Seriously. These are almost against my personal moral food code. Despite the fact that I have some decidedly fat laden recipes on this blog, these “appetizers” give me cause to consider the boundaries of propriety. Should I post them? Should I not post them? Should I post them? Should I not post them? Post. Not post. Post. Not post…..
So post them already, lady. Get over it. It’s a food blog. Gosh. Sometimes you’re good, sometimes you’re bad.
There was a picture of bacon wrapped stuffed banana peppers from Southern Living and that’s all it took for me to come up with a version of my own using Anaheim chile peppers. I’m not sure whether to classify these as an appetizer or a main course. They definitely are man food and can be seriously filling.
The size of Anaheim peppers makes them really fun for stuffing and wrapping in bacon. Using a thinner sliced bacon works well for wrapping around the peppers and both wraps and cooks more easily than would thick-sliced bacon. Save the thick sliced bacon for breakfast. 😉
Be sure to mince the filling ingredients so that they will cook well. For some heat in the filling I used jalapeno peppers and some chipotle flavored hot sauce. To give the flavor even more of a flavor nudge, I added a touch of chili powder. Za zing!
If you want to skip the pepper stuffing thing, this filling can easily be turned into a dip by adding some sour cream and then topped off with crispy, crumbled bacon. So versatile this recipe is, Yoda.
Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Anaheim Peppers
Ingredients
- 8 Anaheim chile peppers (the smallish ones work best, but Anaheims are generally rather large)
- 1 (8 ounces) block cream cheese
- 4 ounces weight grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 3/4 cup minced onion
- 1/2 cup minced sweet red pepper
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon chile powder
- 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (I used chipotle flavored Cholula brand hot sauce)
- 16 slices bacon (NOT thick sliced)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a half sheet baking pan (approximately 13- x 18- x 1-inch) with aluminum foil. Place a cooling rack (such as is used for cookies, etc.) in the bottom of the of the pan. Set aside.
- Wash Anaheim peppers. With a sharp knife, slice the peppers open on one side only–do not slice completely through the peppers. Carefully scrape out seeds. Set peppers aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the cream cheese, grated sharp cheddar cheese, onion, red pepper, jalapeno, garlic, salt, black pepper, chile powder, and hot sauce.
- Fill the hollowed out Anaheim peppers with the filling.
- Using two pieces of bacon per pepper, wrap the bacon slices around each pepper. Scrunch the bacon close together as you wrap. Remember that it will shrink as it cooks. Secure with toothpicks.
- Place peppers on the rack in the baking pan, leaving space between each pepper. Do not over-crowd the pan. If there is a concern about splatters while baking, lay a piece of aluminum foil lightly over the peppers. Do not fold it around the edges because steam from cooking needs a way to escape.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven. If a foil covering has been used, remove the foil at this time. Set oven to broil. Move oven rack 5-7 inches from broiler. Broil peppers 1-3 minutes until bacon is brown and crispy. Note: If splattering during broiling is a concern, try the following – carefully remove the rack with the peppers on it and drain the collected grease from the pan (an old jar works well as a grease receptacle). Return the rack with the peppers on it to the baking pan and complete the broiling process.
- Remove toothpicks before serving. Be careful when removing the toothpicks because the peppers will be hot.
Notes
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I will question my own morals just so I can eat two or three of these. 🙂 Wow… these are spectacular and perfect for a man’s day of food on Father’s Day. 🙂 I wish I could grab one off the screen!! All I can say is well done!!!!
Yep, great man food. My man isn’t a fan of peppers, but these had him inhaling with gusto. 🙂 Thanks, Ramona, as always for your sweet comments.
Nice Terri, very nice!! Wonderful pictures! I swear I can reach right in and grab one!
This is one simple and tasty snack. It’ll be perfect for everyone who keeps bugging me if dinner’s done yet….LOL! These peppers will keep them happy for a bit. 🙂 For sure they’ll be a hit because bacon is involved. Everyone here loves the divine swine, you can’t go wrong with bacon. 🙂
They are definitely filling and satisfying on a lot of levels.
Good except for WAY too much onion. I love onion, but that was all I could taste. I’d cut it back to maybe a couple tablespoons.
To post or not to post. Please do! These look really good! You have to splurge once in a while.
Yes. Yes, I do agree with the splurge theory.
Great idea!
I Have been making these for years as I am allergic to a Bell Pepper. I know sounds funny, I call them armadillo eggs. They are a huge hit at Hunting Camp.
That’s a great name, especially for Hunting Camp! If there is one thing that I have learned since I started blogging, it is this: for every time I think I have an “original” idea or even a new twist on an old idea, there is always someone out in the world who has already thought of it. As an aside, every time I hear or read the word “armadillo”, I can’t help but remember the armadillo carcases that I would see along the roads when we lived in the Houston area. There would be this empty-ish shell and the inevitable armadillo ooze around it. I can totally stand blood and guts, but those dead armadillos never ceased to make me queasy. 🙂
I had some Anaheim peppers growing out back and needed to do something with them so I google imaged “anaheim pepper recipe” . When I got to your dish…that was it, had to do it. They were AWESOME!!! I don’t even cook, I just garden, but I took em to my dad with the recipe and they just turned out great. Everybody loved em now we’re all nearly laid out on the couches. Thank you very much for posting this recipe. I dig your blog and I will be back for more.
Thanks again,
-burt
Thanks, Burt! Can I tell how jealous I am that you have a garden and are harvesting from it? We usually don’t dare plant things like tomatoes and peppers before mid May because our weather is so unpredictable. Bare feet and shorts one day, ski pants the next day.
I’m glad that you and your family like the peppers. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how many visits this recipe gets. Thanks for leaving such a great comment. It makes me happy. ~Terri
I made these peppers and loved them, but My oven was a complete mess. You cannot believe how bad the walls, door, bottom were cover in dripping brown grease. It looked as though it hadn’t been cleaned in years. I have to assume it was the bacon that caused it. So I checked the recipe to see if it should have been covered. It didn’t say to cover. I would love to make them again but never want to clean an oven that bad. Any suggestions?
Hmmm…that sounds very unfortunate. Perhaps the following suggestions will be help with the splatter problem: 1)line the baking pan with foil–I used a half sheet pan measuring approximately 13 x 18; 2)place a cool rack in the pan [a rack that is used to cool cookies, ect.]; 3)put the peppers on top of the rack and lay a piece of aluminum foil lightly over the peppers–do not wrap the foil around the edges of the pan because the steam from the peppers needs to escape; 4)remove the loose foil prior to broiling–If there is a concern that the grease which has collected in the bottom of the pan will cause splatter problems, carefully remove the rack with the peppers on it and drain the collected grease from the pan (an old jar works well as a grease receptacle). Return the rack with the peppers on it to the baking pan and complete the broiling process.
I hope that these suggestions help. I will update the recipe to reflect these suggestions. I’m glad that you liked the peppers, but I am very sorry that they caused such a mess in your oven. ~Terri
Bacon -Wrapped Stuffed Anaheim Peppers??? Are you kidding me? I think I’m in love! I use these peppers all the time because those “little guys” are just too hot for us. We have two adult children living with us “for the moment” and we all brought home bacon when we went shopping. These sound “citified” for whimps like us, and I can hardly wait to make them. Thank you so much!…also, can’t we “can” the Enchilada Sauce? It sound great too!
Hi Jan. I have to admit that these taste pretty darn good. I’m with you on “heat” factor. I can a little heat, but my mouth literally hurts with too much heat. So, I guess that you and I can be wimps together. 🙂
As for canning the Enchilada Sauce, I’d have to do a some research. I reviewed the ingredients and it looks as though the sauce could be canned pressure canner, but at this point I do not know at how much pressure or for how long. They definitely could NOT be canned in a water bath canner. Another option would be to freeze the sauce in any freezer-safe container; just remember to leave some head room for expansion when freezing.
Here is the link for the Ball Canning site. Perhaps they could give some good information. Also, check out the County Extension Service for your area–they typically have good canning information, also.
I took your recipe to another level , I boiled the peppers for about 8 minutes, removed from heat let stand for about 5 minutes. Dumped out hot water and filled pan with cold water. Let cool sliced peppers and de seeded . 1 cup cottage cheese , 1 Serrano pepper minced and about 5 tablespoons of habanero mango salsa and 2 cloves of fresh garlic minced for stuffing. Wrapped in bacon. Had a sweet flavor with a slight bite from Serrano heat. Fabulous !!!!
Yep, you sure did take the recipe to another level, Thomas! I especially like the habanero mango salsa touch. A bit of sweet is a great idea. Thanks for sharing your changes. They sound wonderful! ~Terri
I just this recipe
Oh My!!!! Just made these…and wonderful recipe…will make these again…
I’m so glad that you like these, Nancy! Thanks for letting me know that the recipe worked well for you.
I have been blessed with 45 years to have a wonderful man that loves my home cooking. He builds raised bed gardens and I cook him foods like your Bacon Wrapped Peppers. Before he retires he is trying to help out more. He will be directed to your web site and he already does over 70% of the grocery shopping. I love it when he comes home with 2 pounds of sesame seeds (on my list) because they were so cheap. Fun in the kitchen. That’s where the real action and fun really start. A little wine does not hurt, just saying…susie
It sounds like you have a great hubby there, Susan. Congratulations! Two pounds of sesame seeds should keep you busy for a while. 🙂
Oh these are on the try it list!
My daughter was just drooling over these a couple of days ago. They are a winner at my house.
I loved the idea and made this recipe. My problem was the skin was very tough and made the dish unpleasant to eat. Should I broil and peel the pepper before stuffing and wrapping with bacon ?
That’s unfortunate, Tom. Sorry to hear the peppers had issues. My guess is that the variety of Anaheims was the problem. So many of today’s vegetables have been designed to stand up to transport and life in the grocery store. Tougher skins is often one of the enhancements, witness grocery store tomatoes.
As for blistering and peeling the peppers prior to stuffing them, a similar process is used with chiles rellenos. I think, however, that it could prove to be a bit tricky. I have to wonder if the process would cause the peppers to lose their structure and not hold together well during the rest of the cooking. Good question, though. Let me know how it works out for you if you decide to experiment. Best wishes. ~Terri
If your pepper skins are tough, blanch them in boiling water for 2 minutes. Prepare these and put them on the grill. Turn once or twice. When the bacon is cooked, they are done. No oven splatter, either.
Thanks for the great tip, Leah!
Leah, You suggest so boiling the annaheim peppers for 2 min. Do you then simply slice and stuff them or does one need to “skin” them first? Thank you.
Excellent ! Thanks teri, I will make these again.
Glad you enjoyed them, Davey!
I make them in the grill. Oven for 20 min. Grill to char on grate set them over indirect heat, close lid for 10 mn. No messy oven great for parties!
Stop it! No please don’t stop!
Ok trying to be good has gotten me in trouble!! Do not use Greek yogurt/nonfat cream cheese on this recipe unless you want a grouchy p.i.t.a. Husband!!! Just not the same taste. UGHHHH! He said,…i halfway think it’s just because he knew I was trying to eat better, and knew I substituted the bad ingredients for healthier options…
hahahaha! ~Terri
This is a really good low carb meal,
I harvested 13 Anaheims yesterday, and only one went into the all from the garden stir fry we had for dinner, with a couple fried eggs on top.
8 will be chopped and put in bags, to be joined later by the frying peppers that aren’t quite ready, for winter cooking. So what to do with the other four?
Google “cheese stuffed Anaheims” and up comes your lovely recipe. You had me at the bacon, as I eat low carb, high fat, and THIS was the perfect marriage of a little bit of carbs, a moderate amount of protein, and plenty of healthy fat. YUM, and thank you.
Can you prepare these and then freeze them for later occasions?
I don’t think so. I’ve never tried it, but I don’t think that they these would hold up well to freezing. The peppers would most likely go really mushy when defrosted. I could be wrong, though. 🙂
I am growing my own anaheims and was looking for a way to use them. This recipe was wonderful. I made them for a brunch with family. Since it is so hot right now, I didn’t want to heat up the oven, so I put them on a foil lined broiler pan with the peppers on a cooling rack. Set my gas grill to 450 and they cooked perfectly! I will definitely make again.
Excellent idea!
Just popped mine in the oven. I’m a novice cook but I’m wondering how does the cream cheese filling not melt and turn to liquid and just ooze out of the pepper? To help prevent this I also laid an extra piece of bacon over the end to help secure the delicious cheese filling. I didn’t have all the ingredients so I used cream cheese, shredded cheddar Jack, two green Ortega chils, fresh garlic, pico pica hot sauce, chili lime seasoning and a dash of sea salt and it tasted pretty damn good!! And as much as I love bacon I hate eating fat- like literally cannot even swallow it or I’ll gag so I meticulously trimmed all the fat off my bacon and wrapped little strips of bacon meat all around the chili’s, which caused me to have to use a lot more toothpicks but the toothpicks are propping up the chili’s so they’re not really touching the pan do that all around the pepper the bacon will be cooked and crispy!! Bc I can’t stand soggy bacon. I hope this works 🤞🏻It might be an utter fail tho, but I hope not! Someone made these at a 4th of July bbq yesterday but they used spicy ass jalapeños and didn’t remove the seeds so they were way too hot for me to eat so I just had to try them my way!!
Just as I suspected, the cheese all melted and oozed out of my peppers 😕