Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers

If you’re torn between making chicken fajitas and stuffed peppers, this recipe brings the best of both together in one easy, flavor-packed dinner. These Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers are made with tender, marinated chicken, seasoned Spanish rice, and sautéed onions and tomatoes, all stuffed into bell peppers and baked to perfection.

It’s a fun twist on two classic favorites, combining bold fajita flavors with a cozy, all-in-one stuffed pepper meal. The peppers soften as they bake, soaking up all that seasoning while adding just a touch of natural sweetness to balance everything out.

Key Ingredients Notes

• Bell peppers – Any color works. Look for large, even-shaped peppers so they’re easy to stuff and stand upright.
• Chicken – Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs. Note that thighs will be a little juicier. You can also use rotisserie or leftover chicken.
• Lime juice – Fresh is best for bright flavor.
• Rice – If you have leftover homemade Spanish rice is ideal, but otherwise, grab a box of your favorite store-bought Spanish rice.
• Cheese – Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, mozzarella, or cheddar.

How to Make Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers

Start by mixing together the marinade. It should smell bright and a little smoky from the spices with a fresh hit of lime. Add the chicken and let it sit about 15 mins, while you prep everything else. Even a short marinade gives the chicken noticeably more flavor.

While the chicken is resting, go ahead and cook your rice so it’s ready to go. Warm rice mixes much better into the filling and absorbs all the flavors.

Heat a large skillet and cook the chicken until it’s fully done and lightly golden in spots. You’ll know it’s ready when the edges get a little color and the center is no longer pink. Let it rest for a few minutes before cutting so it stays juicy, then dice it into bite-sized pieces.

In the same skillet, cook the onions and tomatoes. Let them soften and pick up some of the browned bits left from the chicken. That’s where a lot of the flavor builds.

Combine the chicken, rice, and sautéed vegetables. Mix until everything is evenly distributed and coated in those flavorful juices.

Prepare the peppers by cutting them in half and removing the seeds. If they wobble, you can slice a very thin piece off the bottom so they sit flat in the baking dish.

Fill each pepper generously. Press the filling in lightly so it holds together but don’t pack it too tightly.

Bake until the peppers are tender when pierced with a fork but still holding their shape. You’re looking for that perfect balance where they’re soft but not collapsing.

Finish by adding cheese on top and returning them to the oven just until melted and bubbly.

Recipe Variations

• Meat: you can use skirt steak instead of chicken to make them beef or if you like seafood, use shrimp.
• Vegetables: if you’d like to add more veggies into the filling, you can add corn, black beans, mushrooms, chopped broccoli, zucchini, or chili peppers.
• Cheeses: to make the filling creamier, you can add a couple of ounces of cream cheese. You can also mix in some shredded Monterrey Jack cheese, mozzarella cheese, or Pepper Jack cheese.

Serving Suggestions

These stuffed peppers are a full meal on their own, but you can easily round things out with a few simple sides and toppings:

• Serve them with a scoop of the best guacamole, or fresh pico de gallo, or some fresh salsas like homemade corn salsa or easy avocado salsa for a cool, fresh contrast. If you want something a little more filling, add a side of rice or beans.
• Good sides include Mexican street corn salad or black bean and corn salad.
• You can variate the chicken and use Instant Pot salsa chicken or Crock Pot salsa chicken.

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Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Delicious dinner that's great for weekend or weeknights. Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers dinner is made with red and green bell peppers, stuffed with fajita marinated grilled chicken and Spanish rice mixture! "Delicious" doesn't even begin to describe it!

4.80 from 5 votes

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Dietary Options

Course: dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 364kcal

Author: Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

Marinade:

• ▢ 1/3 cup avocado or vegetable oil
• ▢ 2 Tbsp lime juice
• ▢ 1 tsp ground cumin
• ▢ 1 tsp paprika
• ▢ 1 tsp ground chili pepper
• ▢ salt
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves pressed
• ▢ 2 chicken breasts

Stuffed Peppers:

• ▢ Cooked chicken from above
• ▢ 3 large bell peppers or 4 medium
• ▢ 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
• ▢ 1 medium tomato chopped
• ▢ 5 oz uncooked Spanish rice*
• ▢ 1 tsp. fresh minced cilantro
• ▢ 6-8 Tbsp Mexican cheese mix

Instructions

• Combine ingredients for Fajita marinade in a large mixing bowl and whisk well. Add chicken to the marinade and let it marinade for about 15 minutes.
• Preheat an oven-safe skillet on stovetop, medium heat.
• Add chicken and the marinade to the skillet and cook until chicken is fully done, flipping it half way through.
• While the chicken is cooking, prepare Spanish rice according to the package and set aside.
• Take chicken breasts out and lay them on a cutting board. Dice the chicken once it is cooled enough to handle.
• Saute chopped onions and tomato in the same skillet.
• In a large, clean, mixing bowl, combine Spanish rice, diced chicken, sauteed onions and tomato (including the marinade that was leftover in the skillet) and cilantro. Mix well and taste to see if you need to add a little more salt.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Cut the bell peppers in half, lengthwise, and clean them out, taking out all the seeds and membrane.
• Lay the bell pepper halves in the skillet, like little cups, and fill them with the rice/chicken mixture.
• Sprinkle about 1-2 tablespoons of cheese on top. Place the skillet in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the peppers are cooked. (Personally, I like them a little bit crunchy but you may need to adjust baking time according to your taste. Bake them longer if you want the peppers softer.)

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Notes

• *You can also use leftover homemade Spanish rice in this recipe. You will need about 1.5 cups.
• Storing: you can easily store the leftovers in the same baking dish, just make sure it’s cooled. Cover the baking dish air-tight and refrigerate for 3-4 days.
• Reheating: you can easily reheat individual portions in the microwave, just do it in 30-45 second increments, until hot. You can also reheat the whole pan in the oven at 350℉ for 10-15 minutes.

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Nutrition

Calories: 364kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 197mg | Potassium: 527mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 2220IU | Vitamin C: 82mg | Calcium: 127mg | Iron: 1mg

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