Pasilla peppers are a perfect pepper to stuff and bake. These stuffed pasilla peppers, aka stuffed poblano peppers, are mild and add a great flavor that bakes into the meat filling. Make this family meal in under 45 minutes.
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Summer is privately known to me as fresh pepper season. It is their peak growing season, and they have the best flavor! Pasilla peppers are one of my favorite types of pepper to cook with. You definitely can't go wrong with this Mexican stuffed pepper recipe.
This easy ground beef stuffed pasilla pepper recipe (aka stuffed poblano recipe) is perfect for an easy dinner. If you love pepper flavor, try this hearty Unstuffed Pepper Soup recipe too!
Pasilla peppers are not overly spicy, so many people can enjoy them without being too overwhelming. These peppers provide a subtle warmth that enhances the dish's overall flavor without making it excessively hot.
If you love Mexican food as much as we do, check out all of my great gluten free Mexican recipes.
What are pasilla peppers?
Pasilla peppers are the dried form of poblano peppers and are mild to medium spicy peppers on the large side. There is often confusion in stores, as I found out recently, where many stores label fresh poblano peppers as pasilla peppers.
🔑 Sandi says: Because of the labeling snafu at the store, I mistakenly titled this recipe stuffed pasilla peppers. It should really be called Stuffed Poblano Peppers.
The fresh produce section at our local Sprout Market is huge, and when I first saw these big fresh pasilla peppers, I knew they would make a great stuffed pepper dish. Pasilla peppers are also known as poblano peppers.
A lot of people wonder if poblano peppers are hot. These peppers have mild to moderate heat, but if you clean out the seeds before making this recipe, they won't be too spicy. Pasilla peppers are mild and widely liked. I also picked up a bunch of spring onions and fresh cilantro to cook into the meat.
Stuffed poblanos are delicious for bringing to a pot luck. Here is another family favorite to take to a potluck, Super Cheesy Zucchini Ribbon Lasagna Alfredo.
How To Make Stuffed Pasilla Peppers:
Step 1: Brown lean ground beef with spring onions. Add seasonings. This meat mixture will cook for 10 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to break up the ground beef into small pieces while cooking.
TIP: Drain the fat out of the pan into a paper cup. (Don't dump grease down the sink, it can adhere to pipes causing blockages later on!) Once the fat cools, toss it into the trash.
Step 2: Cut the peppers in half lengthwise. They make the perfect vessel to stuff with meat and cheese!
Step 3: Remove the tops of the peppers and also remove the seeds. In many peppers, a lot of the spiciness is in the seeds, so make sure you remove all of the seeds. Add the peppers to a casserole dish.
Step 4: Add a can of diced tomatoes and continue to cook on medium heat. When the mixture is done cooking, stuff each pepper with the meat mixture.
Step 5: Top the stuffed pasilla peppers with corn and shredded cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 375º F.
Note most shredded cheese brands should be gluten free, but it is important always to read the labels!
Serve With:
- These Gluten Free Cornmeal Biscuits are a fun side for dipping.
- I love these spicy Hatch Chile Funeral Potatoes.
- Fire-Roasted Shishito Peppers with garlic.
More Ways To Stuff Poblanos:
- Roasted chicken and cheddar cheese.
- Make it vegetarian, and stuff your pasilla peppers with Mexican rice and black beans.
- Go vegan and stuff your peppers with quinoa, kidney beans, tomato, and vegan cheese.
- Stuff and bake your pasilla peppers with chili and top with cheddar cheese.
If you love peppers, this Mini Sausage Stuffed Pepper appetizer recipe is fun to serve on game day!
Recipe FAQ:
These peppers can range from mild to moderate heat. You will want to remove the seeds when you cut them in half to cut down on the spice level.
This stuffed pasilla peppers recipe is very easy to make vegan by using vegan meat and cheese.
You can easily make these ahead by making the peppers 1-2 days in advance. Bake when you are ready to serve them.
In the refrigerator, these stuffed pasilla peppers will keep fresh for up to 4 days. Be sure to store them in an airtight container.
More Pepper Recipes To Try:
- How to Cook Padron Peppers
- Gluten Free Stuffed Peppers (with bell peppers)
- Blistered Shishito Peppers with Garlic
- Gluten Free Hatch Green Chile Apple Pie (you will love the sweet, spicy combination of flavors!)
📖 Recipe
Stuffed Pasilla Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
- 3-4 in pasilla peppers tops and seeds removed, cut in half lengthwise
- ⅓ cup onions sliced thinly
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 14 ounce can corn drained
- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375º F.
- Spray non stick oil in a casserole dish.
- In a large pan, cook ground beef and spring onions.
- Cook until meat is cooked thoroughly.
- Season with salt, chili powder, cumin, and pepper.
- Add diced tomatoes and simmer.
- Place pasilla peppers in casserole dish.
- Fill each pepper with meat mixture.
- Top with corn and Mexican cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Top with fresh cilantro.
- *optional sour cream
Notes
- You can use any ground meat including beef, turkey, chicken, pork, or even vegan meat!
- Although shredded cheese is usually gluten free, it is good to always check the label.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
This post was updated from an older June 2017 with more recipe details and a correction due to this pepper being mislabeled in the grocery store.
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Mlbelgard
Pasilla peppers are not poblanos OR anchos (dried ripe poblanos).
Pasilla peppers (or, "little raisin") are dried ripe chilaca peppers.
Sandi Gaertner
Yeah, the store messed up the sign for sure. I didn't realize at the time and so I really do need to update this soon to correct it. Thank you so much.