Spicy Chorizo Stuffed Bell Peppers

When summer comes around, we can’t be the only ones that start craving healthier recipes. In case you are in the same boat as us, we wanted to share this spicy chorizo stuffed bell pepper recipe that is light and healthy but still packed with flavor! Check out everything you need to make this recipe below:

What This Recipe Entails

These spicy chorizo and black bean stuffed bell peppers are the perfect summer lunch or dinner for a healthy yet flavor packed meal!

• Prep time: 10 to 15 minutes
• Cook time: 20 to 30 minutes

This recipe does require a decent number of ingredients, however most of them are common seasonings. If desired, the seasonings can be replaced with half a packet of taco seasoning or 1.25 tablespoons of our homemade taco seasoning. We also use canned, frozen, or pre-cooked ingredients where possible to make it as easy as possible for you! This recipe is hands-on, so you will be busy for the full 40 or so minutes that you are cooking, so please make sure you set aside the proper time to make this meal.

Stuffed Grilled Bell Pepper With Chorizo Ingredients

Stuffed bell peppers may sound like a lot of work, and the ingredients list does look long, but we promise we’ve made it as easy as possible for you and use many ingredients that you likely already have! Here is all you need:

• Bell peppers
• Pre-cooked Mexican chorizo
• Minced garlic
• Frozen roasted corn
• Canned black beans
• Jalapeno
• White onion
• Shredded mexican cheese
• Sliced avocado (optional)
• Vegetable oil
• Chili powder
• Paprika
• Cumin
• Ground red cayenne pepper
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• Black pepper
• Salt

If you are looking to make this recipe easier, you can replace the seasonings with half of a store bought taco-seasoning packet, or with half a batch (1.25 tablespoons) of our homemade taco seasoning if you already have some pre-made!

How To Make Spicy Chorizo Stuffed Bell Peppers

This stuffed bell pepper recipe takes about 10 minutes of prep time to prepare your ingredients, and about 30 minutes of cook time. While cooking, it will be pretty hands on, so make sure that you have the proper time set aside! Here are all the steps for making these spicy grilled stuffed bell peppers:

1. Cut bell peppers in half vertically and carefully core them to remove the seeds. Set aside.
2. Slice chorizo into 1/4 inch pieces and set aside.
3. Prepare the seasoning: combine chili powder, paprika, cumin, ground red cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt in a small bowl.
4. Next, prepare the filling. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering, then add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
5. Add chorizo and cook for 5 minutes, turning over occasionally with a spatula.
6. Turn heat to medium and add corn, black beans, jalapeno, onion, and seasoning mix. Stir to combine and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until heated through and beans are slightly softened.
7. While the filling is cooking, grill both sides of each pepper over medium-high heat until lightly charred.
8. Transfer peppers to a foil-lined baking dish. Stuff peppers with filling, then top each pepper with a sprinkle of shredded cheese.
9. Broil on low for 5 minutes.
10. Serve hot with slices of avocado.

Tips And Tricks

Grilled Bell Peppers

• It may seem counterintuitive, but smaller bell peppers actually work better for this recipe. They tend to have thinner walls, which will help them cook more evenly on the grill. You’ll also want to try to pick ones that are relatively square, or have at least two flat sides, so that they lay flat when sliced in half.
• Slicing the peppers vertically in half makes the perfect pepper-to-filling ratio. Make sure to core out the peppers well and remove all the seeds before grilling them.
• To get an even char and some nice grill marks on the peppers, we like to gently press them into the grill as they cook (we do this on both sides). And if your peppers don’t lay flat on the grill, use tongs to rotate them and hold them in place as needed.
• If you want to make these indoors, using a cast iron grill pan works super well!

Chorizo, Black Bean, And Veggie Filling

• We recommend using a high-quality seasoned chorizo (we like this Mexican chorizo from Whole Foods). It’s the best part of the filling and will bring a ton of flavor to the dish! We also use pre-cooked chorizo, sliced into small cubes, to speed up the cooking time of this recipe.
• The rest of the filling is made up of black beans, corn, jalapeno, onion, garlic, and some spicy seasonings. Canned black beans and frozen roasted corn save on prep time, and if you dice the other veggies and prepare the seasoning blend ahead of time, this filling comes together easily in one skillet and 15 minutes!

Topping And Serving

• A bit of melted cheese goes a long way (because cheese makes everything better), so we sprinkle each stuffed pepper with just a bit of shredded cheese as the finishing touch and broil on low for 5 minutes.
• Finally, some fresh slices of avocado make the perfect addition to these delicious stuffed peppers. Nothing says summer like a bite of creamy avocado alongside your meal!

Substitutions And Variations

• If you are looking for Mexican style, spicy stuffed bell peppers, but want to make them vegetarian, with turkey, or with ground beef, you can do so easily by either removing or replacing the chorizo. Just be sure to fully cook the turkey or ground beef if it isn’t pre-cooked, like the chorizo called for in the recipe. 
• This recipe makes stuffed bell peppers without rice, but if you want an extra filling, you can make these spicy stuffed bell peppers with Mexican-style rice or cilantro lime rice. Add the cooked and prepared rice into the mixture along with the corn, black beans, jalapeno, onion, and seasoning to make sure it has time to combine with all the great flavors. 

The salty, spicy flavors of this dish can almost make you forget that you’re eating vegetables. Each bite of fresh, crisp bell pepper perfectly balances the warm, comfort-food-esque chorizo filling, and you’re left feeling happily full and satisfied. (And in our case, proud of ourselves for eating our veggies).

All in all, these grilled peppers stuffed with spicy chorizo, black beans and veggies are just as quick and easy as they are flavorful and healthy. They’re the perfect summer entrée for lunch or dinner – and even make a fun appetizer for backyard cookouts! No matter the occasion, our spicy chorizo stuffed bell peppers are the most delicious way to eat your veggies this summer. 

Try our recipe below and let us know what you think in the comments below!