These Bacon and Jalapeño Stuffed Peppers are a quick, easy and irresistible appetizer that is perfect for game day, parties or even a simple snack. They’re sweet, savory, a little bit spicy and full of cheesy goodness.
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Quick and Easy Cream Cheese Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed mini peppers, like these Bacon and Jalapeño Stuffed Peppers, are an appetizer that everyone will love. They are filled to the brim with two kinds of cheese, sour cream, bacon, diced jalapeño peppers and then topped with even more cheese just before baking. They are sure to keep everyone satisfied until dinner is served.
Feel free to adapt these puppies to your own tastes. You can mix and match cheeses, fillings or add your favorite toppings. We’ve included plenty of ideas to get you started, but it’s hard to go wrong. Let us know what you tried!
What are Mini Sweet Peppers?
Mini sweet peppers are like miniature, super sweet bell peppers. Just like bell peppers, they come in red, green, orange and yellow varieties and they are not a bit spicy. You can usually find them at the grocery store in the produce section sold by the 8 ounce or 1 pound bag.
Ingredients in Bacon and Jalapeño Stuffed Peppers
- Mini Sweet Peppers - these should be cut in half and deseeded.
- Cream Cheese - you want your cream cheese to be at room temperature so that it mixes well with the other ingredients. If you forget to pull it out of the fridge ahead of time, just transfer to a microwave-safe container and heat for about 10 seconds at a time until no longer cold.
- Ranch Seasoning Mix - you can find this dry mix in the salad dressing section at your grocery store. Feel free to adjust by adding a bit more salt, black pepper or even garlic powder if you would like.
- Sour Cream - either full fat or lite will work.
- Cheddar Cheese - any type of cheddar cheese will taste great. These would also taste great filled with goat cheese, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese or mozzarella cheese.
- Bacon Bits - you can make these just beforehand or a day or two ahead of time. To make, slice any type of bacon into ½" slices, heat in a skillet over medium heat until cooked, then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
- Canned Diced Jalapeños - these are convenient and tasty. Of course, if you don't like spicy foods you can absolutely eliminate this ingredient, however we highly recommend adding it!
How to Make Bacon and Jalapeño Stuffed Peppers
- Prep peppers. Prepare peppers by cutting off the tops, slicing in half and scooping out the seeds.
- Make cream cheese filling. In a small mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, ranch seasoning, sour cream, ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, bacon bits and diced jalapeños. Mix until combined.
- Stuff peppers. Pat dry the pepper halves, then using a butter knife or small spatula, scoop 1-2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture into each of the peppers and smooth to fill evenly. Place the filled peppers on a parchment lined baking sheet, cheese side up. Repeat until all of the peppers are filled, then top stuffed sweet peppers with another ½ of shredded cheese.
- Bake. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly, melted and golden brown.
- Serve. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before transferring to a serving platter. Enjoy!
Variations of this Stuffed Pepper Appetizer
- Bacon and Cheese Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers: Substitute jalapeño peppers instead of mini sweet peppers if you like your stuffed peppers extra spicy!
- Italian Sausage Stuffed Mini Peppers: instead of bacon and jalapeño peppers, add cooked and crumbled Italian sausage, diced onion, chopped basil and crushed red peppers to your cream cheese mixture.
- Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers: just eliminate the bacon bits - easy peasy!
- More Toppings: top with sliced green onions, chives, chopped fresh herbs, arugula, walnuts or even a drizzle of hot sauce or buffalo sauce.
Storing Bacon and Jalapeño Stuffed Peppers
Make Ahead: This appetizer doesn’t hold up very well after it is baked, so we don’t recommend making a huge batch with the purpose of saving some for later. If you want to prep this ahead of time, you can always prep your peppers (wash, slice and deseed), prep your cheese mixture and store them both separately in the fridge for up to 24 hours. That way, you can fill and bake just before serving.
Refrigerator: If you do have lots of leftovers, store them covered in the fridge. The next day, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 5-10 minutes, or until warm. They also honestly taste pretty good cold, too. It’s up to you!
Bacon and Jalapeño Stuffed Peppers Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 Mini Sweet Peppers
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese room temperature
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Ranch Seasoning Mix
- ½ cup Sour Cream
- 1 cup Cheddar Cheese shredded (½ cup for filling, ½ cup to add to top before baking)
- ½ cup Bacon Bits
- 2 ounces Canned Diced Jalapeños
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Prepare peppers by cutting off the tops, slicing in half and scooping out the seeds.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, ranch seasoning, sour cream, ½ cup cheddar cheese, bacon bits and diced jalapeños. Mix until combined.
- Pat dry the pepper halves, then using a butter knife or small spatula, scoop 1-2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture into each of the peppers and smooth to fill evenly.
- Place the filled peppers on a parchment lined baking sheet, cheese side up. Repeat until all of the peppers are filled, then top stuffed peppers with another ½ of shredded cheese.
- Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly, melted and golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before transferring to a serving platter. Enjoy!
Here are a few more simple appetizer recipes that we love!
- BLT Dip
- Frank's Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Jalapeño Popper Dip
- Garlic Parmesan Wings
- Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapeños
If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it and leave a comment on this post. I love hearing feedback from you helps me and other readers too! If you love Pinterest, feel free to leave a comment and photo there too. Also, if you like to share, use the hashtag #thecarefreekitchen on Instagram and tag me @thecarefreekitchen so I can find you and give your post some love. You can also find me on Facebook at The Carefree Kitchen. Thank you!!
Bacon and Jalapeno Stuffed Peppers are sweet, savory, spicy and full of cheesy goodness. They are the perfect quick and easy appetizer to make for game day, holidays, baby showers or even a simple snack.
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