin, coriander, oregano, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and several grinds of black pepper. Cook until the onion is soft and the cauliflower is lightly browned, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the black beans, rice, spinach, lime juice and tomatillo salsa. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Scoop the filling into the peppers and bake for 15 minutes.
- Serve with avocado slices, cilantro, tomatillo salsa, green chile cashew cream and lime slices on the side.
Notes
Im going to incorporate a vegan pepper jack cheese and diced mango.
Also I find the pepper cook better when you give them 1 slit down the middle; remove the seeds, stuff with mix and use a tooth pick to stitch the seal closed again. I am pairing the stuffed peppers with baby golden potatoes and a fresh pico de gallo salsa.
I made the salsa and the cashew cream sauce according to the additional recipes…both delicious in this recipe. I used all the vege ingredients called for and added mushrooms I wanted to use up. I just cut up the poblano peppers and sautéed them with the other veggies to make it easier to eat and because I only had two. I added a high quality Parmesan to the top before baking. When it was done I ate with the cream sauce and it’s now a favorite recipe I would serve to guests.
Hi Lynn, that sounds so delicious, I’m so glad you loved the components here!
Thank you for this delicious recipe! I’ve made this dish numerous times and it’s now become part of our regular dinner rotation. I love that it’s relatively simple, super healthy and so flavorful!
Hi Antonia, I’m so so thrilled to hear that it’s made it to the rotation! 🙂
this looks soooo delicious, i will tell her to make for me.
Wow! These look great. Never thought that cauliflower and poblano peppers can be a great combination. My cousin used to make salads with corn and poblano pepper and it tasted great.
Excellent! Will definitely make this again. I copped out and used jarred salsa but may try it from scratch next time. I am not strictly vegetarian or vegan, but it is a good portion of my diet. There are many vegan things I have made or tried thinking that they were okay for vegan, but this one is good no matter how you categorize it. Can’t wait to try more from you!
I made this along with the tomatillo salsa and both were a hit! I did sub diced summer squash and tomatoes instead of the wintry cauliflower, to make it more seasonal. Yum!
This looks fantastic! And had to chuckle about the locksmith and both of you being stuck in the room with two hungry dogs. This was a good way to spend the time.
! I hardly ever make stuffed peppers and you’ve totally inspired me to change that. Yes please!!!! These look amazing
So delicious! I will make a recipe for my family in a weekend. They’d like it. I don’t go kitchen to cook more because I’m not good at cooking.
I had a polish version of staffed peppers, so delicious. With being stuck in a room – wow, sounds like an adventure 😀
Looks so colourful. wants me to dive in.
Woo!These look great! I like poblano peppers, I must try these.
Wow, this look fantastic! I haven’t seen stuffed peppers made with poblanos before, but now I see that this is a must! All those fillings sound perfect, too! Pinned 🙂
I adore stuffed poblanos! I love how these are healthy without losing any of the heartiness.
These look amazing! I hardly ever make stuffed peppers and you’ve totally inspired me to change that. Yes please!!!!
I can’t believe you got stuck in the bedroom!! That’s a crazy story – thank goodness for cell phones.
This recipe looks DELISH! We absolutely love spicy food, so anything Mexican-inspired and spicy with a healthy twist is perfect.
xo, B&K
http://www.BKCsquared.com
These look amazing, especially the tomatillo salsa! Definitely bookmarking for future use 🙂 x
Laura // Middle of Adventure
Poblano peppers are my favorite for stuffing! These look excellent, I love the variety of veggies that you stuff them with. I have some cashews in my fridge just waiting to become a cream sauce. Thanks!
THESE LOOK AHMAZING. And right up my street. I need to give these a go 😍😍
Amanda. Amandabootes.co.uk