These jack-o’-lantern stuffed peppers are perfect for the Halloween season! Each pepper is stuffed with shredded chicken, orzo, pumpkin puree, tomato sauce and ricotta cheese. Baked and then topped with mozzarella and parmesan, these peppers are packed with cheesy goodness!
Each pepper has a little cut-out face. The best part? It doesn’t have to be perfect, because jack-o’-lanterns looks better asymmetrical (in my opinion).
Recipe Inspo
Fall recipes are fun, but I really do love Halloween. There’s so many treats and desserts for Halloween, but not enough dinner food! When I saw bright orange bell peppers at Trader Joe’s, I knew it would be so fun to make jack-o’-lanterns. Very festive AND you don’t have to watch your pumpkins rot – you get to eat them!
Equipment needed to make Jack-o’-lantern stuffed peppers
Here’s what you need to make this Halloween recipe:
- A small baking sheet – or something large enough to roast chicken.
- A large mixing bowl – to combine our pasta, chicken and sauce.
- Large pot – to boil orzo
- Pasta strainer – for the orzo
- A sharp knife
- A small paring knife – to cut jack-o’-lantern faces!
- Oven safe baking pan – something big enough to fit the peppers up right for baking.
- aluminum foil
Ingredients
This recipe is really easy and super kid friendly. They will love these ingredients:
- Orange bell peppers – you could certainly use any color you want, but the orange ones emulate pumpkins the best!
- Crushed tomato sauce – any kind of canned tomatoes – chunky, smooth, etc. can work.
- Pumpkin puree – this is NOT pumpkin pie filling. The label should just read: pumpkin.
- A large chicken breast – or a couple smaller ones.
- orzo pasta
- ricotta cheese – I used whole milk ricotta.
- Fresh mozzarella – sliced.
- Parmesan – shaved or grated.
- Fresh thyme
- Oregano – dried is fine.
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
Directions
Let’s make jack-o’-lantern stuffed peppers!
Step 1
Make the chicken. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the chicken on a baking sheet lined with foil, and coat the chicken with olive oil. Sprinkle on the oregano, and pinch of salt and pepper. Bake the chicken in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool, and then shred the meat with two forks. Set aside.
Step 2
Make the orzo. Add several cups of water to a pot and bring it to a boil. Add the orzo and boil until al dente, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain.
Step 3
Finish the stuffing. Add the orzo and shredded chicken to a mixing bowl. Add the crushed tomatoes, pumpkin puree, ricotta, thyme, and an extra sprinkle of oregano. Stir until well mixed.
Step 4
Prepare the bell peppers. With the paring knife, cut two triangles for eyes into each pepper, followed by a smaller triangle to create a jack-o’-lantern nose. Create a jagged mouth, and remove the pieces to reveal a full face.
Step 5
Stuff! Slice off the tops of each pepper and carefully remove the seeds inside (keep the tops!). Spoon the orzo filling into each pepper until they are all stuffed to the brim. You might have a little filling leftover depending of the size of your peppers. You might be able to make a fifth pepper if that is the case!
Step 6
Bake. Place the peppers into an oven-safe pan lined with foil. Cover the peppers with foil (tightly) and place them in the oven to bake for 45 minutes.
Step 7
Remove the pan from the oven and remove the foil covering the peppers. Top each pepper with sliced mozzarella and the shredded parmesan cheese. Place the peppers back in the oven for 15 more minutes (uncovered), until the cheese has melted. Remove them from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before eating.
Step 8
Serve with the pepper tops so they look like jack-o’-lanterns!
Recipe Substitutions
You can swap some pantry staples to make these jack-o’-lantern stuffed peppers.
- Use ground chicken or turkey – Ground meat works well for this recipe too. Brown the meat completely in a fry pan over medium high heat, and then add the meat to the sauce.
- Make it spicy – add a large pinch of red pepper flakes to your sauce.
- Swap orzo for rice – Rice will create a more filling pepper. You can also use quinoa!
Other common questions
Should peppers be cooked before stuffing?
For this recipe, I found that these peppers were perfectly delicious when I stuffed them raw. They bake in the oven for 45 minutes, which is plenty of time for the insides to heat up and for the peppers to roast. The peppers turned out moist – not crunchy.
Should you cover stuffed peppers with foil when baking?
YES. The foil will prevent the peppers from drying out in the oven. During the last 15 minutes of the bake, remove the foil, add the cheese, and let them get melty!
Recipe Storage
You can either leave them in the pan and cover with plastic wrap, or move them to an airtight container. Store them in the fridge and eat within 3 to 5 days.
To reheat: preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and arrange your peppers on a baking sheet and cover them with foil. Bake for 20-30 minutes until they are hot again.
More Recipes to try
If you liked these jack-o’-lantern stuffed peppers, check out these other festive recipes:
- Harry Potter Butterbeer Cupcakes
- Harry Potter Pumpkin Pasties
- Apple Cider Cinnamon Crostata
- Pumpkin Chili
- Pumpkin Ricotta Lasagna
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Jack-o’-lantern stuffed peppers
Equipment
- 1 Small baking sheet
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 large pot
- 1 pasta strainer
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 small paring knife
- 1 oven safe baking pan
- aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 4 orange bell peppers
- ½ cup crushed tomato sauce
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 large chicken breast shredded
- 1½ cups orzo
- ¼ cup ricotta cheese
- 4 slices fresh mozzarella
- ⅛ cup parmesan shaved or shredded
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Make the chicken. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the chicken on a baking sheet lined with foil, and coat the chicken with olive oil. Sprinkle on the oregano, and pinch of salt and pepper. Bake the chicken in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool, and then shred the meat with two forks. Set aside.
- Make the orzo. Add several cups of water to a pot and bring it to a boil. Add the orzo and boil until al dente, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the heat and strain.
- Add the orzo and shredded chicken to a mixing bowl. Add the crushed tomatoes, pumpkin puree, ricotta, thyme, and an extra sprinkle of oregano. Stir until well mixed.
- Prepare the bell peppers. With the paring knife, cut two triangles for eyes into each pepper, followed by a smaller triangle to create a jack-o'-lantern's nose. Create a jagged mouth, and remove the pieces to reveal a full face.
- Slice off the tops of each pepper and carefully remove the seeds inside. Spoon the orzo filling into each pepper until they are all stuffed to the brim. You might have a little filling leftover depending of the size of your peppers.
- Place the peppers into an oven-safe pan lined with foil. Cover the peppers with foil and place them in the oven to bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and remove the foil covering the peppers. Top each pepper with sliced mozzarella and the shredded parmesan cheese. Place the peppers back in the oven for 15 more minutes (uncovered), until the cheese has melted. Remove them from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before eating.
- Serve with the pepper tops so they look like jack-o'-lanterns!
Katie S
These are so cute!! I cannot wait to make them (and just like sbux, I also get excited about fall earlier and earlier) so even though it’s still 80 degrees, these will make it on my meal rotation next week!
N
So good!!