Columns, Recipes

Deck The Halls and Warm Your Bellies: Stuffed Christmas Light Peppers

Posted by Krista on

It’s getting awfully cold out there and what better way to warm ourselves than with a piping hot appetizer shared with friends and family? Prior to the 20th Century, peppers were actually used as winter decorations to brighten up people’s homes and hearths! Though this recipe does not use actual Christmas Peppers, there are many colorful sweet or spicy options for peppers to use when making these. For this recipe, we used the Lunchbox Orange Sweet Snacking Peppers from our garden. Their shape is very reminiscent of Christmas lights.

Christmas Light Stuffed Mini Peppers

Disclaimer: This recipe has been modified from the original version written by Terri. The original can be found at That’s Some Good Cookin’. Terri also includes a variation of her recipe to create a dip version with the filling. Our version is vegetarian and has far less heat to it for those with more sensitive palates.

Serving Size:
8
Time:
30-50 mins
Difficulty:
Easy

Ingredients

  • 8 – 20 peppers of your choice (we use small snack-sized peppers)
  • 1 8 oz. block of cream cheese
  • 6 oz. grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • 3/4 cup minced onion
  • 1/2 cup minced sweet red pepper
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (optional)
  • 1 Tablespoon minced fresh garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking pan (half sheet size) with aluminum foil. Place a broiler pan in the bottom of a pan and set aside. (Note: if you do not have a broiler pan, a cooling rack will also work)
  2. Wash peppers. With a sharp knife, slice the peppers in half. Scrape out the seeds. Set peppers aside.
  3. Mix cream cheese, 4 oz. grated cheddar cheese, onion, jalapeno, red pepper, garlic, salt, and black pepper together in a bowl.
  4. Carefully spoon filling into the hollowed-out peppers.
  5. Place peppers on the broiler pan, leaving space between each pepper. Do not overcrowd the pan. Garnish peppers with remaining shredded cheddar.
  6. Bake for 10 – 25 minutes (10 for the tiny peppers, 25 for large peppers). Remove pan from oven. Peppers will be hot!

Note: We used green beans as a garnish to act as the Christmas light wires to connect the peppers, but this is entirely optional.