Tender bell peppers stuffed with crispy coated chicken tenders, a rich tomato sauce and lots of melted mozzarella cheese. These Chicken Parm Stuffed Peppers are a delicious take on an italian classic!
Chicken parmesan is one of my all time favorite dishes. In our house, we have it at least once a month, sometimes more. There is just something about that crispy salty chicken breast, acidic tomato sauce, and gooey fresh mozzarella that gets me everytime!
I am loving cooking with sweet peppers more than ever lately. From dishes like crockpot sausage and peppers to kung pao chicken, bell peppers add a sweet addition to loads of recipes.
And not only is it fun to cook with peppers, it's fun to stuff them! Stuffed bell peppers are great low carb edible cooking vessels that soak up the flavor of whatever you are cooking and automatically create individual portions of the dish.
Just like with these Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers, these Chicken Parmesan Stuffed Peppers do not have any rice in them. I love stuffed peppers with rice, it's a great way to add bulk to the dish, but I also know some people are looking for recipes for stuffed peppers without rice, which is why I kept them that way.
You will see that I used store bought frozen chicken tenders as the protein part of this dish. In most traditional chicken parmesan recipes, you will see chicken coated in a breadcrumb or parmesan mixture.
These chicken stuffed bell peppers already take a while to cook, up to an hour in the oven, so I thought it best to save on a bit of time by using frozen breaded chicken. If you want to make the chicken parmesan cutlets from scratch, this recipe for crusted chicken romano works great.
Ingredients for chicken parmesan stuffed peppers
- bell peppers
- breaded chicken tenders
- marinara sauce
- italian seasoning
- parmesan cheese
- fresh mozzarella cheese
How to make chicken parm stuffed peppers
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cook breaded chicken according to packaging instructions. While the breaded chicken is cooking, slice peppers in half lengthwise and place in a baking dish. Place in the oven, uncovered and cook for about 15-20 minutes to help soften.
Once the peppers are partially cooked and the chicken is crispy, remove from the oven. Slice up the baked chicken into bite-size pieces.
Add a ¼ cup scoop of marinara sauce to the bottom of each pepper, and place a portion of chicken on top. Add a ¼ teaspoon sprinkle of italian seasoning and 1 tbsp. of parmesan cheese.
Add another scoop of red sauce (a little over a tbsp.), and top with 2 ounces or ¼ cup of mozzarella cheese per pepper.
Place back in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the peppers are soft and the cheese is melted and golden brown.
Remove from the oven and serve.
Time Saving Chicken Parmesan Stuffed Peppers
A tip for saving on time when making these chicken stuffed peppers is to par bake your cut bell peppers at the same time you are baking your chicken tenders. By partially cooking the peppers before they are stuffed, you ensure that the final dish isn't too crunchy and is fully cooked through.
I simply cook the tenders according to the packaging instructions on a baking sheet, on one rack, and then place the halved bell peppers in their baking dish cut side up on another rack. Whenever the tenders are done, I remove the peppers as well.
Variations
Use rotisserie chicken. I love using shredded rotisserie chicken as an easy protein for all sorts of recipes and it would work great here. This makes the dish even lower in carbs, as well.
Use shredded mozzarella instead of fresh. While it's not always the case, this is a recipe that you can substitute in shredded mozzarella in for the fresh! Whatever your preference.
Add rice or pasta. If you want to add some bulk to the peppers, try adding in cooked pasta noodles or cooked rice to each pepper and mixing it with the sauce and chicken before covering with cheese.
Add veggies. Spinach or broccoli would add color and nutrients to this delicious recipe and make it a well-rounded dinner.
Storage
Store uncooked stuffed peppers in the fridge for a day or two before baking.
Store cooked stuffed peppers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
Chicken Parm Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 3 bell peppers any color
- 6 frozen breaded chicken tenders
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 1 ½ tsp. italian seasoning
- 6 tbsp. parmesan cheese
- 12 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Cook breaded chicken according to packaging instructions. While the breaded chicken is cooking, slice peppers in half lengthwise and place in a baking dish. Place in the oven, uncovered and cook for about 15-20 minutes to help soften.
- Once the peppers are partially cooked and the chicken is crispy, remove from the oven. Slice up the baked chicken into bite-size pieces.
- Add a ¼ cup scoop of marinara sauce to the bottom of each pepper, and place a portion of chicken on top. Add a ¼ teaspoon sprinkle of italian seasoning and 1 tbsp. of parmesan cheese.
- Add another scoop of red sauce (a little over a tbsp.), and top with 2 ounces or ¼ cup of mozzarella cheese per pepper.
- Place back in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the peppers are soft and the cheese is melted and golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and serve.
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