If you already enjoy jalapeño poppers, think of these cream cheese stuffed mini peppers as their sweeter, less spicy counterparts. Enjoy them for dinner next to a salad, or serve them at your next gathering. They fly off the plate! We have a few stuffed peppers on Inspired Taste. Two of our favorites are these vegetarian tomato stuffed peppers and our sausage stuffed peppers.
Key Ingredients
Sweet Mini Peppers: Mini sweet peppers are becoming more popular in grocery stores; if you cannot find them, use jalapeño peppers with all the seeds and membrane removed. Or, if you can find them, use longer Anaheim peppers, which are less spicy (they are light green). Bacon: I love the bacon in our pepper filling. Cook it first, so it is nice and crispy. I cook it in a skillet until crisp, but you can also bake it (here’s how to bake bacon). For a vegetarian filling, leave out the bacon. Cream Cheese and Goat Cheese: I love the combination, but if you don’t have goat cheese or it’s too expensive, you can substitute it with more cream cheese. Bousrin cheese is also delicious! Onion and Garlic: I saute yellow or sweet onion and garlic until soft and sweet, then stir them into the cheese filling with the bacon and sliced green onions. Spices: To add even more flavor to these stuffed mini peppers, I stir in fresh lemon juice, red pepper flakes, oregano, and fresh parsley. The pepper flakes add a little heat, so substitute with black pepper if you want this super mild. Breadcrumbs: I add breadcrumbs mixed with a bit of butter to each pepper for a crispy topping. I love panko or homemade breadcrumbs for this.
How to Make Sweet Pepper Poppers
These stuffed mini peppers fly off the plate every time I serve them. The creamy filling is so delicious. They are also really easy to make. I get my bacon cooking first. I like it nice and crisp. Then, I use the bacon fat to cook my onions and garlic. When they are soft and sweet, we can make the cheese filling. You’ll stir the cream cheese, goat cheese, bacon, onion, garlic, and remaining filling ingredients in a bowl, then fill each pepper. I cut the mini peppers in half, longways, and scrape out the seeds inside to make room. After stuffing the peppers, top them with buttery breadcrumbs and bake until the breadcrumbs are golden brown. So good! Once the peppers are filled, we top them with breadcrumbs and bake until the peppers have softened and the breadcrumbs are golden brown. 3 slices bacon 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 1 garlic clove, minced 4 ounces cream cheese, softened 4 ounces goat cheese, softened 1 scallion, finely chopped 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh parsley, finely chopped Juice of half a lemon 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes or use black pepper 3 tablespoons butter, melted 3/4 cup panko or homemade breadcrumbs 2Slice each pepper in half lengthwise, then scoop out any seeds and membrane to make space for the filling. Arrange the pepper halves on the baking sheet. 3Cut the bacon crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick strips and add to a pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until crisp. Transfer cooked bacon to a paper towel to drain. 4Add the onions to the pan used to cook the bacon. If the pan seems dry, add a splash of olive oil. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat. 5Add the cream cheese, goat cheese, bacon, onion, garlic, green onion, parsley, lemon juice, oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt to a medium bowl. Mix until well blended. 6In another bowl, combine breadcrumbs with the melted butter. 7Spoon the cheese filling into each pepper half, then place the pepper, filling side down, into the buttery breadcrumbs. 8Arrange the pepper halves, filling side up, on the baking sheet. Bake the peppers until they have softened and the breadcrumbs are golden brown, about 20 minutes.
