September 27, 2018

Lemongrass Chicken Stuffed Peppers (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker)

Lemongrass Chicken Stuffed Peppers. Chicken in a savory lemongrass sauce with white beans and coconut rice, cooked in bell peppers, and served with a lemongrass yogurt sauce. Healthy, filling, and delicious!

My grocery store likes to switch up the products they carry, which isn’t always what I want. Example A: I met my favorite snack, Hi I’m Skinny Quinoa Sticks, and then my grocery store stopped carrying them. Example B: They started carrying lemongrass paste, which made me super happy, and then they stopped.

Grocery Store Woes

A week or two ago I got the idea to make lemongrass chicken stuffed peppers. It seemed like it would be really tasty. My husband went to the grocery store and said they didn’t have lemongrass paste anymore. I assumed he just didn’t know where to look, so I went, and sure enough, they no longer sell it. Obviously I found it at another grocery store, hence this recipe, but it was a disappointing development.

That Lemongrass Taste

Since I went through such great lengths to find lemongrass paste, i.e. stopping by another grocery store on my home from work, I decided that that I needed to make that lemongrass taste shine. This recipe did just that. The chicken is mixed in a delicious lemongrass sauce that is combined with white beans and coconut rice. Then, I mixed in some lemongrass paste with Greek yogurt for a topping. Seriously that simple little concoction, stirring together paste and yogurt, is the perfect cool addition to the warm peppers.

Freezing Lemongrass Chicken Stuffed Peppers

I have not frozen this particular recipe, but I frequently freeze stuffed peppers, and it works well. To prepare them for freezing, I put them together to the point of baking, minus the liquid at the bottom of the pan. Then, I cover them with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. To cook them after freezing, I let them thaw completely before baking them. So if you like these lemongrass chicken stuffed peppers as much as I do, and your family doesn’t eat them all, you an easily freeze half the recipe for another night!

Lemongrass Chicken Stuffed Peppers

5 from 2 votes

Course: Dinner

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 1

Servings: servings

Calories: 516

Ingredients

Chicken

1.5 pounds chicken breast
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1/2 red onion chopped
1 medium jalapeno seeds removed, chopped
1 teaspoon curry powder
3 tbsp lemongrass paste
1 tbsp fresh basil chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
15.5 ounce can cannellini beans drained and rinsed

Rice

1 cup uncooked white rice
13.3 ounce can coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt

Peppers and Serving

6 medium sized bell peppers assorted colors
green onion chopped, for serving
cilantro chopped, for serving
red onion chopped, for serving
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp lemongrass paste

Instructions

Chicken

In pot of Instant Pot, stir together chicken broth, kosher salt, and pepper. Place chicken in liquid. Seal Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes (13 minutes if chicken is frozen), and let natural release for 10 minutes. For slow cooker method, place all ingredients in base of slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
Remove chicken and liquid from pot and place into another heat safe bowl. Use two forks to shred chicken.
Turn Instant Pot on saute mode and add olive oil. Once heated, add garlic and red onion. Cook until onion is softened, about 10 minutes. Then, stir in shredded chicken with it's liquid, curry powder, lemongrass paste, basil, cilantro, lime juice and cannellini beans. Let simmer for about 3-4 minutes, then remove from heat. For slow cooker method, stir together all ingredients in a large pot on stove top over low heat. Let simmer on low, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Rice

While chicken is cooking, prepare rice. In a small pot over high heat, bring water, coconut milk, and salt to a boil. Once boiling stir in rice, reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.
Once rice is cooked, stir in with chicken. Remove mixture from heat.

Peppers and Cooking

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut peppers in half, length wise. Use a pairing knife to remove stem on top and ribbing inside the pepper.
Fill two large baking dishes (9x13 would work well) with 1/2 cup water. Place peppers, skin side down in baking dishes. Fill each pepper with the rice and chicken mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes.
Serving
Stir together Greek yogurt and lemongrass paste. Serve over peppers with green onion, cilantro, and red onion.