Ingredients
- 3 medium bell peppers red, yellow, or orange — avoid green for sweetness
- 1 large chicken breast cooked and shredded
- 1 cup cooked white rice day-old rice works best — less sticky
- ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes finely chopped
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup Parmesan freshly grated
- Salt pepper, red pepper flakes, fresh basil
Instructions
- Prep the peppers. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Slice off the tops of the peppers and remove seeds and membranes. Stand them upright in a baking dish.
- Make the filling. In a bowl, combine shredded chicken, cooked rice, sun-dried tomatoes, and cream. Season well. The filling should look slightly wet — it will tighten as it bakes. Stir in half the Parmesan.
- Fill and top. Spoon the filling into the raw peppers, packing firmly. Top each with the remaining Parmesan.
- Bake. Bake 25–30 minutes until the pepper
Nutrition
Notes
Pro Tips
- Pack the filling firmly: Press it down with a spoon so there are no air pockets. Air pockets create dry spots and uneven heating through the filling.
- Day-old rice is worth planning for: If you know you're making this tomorrow, cook a cup of rice tonight, spread on a baking sheet, and refrigerate uncovered. Even 6 hours of drying makes a difference.
- Don't skip the 5-minute rest: The filling is loose right out of the oven. Resting allows it to set enough that when you cut through the pepper, the filling holds its shape rather than collapsing.
- Muffin tin trick: If you're scaling up and have more peppers than your baking dish can hold standing upright, a standard muffin tin holds them perfectly and keeps them vertical throughout baking.
- Reheat in the oven, not the microwave: Microwaving these makes the filling rubbery and the pepper walls limp. Covered in a 350F oven for 15 minutes brings them back close to their original quality.