It’s never easy to find Mexican recipes that are easy on the waistline yet still satisfying at the same time. Well, search no longer because I think I made one up last night! These enchilada stuffed peppers turned out better than how expected them to be.
I was seriously craving comforting, cheesy enchiladas, but I didn’t want my hard work at barre class to be completely cancelled out. In addition, I had some leftover ground beef in my fridge that I needed to use up, along with some shredded Colby jack cheese. With this in mind, I headed down to the store and pushed myself to be creative. It would have been too easy to head straight for the flour tortillas, but instead, I went to the produce section and saw tons of green bell peppers on sale.
If you had company, I would get a variety of colours, but honestly, don’t they all pretty much taste the same? Green bell peppers are so much cheaper! I guess if you’re seeking a wow factor, though, go with multicolour.
In this enchilada stuffed peppers recipe, I used a box of Knorr Mexican rice, and I would strongly suggest looking for a low sodium variety. Then, when you combine this with all the other ingredients, such as taco seasoning, you don’t need to add extra salt! Also, remember that cheese often has plenty of that salty taste you love.
I nuked my enchilada stuffed peppers in the microwave for about five minutes in the same pyrex I baked them in – this is a crucial step to ensure the peppers are edible and not too hard. These are super irresistible and filling on your own, but you could do a side such as canned vegetarian refried beans (fewer calories in these) OR chips and homemade guac! I can also tell you these enchilada stuffed peppers keep well in the fridge for the next day—I would know, I ate mine cold the next day for lunch!
Delightful Enchilada Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- ¾ pound ground beef (minced beef)
- 3 medium red pepper (red capsicum)
- ½ medium yellow onion - chopped
- 2 cloves garlic - chopped
- 2 teaspoons chili powder (chilli powder in British English)
- 1 dash ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ packet taco seasoning - low-sodium
- 1 box rice - Mexican, low-sodium
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup Colby Jack cheese
- 1 tablespoon cilantro (coriander)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook the rice according to instructions on the box, set it aside.
- While rice is cooking, brown the ground beef, onion and garlic. Make sure you break the beef into very fine pieces. Add in taco seasoning, chilli powder, garlic powder, and pepper. Stir 3 minutes
- Add in water and stir for 1 minute. Add half of a 10-ounce can of enchilada sauce and stir. Combine with ¾ cup of cooked rice. Allow to a boil, then let simmer on low for 20 minutes.
- While the mixture is cooking, cut off the tops of each bell pepper and pull out seeds/stems. Place in a baking dish and microwave for 5 minutes. You may notice they produce some “water” after cooking; I just dumped this in the sink.
- Now you’re ready to stuff—fill up each pepper halfway with beef and rice mixture, put a tablespoon of cheese, and then fill to top with beef and rice mixture. Top each pepper with a mound of cheese, then put 1 tablespoon or so of enchilada sauce on top.
- Baked covered with foil for 25 minutes. During the last 2 minutes, uncover turn the heat up to broil to brown the cheese a little. Top with sprinkled cilantro if you please!