These chicken stuffed peppers are made with ground chicken, rice, and sauteed vegetables. It’s a traditional Slavic dish that has become a staple in our kitchen.
Make sure to serve it with some classic Slavic side dishes like my garlic beet salad or tomato eggplant rolls.
Russian Stuffed Peppers
They vary by region
If you grew up in a Slavic family, these stuffed bell peppers probably look very familiar. Like any recipe, every family and region has their own version. My grandmother is Bulgarian so she makes it a little different than someone who is Russian or Ukrainian. This has been a childhood favorite of mine and still is.
You can make them ahead of time!
We usually enjoy these stuffed peppers on Sundays after morning church service. My grandmother makes them before she goes to church and leaves them in a warm place to sit. The stuffed peppers actually taste a lot better after they’ve sat for a little.
How to make stuffed bell peppers
Prepare the bell peppers
- I like to use red bell peppers in the stuffed peppers recipe since the red ones tend to be sweeter than the green. To prepare them, just slice off the tops, and remove the seeds. And salt them lightly inside.
Make the chicken and rice filling
- Cook the chicken, onion, garlic, and shredded carrot in a skillet as instructed in the recipe card below.
- Then you can add the remaining ingredients like rice, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and dill.
Stuff the peppers
- Once the rice is fully cooked, you can begin stuffing each pepper with the meat filling. Then place them into a deep oven-safe dish and pour the tomato sauce over them and bake in the oven as mentioned in the recipe card.
Can I make chicken stuffed peppers ahead of time?
Yes, you can! There are 2 ways to go about this depending on how far in advance you want to make them.
- Make the filling the night before and keep it in the fridge (covered) until ready to stuff the peppers. Then make the same way you would in the original instructions.
- You can also just make them a few hours ahead of time and keep them in the oven on the (warm setting) until realy to serve. I think they taste better after they’ve sat for s little.
What to serve with Russian stuffed peppers
- Lazy cabbage rolls
- eggplant spread (ikra)
- purple cabbage salad
- eggplant salad
- rice stuffed chicken thighs
- canned tomatoes
Full Recipe Instructions

Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe
Ingredients
- 9 large red bell peppers
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 lb. ground chicken thighs
- 2 medium onions
- 3 medium carrots
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 cups white rice
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh dill chopped
- 1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
Prepare the peppers
- Wash and remove the core and seeds of each bell pepper. Rub a little salt on the inside of each pepper. Then set aside.
Cook chicken and vegetables
- Heat olive oil in a skillet and cook the ground chicken thighs until almost completely cooked. About 80 % done.
- Chop the onion, grate the garlic, and shred the carrot. Add it to the ground chicken. Cook until the onion becomes translucent.
Add rice and broth
- Add the rice, salt, and chicken broth. Cook over medium heat until the rice is almost fully cooked.
- Stir in the black pepper and chopped fresh dill. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Stuff the peppers with the chicken and rice filling
- Generously stuff each pepper with the rice and meat filling. Place the stuffed peppers in a 9x13 deep baking dish.
Pour tomato sauce over the peppers and bake
- Pour the crushed tomatoes over each pepper. Pour about 1/2 cup of water to the bottom of the baking dish.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 380 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and let it sit for 30 minutes before eating.
Notes
You can make these stuffed peppers in advance
You can either bake them a few hours before and keep them warm in the oven until ready tp eat. Or you can make the filling the previous night and stuff them the next day.Can you freeze them?
Yes, you can freeze them for up to 1 month. Let them cool completely, then wrap them with foil and plastic wrap before placing in the freezer.Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted on Mar 14, 2016 , we’ve tweaked it a bit since then.
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Liza Stasyuk says
Made these for dinner last night and they tasted amazing! Love your recipes Dina!
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you Liza! I’m glad you enjoy my recipes 🙂
Svetlana Lukyanov says
Made these tonight. ????they were ????????????????????????Good job Dina ????
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review Svetlana 🙂 I’m glad to hear you enjoyed them!
Alyona says
Thanks to you and your Bulgarian grandmother for such delish version of stuffed bell peppers. Made it last night and it turned out perfect. Took me back to my childhood days visiting grandparents in far away Dmitrovka 🙂
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you Alyona! I’m happy this recipe brought you back good memories from your childhood 🙂
Viktoriya says
What kind rice did you use? Thank you
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Viktoriya, I used calrose rice.
Domnika Nozdrin says
Really good and very simple steps.
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you Dominika! Glad my steps made it easy to follow 🙂