Stuffed Sweet Pepper Poppers
The unique size and taste characteristics of this pepper offer a wide range of recipe options and uses. They are great for parties – just stuff, bake and enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1.5 – 2 lbs. sweet mini peppers (how many you use will depend on how much you stuff them)
- 2 packages of organic cream cheese
- 4 oz. organic sharp cheddar block, shredded
- 1 shallot clove, chopped (not the whole bulb)
- 3 cans of chicken breast in water (you want 15-20oz. total so your number of cans will depend on size)
- 2 tbsp. clean taco seasoning
- 2 cups whole wheat panko
- 2 tbsp. organic unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Place a wire rack inside a baking sheet.
- Wash, cut in half, and de-seed the peppers (I’ve tried using a spoon for this, but I found using my hands is more efficient because of the small size of the peppers) – you can leave the stems on.
- Place cream cheese, shredder cheddar, chopped shallot clove, chicken, and 1.5 tbsp. taco seasoning in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is blended, but not so much that it becomes too creamy, some chunks are ok. If you don’t have a food processor, you can also just mix this by hand.
- Mix panko with melted butter in a shallow bowl.
- Use a spoon to scoop the filling into each pepper half, then press the pepper into the panko mixture so that the filling gets a nice crunchy layer on top. Continue for as many peppers as you can fit on your wire rack (I fit about 36-40 pepper halves each time). Sprinkle the remaining ½ tablespoon of taco seasoning over the poppers.
- Bake poppers for about 15 minutes, checking for signs of completion after 10 minutes (panko will begin to brown). If you desire a crunchier topping, you can pop these poppers into the broiler for an additional 1-2 minutes.
From hesitantlyhealthy.com