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Cheesy Bacon-Stuffed Mini Peppers Everyone Will Love

Cheesy Bacon-Stuffed Mini Peppers

Sweet mini bell peppers are filled with creamy cheddar, bacon, garlic, and green onions, then baked until tender and lightly browned. Serve these bubbling, savory pepper halves warm as an easy party appetizer.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 22 minutes
Total Time 42 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Pepper Base
  • 12 about 12 ounces total Mini sweet bell peppers
Cheesy Bacon Filling
  • 8 ounces Cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 6 slices Bacon, cooked crisp and finely crumbled
  • 2 green onions Green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 clove Garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon Smoked paprika or regular paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon, plus more if needed Kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon Black pepper
Optional Topping
  • 2 tablespoons Grated Parmesan
  • 1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
For the Pan
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil, or as needed Nonstick spray or olive oil

Method
 

Step-by-Step
  1. Cook the bacon until quite crisp. Transfer it to paper towels to drain, let it cool, and crumble it finely.
  2. Heat the oven to 375°F. Lightly coat a baking dish or rimmed sheet pan with nonstick spray or 1 teaspoon olive oil.
  3. Cut the mini peppers lengthwise. Remove the stems, seeds, and inner ribs while keeping each pepper half intact.
  4. In a bowl, mix the softened cream cheese, shredded cheddar, crumbled bacon, green onions, garlic, paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper until evenly combined.
  5. Spoon or pipe the filling into the pepper halves, taking care not to overfill them. If desired, sprinkle the tops with Parmesan or panko.
  6. Arrange the filled peppers in a single layer and bake for 18–22 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the filling is hot and bubbling. Broil for 1–2 minutes at the end if you want a more browned topping.
  7. Let the peppers rest for 5 minutes before serving. This gives the filling a moment to settle and makes the appetizers easier to handle.

Notes

Fully soften the cream cheese before mixing for a smooth filling. Cook and drain the bacon well so the filling does not become loose or greasy. For easy filling, transfer the mixture to a zip-top bag, snip off one corner, and pipe it into the pepper halves. Mini peppers vary in size, so the filling may make slightly more or fewer than 24 halves.