Thank you Silver Spring Foods for sponsoring this recipe for Zesty Cream Cheese Stuffed Mini Peppers, a flavorful appetizer made with only 6 ingredients that will have you ready for any party or football game! All opinions are my own.
It’s party season, and I’m giving you a secret weapon to keep in your culinary back pocket.
Stuffed mini peppers are an indulgent yet healthier appetizer that are full of crowd appeal. People just can’t say no to cheese, and we’re going to surprise and delight by infusing that cheese with one of my favorite flavors – horseradish!
I served these cream cheese stuffed peppers to a few friends and they disappeared so fast! The combination of creamy cheese and spicy horseradish is almost irresistible.
This stuffed mini pepper appetizer is naturally gluten-free and can easily be made vegan by using vegan cheeses and swapping the Silver Spring Foods Cream Style Horseradish for Silver Spring Foods Prepared Horseradish.
I’ve been using Silver Spring Foods products for years. They’re a local (Wisconsin) company that has been family owned and operated for over 80 years through four generations.
As a kid I can remember my dad’s love of horseradish on his sandwiches. He’s the one who first taught me to love food and choose quality ingredients. Silver Spring Foods is the number one retail brand for Prepared Horseradish in the United States, and with good reason!
Ingredients
- Mini sweet peppers
- Cream cheese
- Sharp cheddar cheese
- Green onions
- Cream style horseradish
- Garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
How do you make cream cheese stuffed mini peppers?
- Cut your peppers in half lengthwise and remove any little seeds or ribs
- Bake the peppers for 8 minutes
- Mix up your cream cheese filling
- Divide the filling amongst the peppers
- Bake again until hot
- Broil to get the tops extra melty and crisp
How long do you cook mini stuffed peppers?
I like to bake them for 8 minutes unstuffed at 350ºF, then another 8 minutes stuffed at 400ºF.
Top tips and questions
Are mini sweet peppers the same as bell peppers?
Mini sweet peppers are similar to bell peppers but are smaller and sweet, perfect for snacking or using in an appetizer such as this.
What can you stuff mini peppers with?
You can stuff mini peppers with just about anything small enough to fit, but today we’re putting together a zesty mix of cheeses, horseradish, and green onions.
Tips for customizing cream cheese stuffed peppers
- Increase the horseradish to suit your taste
- Swap the Silver Spring Foods Cream Style Horseradish for Silver Spring Foods Applewood Smoke Flavored Horseradish Sauce for a smoky alternative
- Add a little extra shredded cheddar cheese to the top to make them super cheesy
- Meat eaters can add finely crumbled sausage or bacon to the mix
- If you’re short on time you can skip the first bake on the mini peppers, though they will turn out more crisp in the end
More appetizer recipes
- Apple and Goat Cheese Appetizer
- Avocado Chimichurri Chip Dip
- Taco Dip
- Fall Cheeseboard
- Basic Hummus
- White Bean Dip
- Sweet and Salty Cheeseboard
- Vegetarian Burrito Bites
- Burrata with Tomatoes, Pesto, and Toast
If you make this recipe be sure to rate it, leave a comment, or tag #thelivienkitchen on Instagram!
Recipe
Zesty Cream Cheese Stuffed Mini Peppers
Ingredients
- 12-16 mini sweet peppers, halved lengthwise, seeds and ribs removed
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup freshly grated medium sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 green onions, light and dark green part only, thinly sliced
- 1 ½ – 2 teaspoons Silver Spring Cream Style Horseradish
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Arugula, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Arrange pepper halves in a single layer, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes. When you remove the peppers, increase the oven temperature to 400ºF.
- While the peppers are cooking, combine cream cheese, cheddar cheese, green onions, horseradish, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl.
- Divide the filling evenly amongst the peppers, being careful not to mound too much filling into them or they will melt and get messy.
- Bake the stuffed peppers another 8 minutes, then turn on the broiler to get the tops a little crispy.
- Serve hot or at room temperature on a bed of arugula if desired.
Leatra Harper says
OMG THE POPUPS ON THIS SITE ARE DRIVING ME NUTS! I WON’T BE BACK!
Lindsay Moe says
Hi Leatra, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I would love it if you could email me directly to let me know exactly what you are experiencing. There should only be one small window that pops up as you leave the site, so if there are more I would like to address it. Are you able to give me more information such as are you on mobile or desktop, are they ads, videos, etc.?
Suzanne Salhany says
Do you think you could prepare these up to the second bake and freeze??
Lindsay Moe says
In my experience, cream cheese does not freeze well. It might do ok here since you would be baking it afterwards, but the texture might change. Ultimately I wouldn’t recommend it, but it might be worth experimenting with and if you do let me know how it goes!
CBaker says
About freezing for later use.
Once peppers have been frozen they tend to become very watery
Valerie says
What a clever idea to use horseradish for a kick!
Rose says
No offense to your dad or Silver Spring (btw, hi from Northeast Iowa!), but I made these without the horseradish and they are my new favorite snack!!
Sheila says
How would some Panko crumbs do on this for the final baking? Just thought the crispness would be good.
Lindsay Moe says
I think panko is a great idea!
Candice says
What do you think about baking the cream cheese filling first (almost as if it’s a dip), storing it in the fridge and then using it as a spread on raw mini peppers to serve as a cold appetizer (ie. I won’t have access it an oven the day I’m serving them)?
Lindsay Moe says
I think if you wanted to serve it cold I would try just not baking the filling and dipping the peppers in that. There’s nothing in the filling that needs to be baked, and it may have a better texture unbaked than baked and chilled.
Kacey says
These turned out great. Love the addition of horseradish too! Tried prebaking and not prebaking the peppers; they both turned out well. Looking forward to serving them. Thanks for sharing!