Transitioning into Fall with Stuffed Poblano Peppers
One of my favorite things in our summer garden this year was our small chili pepper crop. I was especially excited about our poblano plant this year because last year we had a grand total of one poblano grow and subsequently get eaten by a garden pest before the plant went completely dormant for the season. This year, I’ve enjoyed being able to walk right into my back yard to gather a variety of chili peppers for meals, using them to elevate the flavor and heat of everything from frittatas to quesadillas and tacos.
Now that it’s officially fall, I’m enjoying using poblanos as the star attraction in these seriously tasty Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice. Stuffed with plenty of beefy and cheesy goodness, this dish is the best of summer translated into a warm and comforting fall dish that will carry you into the cooler months.
How spicy are poblano peppers?
Overall, poblanos are generally considered to be a mild chili pepper, though their heat can vary substantially from pepper to pepper – even on the same plant. I’ve had poblanos that are super mild and others that I’ve been grateful to eat with a healthy dollop of sour cream to tone down the heat. Capsaicin, a naturally occurring compound found in the highest concentrations in the ribs and pith of the pepper (the white part), is responsible for a pepper’s heat. By removing the ribs and pith along with the seeds in these Stuffed Poblano Peppers, you can often lessen the heat of the pepper quite a bit.
Taming the heat with a little citric acid
If you’ve been following the blog since the beginning, you’ll know that even though my heat tolerance is not high, I am a big fan of chili peppers. In fact, the first recipe to grace this blog is for another stuffed pepper favorite: Jalapeno Poppers with Sausage and Cream Cheese. Alternatively, this recipe for Stuffed Poblano Peppers is chock full of ground beef in a well-seasoned tomato sauce base and loaded with green onions and cheddar cheese. To compliment the spice, I’ve paired them with a refreshing and citrusy Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice that helps tempter the heat a bit with natural citric acid. Additionally, I love to top these with a little lactose-free sour cream!
Overall, I would certainly consider this dish to be spicy, but I personally do not find it to be melt-your-face-off hot.
A note for special diets
These Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice are grain-free, gluten-free, low-carb and friendly for Keto diets with a net carb count of 6g per serving. For SIBO diets, I like to use a sharp cheddar cheese specifically because it is generally considered low-lactose (less than .5g/serving) and love to top these with a lactose-free sour cream. If lactose is not an issue for you, you can easily use a traditional sour cream instead.
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PinIngredients
For the Stuffed Poblano Peppers:
- 4 large poblano peppers
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
- 2/3 cup green onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 tbsp garlic oil (may sub 2 minced garlic cloves)
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded and divided
- Optional: Sour cream to top (I prefer this lactose-free option)
For the Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice:
- 1 large head cauliflower (6 cups), riced
- 1 cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 lime, both zest and juice
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
For the Stuffed Poblano Peppers:
- Prep your poblanos by halving them lengthwise, then removing the ribs, pith, and seeds (the white part). Place the poblanos in an oven safe baking dish, lined with baking paper, and reserve to the side.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 C).
- In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef until cooked through.
- Lower the heat slightly to just above medium. Add the tomato sauce, green onion, cilantro, garlic oil, cumin, chili powder, paprika, oregano, and sea salt to the ground beef, stirring to combine.
- Cook the ground beef mixture, stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes, then add 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheddar cheese and stir to combine.
- Remove from heat and portion equally into each poblano pepper half. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes. I usually pull them out when the edges of the pepper start to darken slightly and look a bit wrinkly.
- Serve on top of the Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice.
For the Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice:
- In a large pan over medium-high heat, add the riced cauliflower, cilantro, lime zest and juice, and sea salt.
- Sautee for 2-3 minutes, just long enough to cook the cauliflower and give it a bit of heat, but not so long that it starts to mash.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 stuffed poblano pepper and 3/4 cup of cauliflower rice
- Calories: 291
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 630 mg
- Fat: 19 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Carbohydrates: 10 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 21 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
oh I love peppers and never had the idea to stuff the hot ones and this stuffing has so much in it sounds delicous
We love stuffed peppers and your poblano with beef looks especially good. That melting cheese on top is making my mouth water. So very good!! Will have to look for some poblano peppers at the grocery store.
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Stuffed peppers have always been one of my husband’s favorite dishes. These stuffed peppers sound like they have an intriguing flavor combination.
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It’s always amazing to stuff peppers and even more fascinating to me is that we do is so many different ways across the world. I love that you served this over cauliflower rice. My favorite.
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Everything about this dish sounds just right. Those stuffed peppers looks killer. These low carb meals are my absolute fav type of meal that I wont mind eating all day. Love that you served stuffed peppers with flavor packed cilantro lime cauliflower rice
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My taste buds are singing with delight!!! I’m loving hard on this delicious stuffed poblano peppers recipe, The flavors and colors…mmmm. Thank you so much for sharing this special recipe!
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My daughter has been obsessed with cauliflower rice so we have a lot on hand. This dish looks so hearty and wholesome…I love the flavors and colors. Absolutely delicious!
Yes to alllll the cheese! I love stuffed peppers and the cheese is one of my favorite parts. Also I really like the Le Creuset (?) dish you used 🙂
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I love stuffed peppers made with poblanos. The little bit of extra heat is what I like, compared to bell peppers, but you’re right – it’s not too hot! These look delicious and I love that you served them with cauliflower rice.
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Wow and wow, this is so delicious and it makes my mouth watering!
This recipe looks super easy and full of ingredients my family loves. Looking forward to trying soon.
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WOW…look at the flavours in that casserole dish. Super easy to make for dinner any night of the week. I love cauliflower rice, and there are really nice cauliflowers at the market these days.
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Oh God, I LOVE rice, I LOVE pepper. This is really the perfect recipe for me. And this presentation looks very beautiful. I would like to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. LOVE
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I love stuffed peppers and this stuffing sounds so simple and easy. Cauliflower rice is my favorite and this looks so good. This would make a great brunch or side dish.
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Hearty and delicious! I love the use of poblanos – takes it all up a notch!
This is the kind of meal I like. Easy to make and packed with a lot of veggies. Exactly what I need- a healthier dinner idea!
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One of our favorite dishes is stuffed peppers and poblanos are also a favorite. Using cauliflower rice instead of regular fills up the poblanos with even more veggies. Excellent!!
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These stuffed peppers sound like they have an intriguing flavor combination. I love seeing how different people make their stuffed peppers, some cut the side and some cut the top.
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Oh my goodness that layer of golden, melted cheese is calling to me! This is my kind of meal and I love that its low carb with the cauliflower rice. Perfect for Keto! 😀
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That is wholesome meal there, cauliflower rice I am yet to try it. I will love these poblano peppers stuffed with cheese and meat so yum.
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I love stuffed poblano peppers! Yours looks so delicious and easy and I love the addition of the flavorful cauliflower rice!
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Stuffed peppers are always exploding with flavor and add an amazing contrast to whatever I bake in them. Your take on them looks amazing. Especially with the addition of tangy lime. Thanks for sharing.
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I’m always looking for more low carb recipes and wow, this one looks amazing! I love cauliflower rice too so this recipe is right up my alley!
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These peppers sound so delicious with all that ground meat filling. Such awesome flavors in the recipe, I can imagine it was gone in an instant. Sounds yum.
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Stuffed peppers and rice is such a classic comfort food comfort and I grew up with my granny’s version! Delicious – but I these days I would definitely opt for your healthy twist with cauliflower rice on the side. Delish!
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Poblano peppers are my fav type of peppers and serving stuffed peppers with rice is best meal ever, I love my rice everyday. But cauliflower rice is better for my waistline. The stuffing is so hearty and comforting. Absolutely delicious!
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What a beautiful looking recipe! Sounds amazing!
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Wow! This recipe looks so delicious! Never tried it before but definitely pinning it for later!)
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This looks like a dream dinner to me!! Definitely adding it to my weekly meal plan for soon! 🙂
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I love that you grew these poblano peppers yourself! This sounds like a really delicious meal!
Oh wow this sounds all kinds of amazing, those poblanos are just cooked to perfection! Yum
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Stuffed peppers? I am sold. Love everything about this dish..what a delicious and tasty dish for the chilly nights.
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Stuffed poblano peppers and cauliflower rice – what’s not to love? I love spicy dishes and this looks and sounds so delicious.A perfect meal for these chilly autumn evenings!.
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i am a huge huge fan of poblano peppers. i put them in everything i can and also love to sue them in sauces. this is such a great recipe! I make ones that are stuffed with rice and beans – poblano peppers are just the best!
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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 🙂
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OK I love everything about this recipe?!?! Stuffed peppers!! Cilantro!! Lime!! Cauliflower!! Just give it all to me.
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Any type of stuffed pepper is immediately on my list to make. I love poblanos and the filling sounds delicious so hearty! I love using cauliflower in the sauce as well- yum!
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