Chilli, Rice and Cheese Stuffed Peppers – a perfect Halloween Supper

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Chilli, Rice and Cheese Stuffed Peppers make the perfect Halloween Supper. Decorated to reflect the ever popular sculpted pumpkins, these are not only incredibly delicious, they will grace any party or supper with aplomb and set you up for a fun filled evening of ‘trick or treat’.

One-Pot Chilli Con Carne and Rice

For ease, the Chilli Con Carne and Rice is all cooked together in one-pot; it take only 15 minutes to prepare, and although it takes around an hour to cook, this is mostly hands-off time and just requires the odd, quick stir. Cooking for this time ensures all the Chilli Con Carne flavours develop and infuse; I use red Camargue rice which needs a longer cooking time and keeps its shape and texture. I also love the slightly nutty and chewy texture of red rice which balances well with the roasted pepper cases and soft, melted cheese. Do not be tempted to use white rice, it will disintegrate into the sauce. If you can’t find red rice, use brown, long grain rice and remember it may cook around 10 minutes more quickly.

All you need to do when the Chilli Con Carne and Rice is cooked is …..

When the Chilli Con Carne and Rice is ready, you just need to load it into the peppers with grated cheese and bake it. Everything can be prepared in advance up to the point of baking, so it is ideal if you are planning a party and want to get organised ahead of time.

How to make Chilli, Rice and Cheese Stuffed Halloween Peppers

The Chilli Con Carne and Rice is sufficient to fill around 10 – 14 peppers, depending on their size. I made only 4 and used the remaining Chilli Con Carne and Rice in other recipes. It is delicious on its own served with some sour cream, cheese, avocado and chopped tomatoes, you can turn it into a Chilli Con Carne Soup and served it with garlic bread and is also fabulous in Burritos. Failing that, pop it in the freezer and us it in any of these recipes on another occasion.

Collect all the ingredients together:

Chilli Con Carne and Rice ingredients –

• olive oil, divided
• minced beef, preferably 5% fat
• onion, peeled and finely chopped
• red pepper, stem and seeds removed, finely chopped
• garlic, peeled and crushed
• Mexican Chilli Spice (See Recipe Notes)
• beef stock, I use a stock cube
• passata (plus 125ml water to swill out the bottle/box)
• tomato puree
• tin of black beans or red kidney beans
• frozen sweetcorn
• runny honey or brown sugar
• fine salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• red Camargue rice (or you can use brown rice)

Additional ingredients-

• large peppers, I use yellow and orange peppers
• cheddar cheese , grated

How to make these delicious Halloween treats:

First prepare the peppers –

1. Slice off the top of the peppers to create a ‘hat’.
2. Remove the core and seeds from the base of the pepper and the top, if necessary.
3. Cut a Halloween face out of the peppers – mine look like very happy peppers but make them as scary as you like! Save all the cut out pieces of pepper to use in the Chilli Con Carne. Set the peppers aside until you are ready to fill them.

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Make the Chilli Con Carne and Rice –

1. Peel and roughly chop the onion, peel the garlic, remove the seeds and stem from the pepper. Blitz everything in a food processor, along with the cut outs from decorating the peppers, until finely chopped. Alternatively, finely chop by hand.
2. Heat 1½ tablespoons of the oil over a moderate heat and add the chopped vegetables.
3. Cook for 5 – 10 minutes until soft and lightly caramelised. Stir from time to time.
4. Add the remaining oil (if necessary) and the beef to the pan, and cook until lightly browned. Continue to stir from time to time.
5. Add the seasoning and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until aromatic.
6. Add all the remaining ingredients, mix well and cook, covered, over a low heat, until the rice is cooked. This will take between 50 – 60 minutes. When it is cooked the rice will be soft but still with some texture and the Chilli Con Carne will have thickened considerably.

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Assemble the peppers –

1. Place the peppers in a baking dish – ensure they fit snugly so they stay upright whilst cooking. Check that the peppers will stand up on their own when you serve them. If not, cut a very thin slice from the bottom of the pepper to flatten the base. Lightly oil the baking dish and the outside of the peppers and place in the baking dish.
2. Half fill each pepper with the Chilli and Rice.
3. Add half the grated cheese to each pepper.
4. Top with more Chilli and Rice and then the remaining cheddar.
5. Place the pepper lids/tops back on the peppers and cover with baking foil.
6. Cook in the centre of a pre-heated oven for 25 mins. (If you have made these in advance and stored them in the fridge, cook for 35 minutes.)
7. Take out of the oven and remove the foil. Drizzle the tops of the pepper with oil and put back in the oven, uncovered, for a further 20 minutes, until the peppers are soft and lightly caramelised, the cheese has melted and everything is piping hot.

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How can I use the any leftover Chilli and Rice?

It is difficult to be specific about how many peppers this quantity of Chilli and Rice will fill, as peppers vary in size so much. On average you should have enough filling for 10 – 14 peppers/capsicum. If you only need a few – I made only 4 – you will have a lot of leftover Chilli and Rice. This is delicious served in a range of ways. For further details see One Pot Chilli Con Carne and Rice here.

• Chilli and Rice Soup with garlic bread
• Burritos
• Serve it as is with delicious toppings such as cheese, sour cream, avocado and tomatoes

Made this recipe?

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