This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Cheesy Bacon Stuffed Mini Peppers! An easy appetizer idea for any gathering! Sweet mini peppers overflowing with cheese, bacon, and more!
Stuffed Mini Peppers
These Cheesy Bacon Stuffed Mini Peppers are the perfect crowd-pleasing appetizer! They can also be made ahead of time, frozen, then baked till melty and delicious!
Pin this now to save it for later
Pin It Now
Ingredients:
Load up your grocery cart with the following ingredients and get yourself home to make these unbeatable stuffed peppers.
- Mini peppers – They usually come in red, orange, and yellow. I like using a variety but you could just use 1 color if you’d like.
- Cream cheese
- Cooked bacon – Don’t feel like cooking your own bacon? Bacon bits will work just fine here.
- Roasted garlic – You can use 1/2 tsp garlic powder instead.
- Shredded cheddar cheese – You don’t need to limit yourself to cheddar cheese. Monterey jack, pepper jack, and/or mozzarella would all be great choices. Choose your own adventure!
- Worcestershire sauce
- Onion powder
- Sour cream – You can skip the sour cream if you wish. I love the tang it brings to the filling, though. It really balances out the richness of the cream cheese.
- Green onion – The green onions are great for garnish and flavor. You can leave them out if you’d like.
Supplies:
Do a quick kitchen inventory and make sure you have the following supplies before you get to cooking.
- Sheet pan
- Parchment paper
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowl
- Spoon
- Stirring spoon
- knife
Instructions:
Make the filling. Mix together the cream cheese, half of the bacon, garlic, ½ cup cheese, Worcestershire, onion powder, and sour cream until smooth.
Prepare the peppers. Slice the peppers in half lengthwise. Seed and clean the insides.
Prebake the peppers (optional). If you want your peppers to be nice and soft, arrange them on the prepared baking sheet and bake them for 7 minutes while you get the filling ready. If you like them a bit crisp, skip this step!
Fill the pepper. Arrange the mini sweet peppers on the baking sheet and scoop about 1 tablespoon of filling into each, depending on the size of the pepper, fill them up.
Recipe Tip
This is a great baseline recipe for all sorts of stuffed veggies. Feel free to swap the mini peppers out for halved and seeded jalapenos, bell peppers, or poblano peppers. You could even scoop the seeds out of Roma tomatoes and stuff them instead!
Bake. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes, top with remaining ¼ cup of cheese, and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
Serve. Serve warm garnished with green onions and remaining bacon crumbles.
Make-Ahead Freezer Instructions
Fill the pepper halves (pre-baked or not) with the filling and arrange them on a sheet pan. Pop the peppers in the freezer for a couple of hours to firm up before transferring them to a freezer bag. When you are ready to enjoy, arrange the frozen stuffed peppers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake just as you normally would. Just tack on a few extra minutes before you add the cheese.
More Appetizer Recipes
Stuffed Mini Peppers
Equipment
- Sheet pan
- Parchment Paper
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowl
- spoon
- stirring spoon
- Knife
Ingredients
- 8 mini peppers, I used red, orange, and yellow
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 6 slices bacon, cooked to crispy and crumbled (divided)
- 1 teaspoon minced roasted garlic
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese (divided)
- 1½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Prepare the peppers. Halve the peppers lengthwise. Seed and clean the insides.Â
- Prebake the peppers (optional). If you want your peppers to be nice and soft, arrange them on the prepared baking sheet and bake them for 7 minutes while you get the filling ready. If you like them a bit crisp, skip this step!
- Make the filling. Mix together the cream cheese, half of the bacon, garlic, ½ cup cheese, Worcestershire, onion powder, and sour cream until smooth.Â
- Fill the pepper. Arrange the pepper halves on the baking sheet (if not already) and scoop about 1 tablespoon of filling into each, depending on the size of the pepper, fill them up.
- Bake. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes, top with remaining ¼ cup of cheese, and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
- Serve. Serve warm garnished with green onions and remaining bacon crumbles.Â
Notes
- To store. Allow the peppers to cool to room temperature and then seal any leftovers in an airtight container. You can store these tasty mini peppers in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To reheat. If you freeze the peppers, allow them to thaw in the fridge. Arrange the leftovers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 15 minutes at 350°F or until warm. Alternatively, microwave a couple of peppers at a time in 30-second intervals until heated through.
