For years, my husband tried to get me to go out for wings with him. Because I’m so sensitive to spicy food (like, uncontrollable hiccup fits sensitive), I was convinced they would not be for me. Guess what, guys? For the first time in my life (har har) I was wrong. I LOVE wings. I love buffalo sauce. I love dipping those delicious little suckers in blue cheese dressing while sipping on a cold Strongbow. Clearly, this reality was not possible during our Whole30, so we had to find a stand-in. 

These peppers are a really nice filling way to fill the wings craving with a compliant meal. All cards on the table, the cooking time is a little longer than I would like for a weeknight. However, you could very well cook the chicken the night before and even stuff your peppers, then just bake the stuffed peppers on meal day. We served ours with avocado caprese.

Active Time: 10 min | Cooking Time: 1 hr 10 min

Difficulty: Intermediate

Ingredients 

• 1/2  cup ghee
• 1 lb chicken breasts
• 1 large onion, rough chopped
• 1 tsp fresh dill, chopped (or 1/2 tsp dried)
• 1 tsp fresh chives, chopped (or 1/2 tsp dried)
• 1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped (or 1/2 tsp dried)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 4 large bell peppers
• 1/4 cup hot sauce (I chose something mild)
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Directions 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 13×9″ casserole with 1 tbsp of the ghee. Lay your chicken breasts in the casserole and add distribute your onion around them in the available nooks and crannies in the casserole. Season the meat and onions with salt and pepper to taste. Then, sprinkle the meat with the dill, chives, parsley, garlic powder and onion powder. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the meat is cooked through and a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest breast reads 165 degrees F.

While the chicken bakes, prep your buffalo sauce. In a small saucepan, melt the ghee and hot sauce together over low heat. Once incorporated, remove from the heat and set aside.

Next, prepare your bell peppers by slicing off the tops as high up as you can, careful not to slice all the way through the stem if you plan to reserve the tops for your presentation. Glide your knife around the bell pepper, horizontally, turning the bell pepper until you’ve come full circle. Remove the guts and seeds from the bell pepper, rinsing with water to get any stubborn seeds.

Then, check that your bell pepper can stand on its own. If it struggles, slices small bit from the bottom to even out the base. If the base is too uneven, you can bake the bell pepper resting upright in a large ramekin.

Once your chicken finishes cooking, transfer the meat to a large cutting board to make bite sized pieces. You can shred the meat with a fork or slice the meat thinly along the grain and continue chopping until you have what looks like shredded chicken. Return the chicken to the casserole with the cooked onion and give it a quick stir. Then pour the reserved buffalo sauce over the chicken and onions and mix to coat.

Spoon the coated chicken and onions into the prepared bell peppers and place on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until peppers have softened and the top of the meat begins to brown.

Rest for 5 minutes to cool slightly and enjoy!