Chicken Florentine Stuffed Peppers (Printable)
Bell peppers stuffed with chicken, spinach and three cheeses, baked to golden perfection.
# 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 use
09 - 2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
→ Pantry & Seasonings
10 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
11 - 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herb blend (basil, oregano, thyme)
12 - 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
13 - 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
14 - Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
# 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 rolling boil. Add the prepared bell peppers and blanch for 3 minutes until slightly softened. Drain carefully and set aside to cool.
03 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes until translucent. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds until fragrant.
04 - Add the chopped spinach to the skillet and sauté until completely wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly.
05 - In a large mixing bowl, combine the shredded chicken, sautéed onion and garlic, wilted spinach, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, half of the mozzarella cheese, cream cheese, Italian herb blend, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes if using. Fold together until all ingredients are evenly incorporated.
06 - Divide the chicken Florentine filling evenly among the blanched bell peppers, packing each one firmly. Arrange the stuffed peppers upright in the prepared baking dish.
07 - Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese generously over the top of each stuffed pepper.
08 - Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes until the peppers are fork-tender and the cheese topping is melted, golden, and bubbly.
09 - Remove from the oven and let the peppers rest for 5 minutes before serving to allow the filling to set.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The combination of three cheeses melted into shredded chicken creates a filling so creamy you will want to eat it straight from the bowl before it ever reaches a pepper.
- Blanching the peppers before baking is a small step that transforms the final texture from tough and crunchy to meltingly tender.
02 -
- Do not skip blanching the peppers because raw peppers will not fully soften in thirty five minutes of baking and you will end up with a crunchy, watery shell.
- Let the sautéed vegetable mixture cool before adding it to the cheeses, otherwise the ricotta and cream cheese will become runny and the filling will turn out soupy.
03 -
- Use a melon baller or grapefruit spoon to remove the seeds and ribs from inside the peppers because it does a much cleaner job than a regular knife.
- Cut the tops off the peppers in one clean slice and save them to place loosely over the stuffing during the first twenty minutes of baking to keep the filling moist, then remove for the last ten minutes to brown the cheese.