Inspiration: Stuffed peppers are one of my new favorite Mexican-inspired dishes to make. I love them because they’re so versatile! In the past, I’ve made these, these, and these, and we’ve loved them all. We weren’t sure what to have for dinner one night this week, so we decided to make up another stuffed peppers recipe. We’ve been meaning to buy bison meat and give it a shot, too, so B came up with the idea of using diced bison pieces with chihuahua cheese as the main part of the filling. It was a great idea, and I have him to thank for this awesome new meal!

What we Loved: B and I both really loved these peppers. The stuffing mixture tasted incredible! You really can’t go wrong combining bison (or beef) with bacon, onions, garlic, and cheese. The result was a hearty, smoky, cheesy filling that really complimented the mild peppers. We really enjoyed the rich, clean taste of the bison, and I’d definitely recommend giving this healthy meat a try if you have access to it. And even though it provided for a very green plate in this case, I love serving fresh avocado slices topped with salt and cilantro when I have stuffed peppers. I feel like the cool flavors are such a great contrast.

Helpful Hints: We originally wanted to make stuffed poblano peppers, but the poblano selection at the grocery store left a lot to be desired. So we used cubanelle peppers instead. This was our first time eating these kind of peppers, and we found them to be very mild and not too spicy at all. For this dish, you could use any kind of peppers that you’d like. Cubanelle, poblano, Hungarian or Anaheim hot peppers, or any color of bell pepper. We also used chihuahua cheese because it’s a great melting cheese, but this can be hard to find. Monteray jack or pepper jack would be great substitutions.

Cubanelle Peppers stuffed with Bison and Bacon
Source: Original recipe to serve 2

4 medium-sized Cubanelle peppers (or other pepper of your choosing)
1/2 lb bison steak (or beef, any cut that you’d like) diced into 1/2 inch pieces
3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled or cut into small pieces
1/2 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 – 1 cup shredded chihuahua cheese, to your preference

1. Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Add the bison or beef cubes, and cook until the fat renders out and the pieces are starting to brown. Add the onion, and cook until softened. When everything is cooked, add the garlic, stir, and remove the pan from the heat. Add the crumbled bacon to the pan, and stir to incorporate.

2. Cut a lengthwise slit in each pepper, making sure to only cut through one side of the pepper. Cut a small horizontal slit into the top of the pepper, making the shape of a T. Open the pepper, and use a knife to remove the seeds. Rinse the inside of the pepper with water to make sure that all of the seeds are removed.

3. Place the peppers in a baking dish. Fill each pepper to the top with the bison/beef mixture and cheese. I alternated my filling, adding some of the bison mixture, then some of the cheese, etc. in order for the cheese to be incorporated throughout the filling.

4. Bake the peppers at 400 degrees for approximately 30 minutes, until the peppers are softened.