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Traeger Smoked Mexican Stuffed Poblano Peppers

You’ve probably smoked stuffed bell peppers on your Traeger, but it’s time to switch things up. These Mexican stuffed poblano peppers have way more flavor than your regular bell peppers, and the recipe is super simple. And while it’s on the healthier side, you can customize the filling to be as creamy, cheesy, and calorie-filled as your heart desires.

Oh, and if you don’t have a Traeger grill or pellet smoker, that’s cool! I made sure to include notes in the recipe card below for making these stuffed peppers in an oven and air fryer as well.

two stuffed peppers on a plate with lime wedges

Ingredients for Mexican Stuffed Poblano Peppers

You’ll need 8 poblano peppers that are as close in size as possible. To prepare them, simply remove the stem, slice in half lengthwise, and remove any membranes and seeds. Place your 16 pepper halves on a half sheet pan before filling.

Pro tip: Stagger the direction of the pepper halves and allow them to touch to keep any lopsided peppers upright. And the same goes for putting the stuffed peppers on the grill grates.

stuffed poblano peppers on a sheet pan before smoking

For the Filling

  • Extra Lean Ground Beef – Ground turkey or chicken would work fine.
  • Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes – Salsa or RO-TEL would both be good substitutes.
  • Canned Corn or Fire Roasted Corn – I used whole kernel corn with added chipotle chiles.
  • Frozen Cauliflower Rice – You can use any cooked rice or omit the rice altogether.
  • Taco Seasoning
  • Any Additional Ingredients

Ideas for additional ingredients include cream cheese, fresh onion and garlic cooked with the ground beef, black or pinto beans, and hidden veggies (like the spinach in my taco chili). You could also swap the ground beef for chorizo like in my smoked jalapeño poppers or use my ground chicken chorizo to keep it lower fat.

Another great way to increase the volume of your filling is with grains. You can add rice or go with something like my Tex-Mex ground beef and quinoa skillet.

Just be sure to account for the difference in volume if you add/remove ingredients. You may need to add a few poblano peppers to your grocery list if you plan to add things.

Oh, and you’ll also need shredded Mexican cheese. For best results, use freshly shredded Monterey jack, Colby jack, cheddar, Asadero, or Oaxaca (or a blend of these options). More on Mexican cheeses.

half sheet pan with 16 stuffed poblano peppers with added cheese

For a cool way to elevate these stuffed poblanos even more would be seasoning and smoking the beef on its own at 250ºF for a couple hours before fully cooking in a skillet with the other ingredients. Check out my Traeger over the top chili for an example along with tips on making smoked garlic, which you could also use here.

How to Make Traeger Smoked Stuffed Poblano Peppers

On the Traeger Pro 575, 40-45 minutes at 350ºF should do the trick, with the cheese going on the peppers in the final 10 minutes. I used Traeger Signature Pellets.

I found poblano peppers cooked a bit faster than bell peppers. My smoked buffalo chicken stuffed peppers, for example, go for 50-60 minutes at 350ºF. This makes sense as poblano peppers tend to be a bit thinner than bell peppers.

You’ll have a relatively full grill grate with all 16 stuffed peppers, but you may want to move any peppers in hot spots around the front and back of the Traeger if you notice too much browning on the peppers when adding the cheese. Slight charing adds great flavor, but you don’t want to burn them.

How to Bake and Air Fry Stuffed Peppers

If you’ve yet to make the complete dad who’s into smoking meats transformation, you can make these stuffed poblano peppers indoors. Using my air fryer stuffed peppers and buffalo rotisserie chicken stuffed peppers recipes as a guide, here are some time and temperature recommendations:

  • Air fry stuffed peppers at 375ºF for 10-12 minutes before topping with cheese and air frying an additional 6-8 minutes at 375ºF. (Cook times are in a 6.5-quart Ninja Foodi air fryer.)
  • Bake stuffed peppers in a 400ºF oven, covered in foil, for 20 minutes. Remove the foil, top with cheese, and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and the peppers are fully cooked and fork tender.
sheet pan of stuffed peppers

A couple things to keep in mind:

  1. You won’t be able to air fry 16 stuffed peppers at one time without an extra jumbo air fryer. You could, however, prepare the filling and store leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer to stuff and cook peppers fresh each time.
  2. Poblano peppers will likely cook faster than bell peppers in the recipes above. Keep an eye on them and be prepared to modify/reduce cook times if necessary.

What to Serve with Stuffed Peppers

The beauty of stuffed peppers, in my opinion, is that you essentially have a full meal in one dish. You can serve a simple salad with it and maybe some tortilla chips or tortillas. I have a baked tortilla chips recipe that would keep things low calorie. Keep it simple.

For a beverage pairing, check out Vanessa’s awesome sparkling margaritas recipe.

If you have any questions about this recipe or any ingredient substitutions, I’d be happy to help out in the comments below. And if you try these Mexican stuffed poblano peppers and love them, we always appreciate recipe reviews!

two Mexican stuffed poblano peppers on a plate in front of a Traeger grill

Mexican Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Yield: 16 Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Taco style extra lean ground beef, fire roasted tomatoes, chipotle corn, and rice stuffed inside poblano peppers and smoked on a Traeger grill with shredded Mexican cheese.

Ingredients

  • 8 Poblano Peppers, halved and seeds removed
  • 1/2 Tablespoon (8g) Olive Oil
  • 1 pound Extra Lean Ground Beef (96/4)
  • 1 packet Taco Seasoning
  • 15 oz can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
  • 11 oz can Chipotle Corn (or fire roasted corn)
  • 12 oz bag Frozen Cauliflower Rice
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste
  • 5 oz Shredded Mexican Cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat Traeger to 350ºF with the lid closed.
  2. Slice the peppers in half and remove any seeds and membranes. Set aside.
  3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and brown the ground beef on one side before breaking apart and fully cooking.
  4. Add the tomatoes, corn, taco seasoning, and cauliflower rice. Stir everything together and cook until the cauliflower rice has fully thawed, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Use a spoon to fill the peppers with the mixture.
  6. Smoke for 30 minutes before topping with the cheese and smoking an additional 10 minutes. The peppers should be fork tender and slightly charred in places. Garnish with cilantro and serve with fresh lime wedges, salsa macha or hot sauce, and sour cream or fat free Greek yogurt.

Notes

See the post above for notes on additional filling ingredients as well as baking and air frying these stuffed peppers.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 2 Stuffed Peppers
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 220Total Fat: 9gCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 18g

Pat Casey

Tuesday 10th of October 2023

I have tried these in the oven and really liked them. Today I am cooking them on my Traeger Smoker. Just wondering if they freeze well? I'd like to store them for future quick meals.

Mason Woodruff

Friday 13th of October 2023

For sure. I know some like to assemble the stuffed peppers and freeze them before they're smoked or baked instead of freezing the cooked version. I'm not sure which is better, but I'd probably lean for smoking them all in one batch and freezing the leftovers unless you're firing up the smoker pretty often.

Carrie McKay

Wednesday 27th of September 2023

Can these be frozen after smoked?

Mason Woodruff

Friday 13th of October 2023

Definitely. I mentioned in another comment that some like to freeze the assembled peppers before cooking, but I like to smoke them all in one batch. I don't think you lose much going from freshly smoked to reheated from cooked and frozen.

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