This is actually one of my summer “go-to” dinner options – no cooking, simple, light, and quick.
But I have been making these pepper cups here and there over the winter months this year because they make really simple, cost effective lunches. Colorful peppers with chicken salad, a few apple slices, and some crispy nuts. Happy kiddos!
We are a gluten free house, and to be honest…gluten free bread is expensive. I have become pretty creative in the bread substitute department since my gluten free bread making skills have been a complete failure! (I am not giving up on making GF bread though – and you will be the first to know if I succeed one of these days!)
The chicken salad part is very kid friendly in taste (and even super delicious right off the spoon!), and you can feel good about getting some brain building friendly fats from avocado and whole sour cream in them! If you have dairy allergies in the house, using all avocados for the creaminess works fantastic, and is actually how I originally made up the recipe. We had some dairy free friends over for a lunch playdate, and this chicken salad was born!
If your summer garden becomes abundant in zucchinis, cucumbers, or tomatoes, they also serve as great “boats”, “cups”, or replacement breads!
Chicken Salad Pepper Cup
Bell peppers can be a great substitute for bread when you need to avoid gluten.
Ingredients
- 3-4 bell peppers get some different colors!
- 2 cups cooked chicken from your weekly crockpotted chicken See Tips for how to do this!
- ½ avocado
- ½ cup whole sour cream If you are dairy free use coconut milk yogurt OR the other half of the avocado!
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 TB raw honey or sucanat
- 1 large carrot
- ½ onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp all purpose seasoning
- ½-1 tsp sea salt to taste
- ¼- ½ tsp pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slice the peppers into cups (Stand the pepper upright. Start the knife at the top and slice down in a curve to avoid the center/seeds)
- Put the rest of the ingredients into your food processor and pulse to combine to your desired consistency. If you don’t have a processor (I didn’t for years!) just chop everything up as much as you can. Even a blender works well!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Tips:
- For little one’s mouths around ages 1-2 just puree through – even add a few pepper pieces. My girls could chew a pepper by about 2 ½ if that helps to reference. Molars are helpful to have in! When they were smaller I either helped them just eat the puree with a spoon or they two fisted it!
- HERE is how you can get some easy, fast cooked chicken into the fridge so meals like this come together quick!
- No bell peppers around? Use cucumber boats or take cucumber rounds and make “sandwiches”! Zucchinis work this way too! Or scoop it up onto a tomato round!
- Play around with the seasoning to taste. You may even just leave out the all purpose season for some little ones. Add some homemade taco season for a change up in flavor too!
- I’m thinking these would pack up fun in a school lunch box! Maybe in a small container with a lid, or plastic wrapped!
- The lemon juice helps the avocado from browning so don’t leave it out!
So keep me posted if you try it and how the kids like it!
These look great. My boys will love it served in peppers. I’ll let you know when we try it out. 🙂
Great Jessica! Let me know what they think!
Hi Renee,
I made your slowcooker/crockpot chicken yesterday and froze the shredded chicken in freezer safe bags. Can you please advise me on how to thaw that frozen chicken to make this chicken salad? I also made bone broth with the bones yesterday using my Instant Pot! it turned out well. I am so happy I finally tried this out and cannot to wait to make your soups with that bone broth.
Thanks for your awesome blog!
Hi Renee,
Thanks for all your posts, They have been a great help and encouragement to me and my family. I’ve noticed that several of your recipes call for “all-purpose seasoning”. I was wondering what is that? Do you buy it or make it?
Thanks,
tina
I love this recipe.
Very stylish and creative.
It’s delicious!
I love these chicken salad pepper cups! They looked very nice and delicious!
These are cute! My kids would love them. Great presentation!