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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Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice
- Prep Time: 8 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 58 minutes
- Yield: 8 portions 1x
- Category: Mains
- Method: Oven / Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice are stuffed with 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.
Ingredients
For the Stuffed Poblano Peppers:
- 4 large poblano peppers
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
- ⅔ cup green onion, chopped
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 tbsp garlic oil (may sub 2 minced garlic cloves)
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ 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
- ½ 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 ½ cups of the shredded cheddar cheese and stir to combine.
- Remove from heat and portion equally into each poblano pepper half. Top with remaining ½ 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.
Notes
Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 stuffed poblano pepper and ¾ 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
Keywords: poblano peppers, cauliflower rice
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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OK I love everything about this recipe?!?! Stuffed peppers!! Cilantro!! Lime!! Cauliflower!! Just give it all to me.
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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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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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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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Stuffed peppers? I am sold. Love everything about this dish..what a delicious and tasty dish for the chilly nights.
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Oh wow this sounds all kinds of amazing, those poblanos are just cooked to perfection! Yum
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I love that you grew these poblano peppers yourself! This sounds like a really delicious meal!
This looks like a dream dinner to me!! Definitely adding it to my weekly meal plan for soon! 🙂
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Wow! This recipe looks so delicious! Never tried it before but definitely pinning it for later!)
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What a beautiful looking recipe! Sounds amazing!
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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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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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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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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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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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