Caprese Chicken Stuffed Peppers
Servings: 6 Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs chicken Approximately 2 lg chicken breasts, okay to use leftover rotisserie chicken too.
- 1 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning, divided
- 1 1/2 tbsp garlic powder, divided
- 1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
- 3/4 tsp pepper, divided
- 1/2 cup long grain rice We used jasmine rice.
- 3/4 cup chicken stock Okay to substitute water. Make sure you check the amount of liquid needed for the specific rice you choose.
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes Crushed fire roasted tomatoes will give more flavor
- 1 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- .66 oz fresh basil, roughly chopped, divided
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 cups spinach, chopped
- 8 oz shredded mozzarella, divided
- 6 bell peppers, tops and seeds removed
- 9 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 tbsp balsamic glaze
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13in casserole dish with nonstick spray.
Chicken and Rice
- Season your chicken with 1/2 tbsp of Italian seasoning, 1/2 tbsp of garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper.
- Cook chicken fully using the preparation of your choice. Using leftover rotisserie chicken is also fine. I chose to pressure cook my chicken breasts for 15 minutes using the high setting of my ninja foodi using the wire rack and 1 cup of water added to the bottom. You could also bake your chicken breasts, or pan fry them until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Once fully cooked, shred chicken and set aside.
- While chicken is cooking, make your rice. Add rice and broth to a small saucepan over high heat. When the rice begins boiling, cover and reduce heat to low. Follow the instructions on the rice of your choice regarding cook time.
Sauce Mixture
- While the rice and chicken cook, in a large, deep skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat, melt butter.
- When butter is melted, add onion and garlic. Saute until softened, 5-7 minutes. Once softened, add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir well and simmer 3-4 minutes.
- Add remaining seasonings, 3/4 of the chopped basil, and the balsamic vinegar. Stir well. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add rice, shredded chicken, spinach and half of the mozzarella. Stir well and remove from heat.
The Stuffed Peppers
- Stand each pepper up inside of the casserole dish. Fill each pepper equally with the chicken and rice mixture. Top with the remaining cheese and with 3 cherry tomato halves each. Bake covered with tin foil for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove the tin foil and bake an additional 15-20 minutes. If the tops are not browned enough, feel free to broil for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is lightly toasted. Sprinkle with remaining basil and drizzle the top with balsamic glaze.
- Serve and enjoy