These sweet pepper poppers are the perfect appetizers for parties and family gatherings. Ready in 30 minutes this oven baked party food is easy to make and tastes amazing!
Have you tried making sweet pepper poppers yourselves? If not, I highly recommend doing so. These easy pepper poppers are always a crowd pleaser!
What I love about these sweet pepper poppers
- Easy preparation – there is nothing difficult about making this appetizer so if you have an oven you are good to go!
- 5 ingredients is all it takes to make these stuffed mini sweet peppers appetizers
- Perfect appetizer for entertaining at home – no matter what type of party you are planning, these sweet pepper poppers should be on your menu.
These sweet pepper poppers are quite rich so when throwing a party I recommend adding some other – preferably cheese-free appetizers/finger food to give your guests some more choices.
Here are some options for you:
Ingredients needed to make sweet pepper poppers
- Sweet Peppers
- Cheddar
- Cream Cheese
- Black Pepper
- Bacon
How to make sweet pepper poppers with bacon
First things first – preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Meanwhile fry the bacon. I suggest not to be frying it until crispy as it will also bake in the oven.
If you are good with multi-tasking, you can prep the sweet peppers while the bacon is frying (just give it an occasional stir so you don’t end up with burnt bacon).
To prep the peppers: rinse them, cut in halves and remove the seeds and membranes. Make sure you leave the green parts on. Depending on the size of the sweet peppers I sometimes cut through the green part and stem – especially when they are quite small. This way both halves can be held by the green parts once they are done. I guess it is not that important and you don’t have to do it this way.
Then combine cream cheese with pepper, grated cheddar cheese and fried bacon. Now the bacon can still be warm but make sure you get rid of any excess fat. The easiest way is to use paper kitchen towels.
Mix everything together and fill each pepper with the mixture. Place them onto a baking tray and bake for 10-13 minutes.
Now the baking time may vary depending on the size of your peppers so just keep an eye on them.
Useful tips
- Bacon can be substituted with pancetta pieces.
- You can also add some chopped jalapenos to the filling if you like.
Sweet Pepper Poppers
Ingredients
- 3.5 ounces Bacon Cubes / Strips
- 8 Mini Sweet Peppers
- ½ cup Grated Cheddar Cheese (50 grams)
- 7 ounces Cream Cheese (200 grams)
- A pinch of Black Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
- Meanwhile: Fry the bacon pieces until cooked.
- Rinse the peppers and cut each of them in half. Make sure to leave the green parts on. Remove the seeds and membranes.
- Mix together cheddar cheese, cream cheese, black pepper and bacon.
- Fill the peppers with the mixture and bake for 10-13 minutes or until heated through and the peppers are soft.
- Best served right away!
Notes
- Bacon can be substituted with Italian pancetta or cooked ham.
- If using cooked ham, you can skip the frying.
- Chopped jalapenos can be added to the filling if you like just be careful with the amount you add.
- This recipe can be easily doubled or halved.
- The baking time may vary depending on the size of your peppers.
- This filling is enough for 8-9 mini peppers. Now this can vary depending on the size of the peppers.
Ali Randall says
What a great idea for game day. I love the simple ingredient options and these are a sure fire way to keep the party going. Love this idea.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks, Ali!
Tania says
Such a great idea for a party! Both the adults and children will love them! Thank you so much for sharing.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
You are welcome! :)
Claire says
OH these looks soooooo good.
Stuffed pepper poppers used to be a favorite of mine, there was a little pub around the corner from my first flat and they did the best poppers!
On a Thursday night you could get a pint of cider and a plate of poppers for £4.50.
Since moving to Australia I haven’t seen them on any menus :(
Time to make my own!!! Thank you for the recipe
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
I love little pubs. They always have so much character! If you do try this recipe, let me know what you think!
Christina says
I love stuffing sweet peppers and your cream cheese mixture looks just perfect!! I bet this is an absolute winner for parties!!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Yes, they disappear pretty fast from the table :)
Beth says
I have to make these for my husband! He doesn’t like the heat from jalapenos.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
He will love these, Beth! :)
Maureen says
I made these for lunch for my husband and I with sweet peppers from the garden. They were so good I’m making them for the rest of my family!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Yay! Thanks so much for finding time to write a feedback :)
Scott says
Slightly modified the recipe, adding 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder and 1/4 tsp pepper. Also added 1/3 cup drained, cottage cheese. Whipped the cream and cottage cheese together, then folded in the rest including chopped bacon. Had some left over that I used to make a small cheese log, chilled and served with crackers. AWESOME!!!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks so much for your feedback and for letting our readers know about your version of our recipe! Happy Cooking! :)
dianna says
I have been making this for years. I use a spicy cheese and roll them in breadcrumbs.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
I haven’t tried rolling them in breadcrumbs but love the idea!
Janet says
These are delicious but what is the individual serving size for the nutrition facts
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Janet. The nutrition information for this recipe are for 1 popper.
Paige Kittles says
I made a double batch and the only change I made was adding a couple jalapeños to warm cream cheese and puréing until smooth. After baking for 10 minutes I broiled on low until they began to brown on top. OMG this has become a new staple food in my household! My husband and I both LOVE jalapeño poppers but his stomach doesn’t agree with them so he had to stop eating them. This way, I was able to add the jalapeño flavor with almost no heat (but you could increase the heat with more jalapeño, of course).
Thank you for the great recipe!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks so much for your feedback and rating, Paige!