This Stuffed Cherry Peppers recipe is a quick, flavorful appetizer, perfect for parties or family meals! Fill cherry peppers with a quick cheese mixture, bake, and ENJOY in under 30 minutes!
These stuffed cherry peppers tastes from medium to moderate heat(with the similar heat profile of jalapeno) and a hint of sweetness.
If you're a fan of jalapeno poppers(our favorite is this jalapeno cheddar poppers), this recipe stuffed cherry peppers can turn out as your next favorite.
I love making this recipe when I harvest cherry peppers from my backyard or find stores stocked with fresh peppers. It never disappoints, and my family loves it too!
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
⭐️Simple recipe & highly customizable.
⭐️Made with few ingredients.
⭐️It is versatile and excellent to serve as an appetizer or a great add-on for a salad.
Ingredients
- Cherry peppers: I have used red hot chili peppers, but you may follow this cherry stuffed peppers recipe to use other types, sweet, green, or pickled cherry peppers.
- Pine nuts: For their texture, you may swap them for walnuts, pecans, or breadcrumbs.
- Plain cream cheese: I have used low-fat cream cheese for this dish. Depending on your diet, you may choose vegan or full-fat cream cheese.
- Parmesan cheese: Parmesan cheese is essential for rich, cheesy, flavored stuffed cherry peppers. Choose a block of parmesan for the best flavors and grate it manually before adding it.
- Parsley: Use fresh parsley leaves for luscious flavors.
- Garlic: It's a humble ingredient but turned out to be an excellent flavor booster.
How To Make Stuffed Cherry Peppers?
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Slice the cherry peppers in half lengthwise.
- Scoop out the seeds and white membrane. Place them on a tray, facing upwards, and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, red pepper flakes, parsley, and minced garlic to a smooth mixture. Spoon the filling into the peppers
- Spoon the filling into the peppers and bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with a creamy dip.
♨️How To Adjust The Heat
The stuffed cherry peppers are hot, varying between moderately hot and quite intense, depending on the type and variety.
And still, these are delicious with intense spiciness that's very well balanced with our creamy stuffing.
However, you can adjust the heat level by removing the seeds and central membrane and by reducing the amount of red pepper flakes in this recipe.
Storage & Reheating
You can repurpose the leftovers as a snack or add them to pasta or sandwiches.
Store the leftovers in the refrigerator for up to five days or in the freezer for up to three months.
To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator overnight or defrost quickly in the microwave. Reheat in the oven or air fryer at 375°F until the center warmed through.
FAQ
Yes, you can substitute cream cheese with vegan cream cheese, such as almond milk or soy milk cream cheese. You can also swap parmesan cheese for vegan cheese or completely omit it.
Yes, this is an air fryer-friendly recipe. Add the prepped cherry peppers to the air fryer and cook for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or until the cheese turns golden.
Pair with creamy dips (like Cajun aioli)and fresh salads(like this Greek yogurt cucumber salad).
Yes, you can. Prepare the peppers, make the filling, stuff them, and then refrigerate or freeze. When ready to serve, heat them in the oven or air fryer.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know your thoughts in the 📝 comments section below the recipe.
📖 Recipe
Stuffed Cherry Peppers
Ingredients
- 12 hot cherry peppers fresh or pickled
- 4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoon parsley minced
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Slice the cherry peppers into two halves lengthwise.
- Scoop out the seeds and the white membrane using a spoon or a melon baller.
- And in a tray arrange the cherry peppers by having the hallowed side facing upwards. And set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, add all the ingredients. Combine together to form a thick filling.
- Using a spoon, fill the cherry pepper with the filling.
- Bake it for about 18-20 minutes or until the filling’s surface starts to turn golden brown.
- Serve with a creamy dip.
Notes
- To adjust the heat level, remove the seeds and membrane or reduce the red pepper flakes for a milder taste.
- Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
- They can also be reheated in the oven or air fryer at 375°F until warmed through.
Kelley says
These were such a fun appetizer for our friends! Thank you so much for sharing!