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.
Stuffed Anaheim Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 Anaheim peppers halved lengthwise, cored and seeded
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- ½ cup chunky salsa mild
- 2 tbsp chilli powder mild
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 cup cheddar cheese grated
- cilantro or parsley chopped
- lime wedges for serving
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
Nutrition
We added one small finely chopped jalapeno and cut the onion by half. We them added 3/4 cup of cream cheese and only lightly sprinkled Mexican cheese blend on top. Everything else as the recipe stated. It was delicious!!
Hi Kelly, your tweaks sound so good! Thank you so much for sharing them here. And, I'm so happy that you loved this recipe: it's a favorite!
Do you know if I could prepare these and then freeze them before cooking? or cook them and then freeze them? Thank you!
Hi Angela,
Yes, you can prepare these and freeze them once the filling is completely cooled. You can also cook them and then freeze them, but I prefer to stuff the peppers before baking and then freeze them. Either way works!
The only change was instead of all cheddar cheese, did a mix of cheddar and queso fresca, a white Mexican cheese.
This was a delicious recipe, similar to chiles rellenos, that we get in Mexican restraints here in San Antonio, TX. Except, this is healthier, because they are not dipped in batter and fried.
We are going to try this recipe with with poblano peppers.
Hi Carlos! I love your addition of queso fresco! And I have made this before with poblanos and it's just as yummy, too. So happy to hear from you and super glad you loved this recipe. Cheers!
We charred the peppers on the BBQ, let them sweat in a covered bowl, then peeled them. Skinned and seeded them and laid them flat in a pan. Smothered with the hamburger mix, topped with chees and baked at 350 degrees for 30 min. Topped with cilantro, lime wedge, and sour cream. Perfect and much easier than stuffing them individually!
Hi Sue. Love this idea. It sounds like a delicious take on this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing!
This was amazing. Loved every single bite. Served it with tortilla chips and salsa. I would give it 6 stars!
So happy to hear this Cyrill! It's a favourite for us. Thanks so much for dropping a note to let me know. Cheers!
I’m making these tonight and can’t wait to try them! Just checking is it 1/4 cup or 1/4 tsp of chili powder?
Hi Kerry, Thank you for this question. I have just changed the measurement to read 2 tbsp of chili powder. Chili powders really vary in the amount of spice, and the one that I use has next to nothing in terms of heat. But I don't want to steer anyone wrong, so I would even start with one tbsp, taste, and add more if you like. I hope you love these as much as we do! Enjoy.
Can I use peppers that have been previously frozen?
Hi Jeana, yes you can use peppers that have been previously frozen. They are easier to fill while still frozen, but still works if defrosted.
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!
Sounds like a good recipe, but wouldn't you want roast the peppers first and peal the skin?
Hi Barry, I guess you could do that, but we have never done it with any stuffed pepper recipe. The skin isn't tough, and it holds the pepper's shape while it cooks.
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!
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!
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.
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. 🙂
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. 🙂
You are absolutely right there - peppers can be stuffed with anything! Love your recipe!
Thanks, Julia! They sky's the limit for stuffing peppers. 🙂
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!