Chicken Florentine Stuffed Peppers (Printable)
Bell peppers stuffed with chicken, spinach, and three cheeses, baked until golden and bubbly.
# What You'll Need:
→ Meats
01 - 2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded or diced
→ Vegetables
02 - 4 large bell peppers (any color), tops cut off and seeded
03 - 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
04 - 1 small onion, finely diced
05 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
→ Dairy
06 - 1 cup ricotta cheese
07 - 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
08 - 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
09 - 2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
→ Pantry and Seasonings
10 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
11 - 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs (basil, oregano, thyme)
12 - 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
13 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
→ Optional
14 - Pinch of red pepper flakes
# Directions:
01 - Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a baking dish large enough to hold the peppers upright.
02 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the prepared bell peppers and blanch for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.
03 - Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
04 - Add the chopped spinach to the skillet and sauté until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool slightly.
05 - In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked chicken, sautéed onion, garlic, and spinach with ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese, cream cheese, dried Italian herbs, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes if using. Mix thoroughly until all ingredients are evenly incorporated.
06 - Fill each blanched bell pepper evenly with the chicken Florentine mixture. Arrange the stuffed peppers upright in the prepared baking dish.
07 - Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese over the top of each stuffed pepper.
08 - Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the peppers are tender and the cheese on top is golden and bubbly.
09 - Remove from the oven and let the peppers rest for 5 minutes before serving.
# Cooking Tips:
01 -
- The creamy ricotta and spinach filling makes you feel like you are eating something from a fancy Italian restaurant without spending hours in the kitchen.
- Everything cooks in one baking dish, which means cleanup is almost too easy for something this delicious.
02 -
- Do not skip blanching the peppers because raw peppers will not soften enough during baking and you will end up with crunchy shells that fight back when you try to cut them.
- Squeezing excess moisture from the spinach before mixing it into the filling prevents a watery pool at the bottom of your baking dish.
03 -
- Taste the filling before you stuff the peppers and adjust the salt because cooked chicken varies widely in how much seasoning it carries from previous preparation.
- Choose bell peppers that are roughly the same size so they all finish baking at the same time and no one gets an undercooked pepper while others are perfect.