These Cheese Filled Peppers are an easy and delicious appetizer, perfect for any type of get together. They are stuffed full of ranch-flavored cream cheese, sour cream and cheddar cheese then baked until melty - yum!
Jump to:
Easy Stuffed Pepper Appetizer
This Cheese Filled Peppers recipe is a keeper. With just 5 ingredients and about 30 minutes you can crank out an ooey-gooey, flavorful, and unbelievably simple appetizer that everyone will love. These lil sweet peppers bake up super colorful, much milder than a jalapeño popper, and chock full of cheesy goodness.
Stuffed mini peppers are also incredibly easy to customize to your own liking, so feel free to switch up the cheeses, add ground beef, or top with yummy ingredients like green onions, bacon bits, walnuts or hot sauce.
Whether you need an easy appetizer for a baby shower, game day or holiday get together, this recipe is bound to become a favorite.
Are Mini Sweet Peppers the Same as Bell Peppers?
Yes and no. They are both considered sweet peppers, however, mini sweet peppers are quite a bit sweeter (and smaller!) than bell peppers. They both come in multiple different colors, such as red, green, yellow, and orange, and are both crunchy and nutritious.
We love mini sweet peppers because they are super sweet and because they are the perfect two-bite appetizer size. They are also a great way to add a pop of color to your menu.
Ingredients in Cheese Filled Peppers
- Mini Sweet Peppers - you should be able to find these at your local grocery store. Oftentimes they are sold in a bag next to the full-sized bell peppers.
- 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 it 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.
How to Make Cream Cheese 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 and ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese. 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 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 Stuffed Peppers with Cheese
- Use a different cheese. These would taste great filled with goat cheese, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese or mozzarella cheese.
- Substitute jalapeño peppers if you like your Cheesy Filled Peppers spicy!
- Top with sliced green onions, chives, chopped fresh herbs, arugula, walnuts, bacon bits or even a drizzle of hot sauce or buffalo sauce.
- Add cooked ground beef into your cream cheese mixture for a meaty version of these stuffed peppers.
- For a vegan version, just substitute vegan cream cheese and vegan shredded cheese.
Storing Cheese Filled Peppers
Make-Ahead: This appetizer really does taste best soon 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 and save yourself a few minutes.
Refrigerator: If you do have lots of leftovers, store them covered in the fridge and pop them back in a preheated 350-degree oven the next day for 5-10 minutes, or until warm.
Cream Cheese Filled Peppers
Ingredients
- 12 Mini Sweet Peppers cut in half, seeds removed
- 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)
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 and ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese. 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 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!
Nutrition
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!!
Leave a Reply