These 5-ingredient pesto stuffed peppers are perfect for busy nights—simple ingredients, quick prep, healthy, and great for meal prep or leftovers

Who loves a laundry list of ingredients when cooking dinner?

Definitely not me!

When I look at a recipe that has a thousand ingredients, I usually X out of the tab and find another.

My brain is pretty scattered as it is, so any meal that has just a few ingredients is what I look for every week.

These Pesto Chicken Stuffed Peppers have only 5 ingredients! Shredded chicken, fluffy quinoa, a delicious pesto, and melty cheese make these stuffed peppers SUPER easy and perfect for weeknight dinners.

Scroll to the bottom of the post to get to the recipe card. Or keep reading because I’m sharing extra tips on how to cook this easy meal!

Ingredients

Five ingredients make this an easy dinner! The recipe card below shares the exact amount of ingredients.

• Bell peppers: Any color will work! The red, yellow, and orange peppers tend to be sweeter than the green.
• Quinoa: A whole grain, packed with protein and fiber. You can cook it just like rice!
• Pesto: I use a store-bought jar. Usually made of basil, pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil. Delicious, and very high in fat and calories; so a little bit goes a long way!
• Cooked and shredded chicken: I like to cook a bunch of chicken breasts in my slow cooker, shred, and freeze in 3-cup portions. Perfect to use in recipes like these!
• Shredded mozzarella cheese: I also used an Italian blend and it was delicious!

Recommended Equipment

• Rice cooker: Did you know that most rice cookers will cook quinoa as well? I just use the “White Rice” setting! Use about 1 1/2 cups of water for every cup of quinoa. Watch this video to see how I make quinoa in my rice cooker!

How to Make

Pre-cook bell peppers

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Slice off the tops of the bell peppers and remove the middle portion to create an empty “cup”.

Place them on a small baking sheet and bake them for 10 minutes to pre-cook them.

Combine pesto mixture

In a medium bowl, mix together the shredded chicken, cooked quinoa, and pesto.

You can add seasonings in here, if you want. I cooked my chicken with Italian seasoning, but you can add any kind of Italian-style seasonings: Basil, oregano, etc.

Stuff peppers and bake

Remove the peppers from the oven after 10 minutes and carefully divide the pesto mixture evenly among the 4 peppers. They might overflow a little, but that’s okay!

Top with mozzarella cheese and bake for another 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the peppers are soft enough to cut through if needed.

How to Store

Once these peppers have cooled to room temperature, store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Use within 3-5 days to make sure they still taste fresh!

What to Serve With This

I’m all about simple side items, especially if I’m using a recipe for the main dish.

Here are some easy sides to go along with these stuffed peppers:

• Bagged salad kit
• Sliced French bread
• Roasted vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, or carrots

Frequently Asked Questions

Should you pre-cook peppers before stuffing them?

I pre-cooked mine because I like them to be soft. If you choose not to pre-cook and bake the stuffed peppers at 25 minutes instead of the 15, the filling may get overcooked and dry.

How do you cut a bell pepper for stuffed peppers?

Start by slicing off the top. Inside the pepper is the membrane, which holds all the seeds. I take a knife around the inside and gently cut the membrane out, then shake out any seeds.

What kind of rice or grain goes best in this?

You can use either rice or quinoa and they would both turn out great!

I like quinoa because of the extra fiber and protein. Brown rice would do the same thing, though.

But if you prefer white rice, you can use that instead! Just remember that you have to cook the grain first before stuffing it in the pepper.

How do you keep the peppers standing up while baking?

One thing that helps is using the bell peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom!

I know some people say there’s a taste difference, that 4-bumped peppers are better raw and 3-bumped are better cooked. But it doesn’t make a huge difference.

I just think the peppers with 4 bumps stand more evenly!

Other 5-Ingredient Recipes

Did I convince you yet that 5-ingredient recipes are AMAZING?

If so, be sure to check out my Master Post that includes this recipe, plus so many more!

Print the Recipe

Print the recipe now and let me know what you think!