Tex-Mex Stuffed
Mini Peppers
Mini sweet peppers halved and filled with a bold Tex-Mex chicken sausage mixture of diced tomatoes, green chiles, garlic, cumin, and cilantro — topped with cheddar and broiled until bubbly and slightly charred at the edges. Finished with fresh sliced avocado. A genuinely impressive appetizer or light dinner that looks like it took far more effort than it did.
- Filling
- 1 lb ground chicken sausage (raw, not pre-cooked)
- 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained well
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- Peppers & Topping
- 1 bag mini sweet peppers, halved & seeded
- 1 cup 2% shredded cheddar cheese
- To Serve
- 1 avocado, sliced fresh
- — extra cilantro, to garnish (optional)
- — salsa or Greek yogurt, to serve (optional)
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1
Preheat & prep the peppers
Preheat oven to 400°F. Halve the mini peppers lengthwise and remove the seeds. Place cut-side up on a foil-lined baking sheet and set aside. Drain the canned tomatoes and green chiles well — pressing out as much liquid as possible so the filling doesn't become watery.
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2
Brown the chicken sausage
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground chicken sausage and garlic and cook, breaking the meat apart, for 6–7 minutes until fully browned and cooked through to 165°F. Drain any excess liquid and return to the heat.
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3
Make the filling
Add the drained diced tomatoes and green chiles, cilantro, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to the cooked sausage. Stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes until heated through and the flavors have melded. Taste and adjust seasoning.
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4
Bake the peppers first
Before stuffing, bake the empty pepper halves at 400°F for 8–10 minutes until they begin to soften slightly. This ensures the peppers are fully tender by the time the filling is hot and the cheese is melted — skipping this step leaves you with crunchy raw peppers.
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5
Stuff, top & broil
Remove the peppers from the oven and spoon the chicken sausage filling generously into each pepper half. Sprinkle shredded cheddar over the top. Switch to the broiler on high and return for 3–4 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and starting to brown at the edges. Watch closely. Serve immediately topped with fresh sliced avocado and extra cilantro.
- Pre-bake the peppers: 8–10 minutes at 400°F before stuffing is the step that makes the whole recipe work — it gives the peppers a head start so they finish tender under the broiler instead of still raw and crunchy when everything else is done.
- Avocado goes on after broiling: Adding avocado to the filling before cooking turns it brown and mushy — slice it fresh right before serving and lay it directly on top of the hot stuffed peppers for the best color, texture, and flavor.
- Drain the tomatoes well: Canned diced tomatoes hold a lot of liquid — press them firmly in a strainer before adding to the filling. A watery filling makes for watery stuffed peppers that slide out of the shells.
- Ground chicken sausage vs. links: If you can only find chicken sausage links, remove the casings and crumble the meat directly into the skillet — it browns and seasons exactly the same way as ground sausage.
- Great for entertaining: These look stunning on a platter and are easy to pick up and eat — make the filling ahead and refrigerate, pre-bake the pepper shells, then stuff and broil right before serving.