Stuffed Anaheim Peppers with ground beef and cheese are a Mexican flavoured dish with just a little hint of heat.
About Anaheim Peppers
Anaheim Peppers are a large, mild chile pepper with a low heat level that’s tolerable for most people, even when eaten raw. And yes, these peppers get their name from the city of Anaheim, California, where they were first grown commercially.
However, Anaheim peppers actually originated in New Mexico, where they are a little hotter, and are called Hatch peppers, after a city in that state.
The canned, green chiles that you can buy are usually Anaheims.
Stuffing Peppers
Peppers are the perfect stuffing vessel for any type of food for a few reasons. First, you can find stuffed peppers in almost all cuisines and diets. Secondly, there’s really no limit to what you can stuff a pepper with. They’re perfect for meat, chicken, cheese, grains, seafood, as well as any kind of veggie. And lastly, although they are delicious in their raw, fresh state, peppers hold up well to all kinds of cooking methods. They can be baked, roasted, grilled or cooked in a slow cooker.
I love to stuff peppers. For instance, check out a few of my favourites :Â Moroccan Chicken Stuffed Peppers, or Spanish Faro Stuffed Peppers, these Black Bean Stuffed Mini Peppers.
Pepper Nutrition
Because we consume most hot peppers as seasonings, we don’t usually eat enough of them for any real nutritional benefit. The larger chile peppers, however, such as Anaheims, and Poblano peppers, have the same nutritional benefits are sweet peppers. Therefore, they are very high in Vitamin C, Vitamin A , Vitamin B6, Vitamin E, Folate, antioxidants, and fibre.
Fun Facts About Chile Peppers
- All peppers start out green, and many have several colour changes as they ripen, from green, to yellow, to red, and some even to purple or black.
- The seeds are not the hottest part of the pepper. The part with the highest concentration of capsaicin (heat) is the white membrane which attaches the seeds to the fruit.
- Birds are immune to chile pepper’s heat. So they can happily eat and spread the seeds.
- November is National Pepper Month
- The Scoville Index is a scale for measuring the amount of heat for different chile peppers. It goes from 0 to 15,000,000,000. Bell peppers are a zero, and Habaneros are 150,000 on the scale. Can you imagine the heat level of the peppers above the Habanero? Hint: they have names like “Trinidad Scorpion” and “Carolina Reaper” Check it out here.
How to Make Stuffed Anaheim Peppers
Stuffed Anaheim Peppers with ground beef & cheese. A simple and delicious meal with loads of flavour and not too much spice.
- 4 Anaheim peppers halved lengthwise, cored and seeded
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup chunky salsa mild
- 1/4 cup chili powder mild
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 cup cheddar cheese grated
- cilantro or parsley chopped
- lime wedges for serving
-
Preheat oven to 400°
-
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, or, lightly spray with cooking spray. Arrange pepper halves, cut side up, on baking sheet.
-
In a skillet, heat oil over medium high heat.
-
Add onion and garlic, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
-
Add ground beef and brown, stirring until no longer pink.
-
Stir in salsa, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper, combining well.
-
Fill each pepper half with the meat mixture, dividing evenly.
-
Distribute cheese evenly over each pepper.
-
Bake 20-25 minutes, or until peppers are softened
-
Garnish with cilantro or parsley and serve with lime wedges
Substitute ground turkey or chicken for the beef, or try shredded chicken.
Chili powders can vary greatly, especially from country to country. The powder for this recipe is a typical chili powder sold in Canada and used to make chili con carne. It has lots of flavour but very little heat.
Stuffed peppers is always our go to when we have lots of ingredients that need using up.
Hi Dannii, stuffed peppers are great for that, and always yummy, too!
You are absolutely right there – peppers can be stuffed with anything! Love your recipe!
Thanks, Julia! They sky’s the limit for stuffing peppers. 🙂
OMG, I love stuffed peppers. I never thought about using Anaheim though. They are one of my favorite peppers!!
I love them, too, Jennifer! Anaheim peppers are such a nice balance between sweet and heat. 🙂
these look delicious! good info about Anaheim peppers. I didn’t realize they are basically the same as Hatch chiles.
Hi David! Hatch chiles are a little hotter, so Anaheim is a good choice if you want something tamer. 🙂
Peppers make such a great flavor-packed cooking vessel! We love Anaheims and Poblanos around here!
Hi Mary! I don’t think you can ever go wrong with stuffing peppers, and Anaheims and Poblanos are perfect for stuffing.
Great recipe. I love Anaheim pepper. I didn’t know Anaheim is a city in California until now ?.
Thanks Maman! And I’m glad you were able to learn something new, as well. Cheers!
Yum, this is the perfect weeknight dinner! Easy and delicious, I love it!
Sophia, this is so perfect for a weeknight, but it’s also impressive enough for entertaining. We love it, too!
These look amazing, I pinned to save it for later. I can’t wait to make them!
Aii, I know you will love this dish. Enjoy!