Stuffed Anaheim Peppers Recipe

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 (besides these stuffed Anaheim peppers: 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 as 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 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: Peppers ranked by scoville heat units.

Stuffed Anaheim Peppers

Stuffed Anaheim Peppers with ground beef & cheese. A simple and delicious meal with loads of flavour and not too much spice.

4.77 from 46 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 339kcal

Author: Colleen Milne

Ingredients

• 4 Anaheim peppers halved lengthwise, cored and seeded
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion diced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• ½ cup chunky salsa mild
• 2 tablespoon chilli powder mild
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup cheddar cheese grated
• cilantro or parsley chopped
• lime wedges for serving

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• 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, chilli 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

Notes

Substitute ground turkey or chicken for the beef, or try shredded chicken.

Chilli powders can vary greatly, especially from country to country. The powder for this recipe is a typical chilli powder sold in Canada and used to make chilli con carne. It has lots of flavour but very little heat. If your chilli powder is spicy hot, start with only one tablespoon, taste, and adding more if needed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 339kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 958mg | Potassium: 561mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 440IU | Vitamin C: 9.6mg | Calcium: 235mg | Iron: 3.4mg