These Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers are the ultimate quick and flavourful meal for busy weeknights! Made with only a handful of simple ingredients, these healthy stuffed peppers come together in less than 30 minutes and are always a family favourite! {Low carb, keto, & gluten-free}
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Healthy Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers
When you need a quick and easy weeknight dinner, these buffalo chicken stuffed peppers are where it’s at!
Sweet peppers are loaded up with shredded chicken mixed with tangy buffalo sauce and topped with cheese before being baked in the oven until tender and flavourful.
Serve them up with a salad or rice for a healthy and delicious meal!
For more buffalo chicken recipes, you’ll love this Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash Casserole, Buffalo Chicken Meal Prep, and Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Spaghetti Squash!
Why We Love This Recipe
- Easy Recipe – These stuffed peppers can be cooked in less than 30 minutes, which makes for the perfect quick and easy weeknight meal!
- Simple ingredients – Minimal ingredients are required to prepare this dish. This meal is so simple, you could easily memorize the recipe and stock up on the ingredients during your next shopping trip so that you always have them on hand for when you’re in a dinner rut.
- Family-friendly – Everyone in our family always loves this meal. It’s packed with flavour and a fun and creative way to incorporate more veggies!
- Lower carb option – Since the peppers and chicken form the base of this recipe, it makes a great lower carb, fibre and protein-packed option. Balance it out by pairing it with a salad!
Ingredient Notes
- Bell peppers – We used red, yellow and green peppers for a fun pop of colour, but feel free to use whatever colour bell peppers you have on hand.
- Onion and garlic: Add extra flavour to the buffalo chicken. You can also sub in onion powder and garlic powder to save time chopping.
- Chicken – Prepare the shredded chicken using your preferred method or make some of this flavorful Dutch Oven Shredded Chicken. Read on below for more suggestions!
- Hot sauce – We used Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce to make the buffalo chicken, however if you can’t find it at the grocery store, you can sub in Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce or your favourite hot sauce.
- Cheese – We used shredded mozzarella cheese to top the peppers, but you can also sub in Provolone, Swiss, Monterey Jack or your favourite type of cheese. If you require the recipe to be dairy-free, use a plant-based cheese or leave it off altogether.
How to Make Shredded Chicken
There are a number of different ways to make the shredded chicken required for this recipe, all of which are super easy to prepare! Take your pick using any of the strategies below!
Slow cooker: Place raw chicken breasts in a slow cooker and cook on high for 2-4 hours or low for 4-6 hours. Shred using two forks.
Instant pot: Add the chicken breasts and chicken stock to the bowl of your pressure cooker. Arrange the chicken breasts so that they are spread out in an even layer. Cover and set the pressure cooker lid valve to “sealing.” Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes, followed by a 5 minute natural release, followed by a quick release (carefully flip the valve to “venting”) to release whatever pressure remains. Remove the lid and use two forks to shred the chicken.
Boil chicken breasts: Place chicken breasts in a pot of boiling water and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes until cooked through. Shred chicken.
Use leftover rotisserie chicken: The easiest method is to purchase a pre-made rotisserie chicken or make one yourself and simply remove the chicken from the bone.
How to Make Stuffed Peppers in the Oven – Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1 – Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add onion and cook until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about one more minute.
- Step 2 – Add shredded chicken and hot sauce and toss until combined. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then remove from heat.
- Step 3 – Place bell peppers cut side up in a 9×13 inch baking dish or on a sheet pan and drizzle all over with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper.
- Step 4 – Divide chicken mixture evenly between pepper halves.
- Step 5 – Top with shredded cheese.
- Step 6 – Bake until cheese is melted and peppers are tender crisp, about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Step 7 – Garnish each of the cheesy buffalo chicken stuffed peppers with a sprinkle of green onion and blue cheese crumbles, if desired.
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below to get the full printable stuffed peppers recipe!
Tips for the Best Stuffed Peppers
- Make up a batch of the shredded chicken in advance or use a rotisserie chicken for a super fast meal!
- We used Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce, but if you can’t find it or prefer a different option, you can sub in your favourite hot sauce.
- Use freshly grated cheese rather than pre-shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheese contains preservatives like potato starch and natamycin, which are added to help prevent the shreds from clumping together in the bag. That also means they don’t melt together as well when cooking. Freshly grated cheese, on the other hand, lacks those additives. So for gooey melted cheese, opt for freshly grated.
- When cooking the stuffed peppers in the oven, you can add about 1/2 cup water (or broth) to the baking dish and cover the dish with foil. The water will create steam which will help to soften the peppers and can also keep the stuffed peppers and filling from drying out.
Recipe FAQs
The buffalo chicken has a bit of a kick to it but I didn’t find it to be overly spicy. If you have people in your family who are sensitive to heat, you could always use less hot sauce or choose a milder one without as much heat.
Yes, there’s a couple of different ways you can do it. You can either prepare your stuffed peppers up to one day ahead and refrigerate them before baking.Or, you can prep the buffalo chicken mixture ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to four days and in the freezer for up to a month.
When you’re ready to serve, simply fill the halved peppers with the chicken, top with cheese, bake and top with chopped green onion and you have supper on the table in record time!
No, the peppers will soften up and cook sufficiently when you bake them with the buffalo chicken filling in the oven. You don’t need to cook your bell peppers before stuffing them.
Definitely! You can transform this meal into a freezer meal by freezing the stuffed peppers before baking. The only thing that you might find when you freeze the peppers is that the filling might have more liquid in it after baking.
To freeze: Prepare the peppers as directed in the recipe card below, but don’t actually bake them. Place them in a baking dish in the freezer. Freeze for 1-2 hours, then transfer to a ziplock plastic freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to serve the stuffed peppers, thaw them in your refrigerator for 24 hours and then bake as directed in the recipe.
Yes, to do so, place the stuffed peppers in the slow cooker and cook on low for about 6 hours. Alternatively, you can try this Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup!
Storage & Reheating Guidelines
These chicken stuffed peppers are best consumed fresh out of the oven since the cheese tends to harden up slightly when stored in the fridge. That being said, they still taste good even after being in the fridge, so if you’d like to store the leftovers, you can refrigerate them for up to four days in an airtight container.
Alternatively, you can cook the bell peppers and chicken without the cheese if you know you won’t be eating them right away and then add the shredded cheese before reheating so that they will be nice and fresh.
To reheat: Place the stuffed peppers back in a baking dish and reheat in an oven preheated to 350 degrees F for 10-20 minutes or until warmed through.
Serving Suggestions
When serving up these Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers, I like to top them up with some diced green onion or chives. You could also add a bit of crumbled blue cheese or a drizzle of ranch or blue cheese dressing.
It also pairs especially well with a side of vegetables like celery and carrot sticks and dip or a salad, like this Tossed Green Salad or Healthy Caesar Salad.
If you want to further balance it out and create a heartier meal, you could also serve it along with some brown rice, cauliflower rice or quinoa.
Recipe Variations
- Switch up the meat: Try using ground chicken or turkey instead of shredded chicken.
- Make it dairy-free: Use dairy-free cheese.
- Add some grains: Mix the buffalo chicken in with some brown rice or quinoa before stuffing into the peppers for an even heartier meal!
- For an easy appetizer: Stuff the buffalo chicken into mini bell peppers instead of regular sized for a delicious little bite to eat!
More Buffalo-Inspired Recipes
- Buffalo Chicken Dip without Cream Cheese
- Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili
- Buffalo Sliders
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a rating and review!
Healthy Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers {Low Carb}
Ingredients
- 4 large bell peppers halved, seeds and cores removed
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 3 cups shredded chicken
- 1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce (or sub in favourite hot sauce)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)
Optional garnishes:
- Diced green onion
- Crumbled blue cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Place bell peppers cut side up in a 9×13 inch baking dish or on a large baking sheet and drizzle all over with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add onion and cook until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about one more minute.
- Next, add shredded chicken and hot sauce and toss until combined. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then remove from heat.
- Divide chicken mixture between pepper halves and top with shredded cheese. Cover with foil sprayed with cooking spray (so that it doesn't stick) and bake until peppers are tender crisp, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Garnish each stuffed pepper half with a sprinkle of green onion and blue cheese, if desired. Serve warm.
Video
Notes
- Make up a batch of the shredded chicken in advance or use a rotisserie chicken for a super fast meal!
- I used Frank’s buffalo wing sauce, but if you can’t find it, you can sub in your favourite hot sauce
- Use freshly grated cheese rather than pre-shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheese contains preservatives like potato starch and natamycin, which are added to help prevent the shreds from clumping together in the bag. That also means they don’t melt together as well when cooking. Freshly grated cheese, on the other hand, lacks those additives so for gooey melted cheese, opt for freshly grated.
- When cooking the stuffed peppers in the oven, you can add about 1/2 cup water (or broth) to the baking dish and cover the dish with foil. The water will create steam which will help to soften the peppers and can also keep the stuffed peppers and filling from drying out.
- Nutritional information is based on two stuffed pepper halves.
These were so easy and delicious! I used leftover rotisserie chicken, left out onions as some don’t like them, and added a few jalapenos to the top.
Yay! So glad these were a hit! It’s such an easy meal when you can use rotisserie chicken and love the addition of the jalapenos! Thanks so much for coming back to share some feedback on the recipe :)
I made these tonight for dinner… Oh my goodness!!! They are delicious! I reduced the recipe for 4 and we’ll have another serving for tomorrow’s lunch or dinner. I’ll be making these again!
Thank you!
Aren’t they delicious?! So happy you enjoyed them! Great for leftovers the next day too! :)