Traditionally, my family and a few family friends used to get together on the 2nd of July to stuff sausage. It was for a much larger party that my parents hosted on the 4th of July. Of course we ate the freshly made sausage, and there were usually some appetizers to go along with it. The Pepper Poppers are my favorite. My mom always used jalapeno peppers, but *some* people in my family didn’t like the spicyness, so I figured out how to make them with sweet peppers also.
The *some* people is my son. That was a few years ago when he was little and he understandably didn’t like spicy foods, as little kids often don’t. Now though, at 13 years old, he says “I do like spicy food, I just don’t like it when I want flavor. I want it when I just want spice.”
I have no idea.
So, I make jalapeno poppers for me, and sweet pepper poppers for him.
Some thoughts on Pepper Poppers
Sweet peppers seem to have thinner walls than hot peppers, so they cook faster. Also, the longer you cook the jalapenos, the more the heat, or spicyness cooks out of them. At about an hour, they’re just right. Not too spicy that you can’t enjoy the flavor.
It’s hard to say exactly how many poppers this recipe makes because it’s entirely dependent on how big the peppers are. I like to make a big batch of the filling and keep it in the fridge to have a few poppers every couple days or so during pepper season.
If you’re growing sweet peppers or picking them up at the farmer’s market, I love the lipstick variety of sweet pepper. If you’re buying peppers from the store, the lunchbox sweet peppers work really well.
And lastly, don’t overfill the peppers. I know you want to, I know you want more delicious cheese… but it will bubble up and I promize that they will be plenty full and flavorful! Only press the filling in just to the top of the pepper. Even a little less will ensure it doesn’t make a mess everywhere.
They look so good fresh out of the oven! These are ready IF they’re sweet peppers. Jalapenos still need about 30 minutes more.
Pepper Poppers
Ingredients
- sweet or jalapeno peppers
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 8 oz shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- Mix the parmesan and the cream cheese together well. It's easiest to use your hands.
- Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and clean the seeds out. Use gloves or a spoon for the jalapeno peppers
- Press the filling into each pepper half. Do not over fill!
- Place the peppers on a baking sheet.
- Bake sweet peppers for about 35 minutes until they are lightly browned on top.Bake jalapenos for 45-50 minutes until they are dark brown on top.
- Enjoy!