Mini Cream Cheese Stuffed Peppers have a savory, lightly flavored cream cheese filling inside of bell peppers. These mini cream cheese stuffed peppers are about to become a new favorite easy appetizer.
This sour cream and chive (and cream cheese!) filling is AMAZING. Trust me. In fact, these cold cream cheese stuffed mini sweet peppers are so good, I made them twice in a week. While these work as a delicious cold appetizer, I loved having them in the fridge for a snack that is healthy and satisfying.
Jump to:
Best Cream Cheese Stuffing for Peppers
What makes this cream cheese filling so good? The simplicity. I am one who normally sees one clove of garlic in a recipe and takes that to mean 6 cloves. I add hot sauce to EVERYTHING. I like big flavors and lots of them! But here, I kept the recipe simple and subdued and I really think that's what makes it so fresh and delicious. I only added one clove of garlic (gasp!) and the only other flavoring agents are chive and lemon. I love how the crisp bell pepper and cream cheese complement each other so perfectly.
Aside from sour cream and chive being a wonder flavor combo, the sour cream also acts as a thinning agent to lighten up the very thick cream cheese and making it easier to stuff the peppers with. The same goes for the lemon juice, its serves a purpose for both flavor and texture.
These mini peppers stuffed with cream cheese are:
- vegetarian
- low carb and keto
- protein packed
- meal prep friendly
Ingredients
- mini bell peppers
- cream cheese
- sour cream
- chives
- garlic
- lemon
- salt
How to Make Cream Cheese Stuffed Peppers
Time to make the filling for our stuffed mini peppers!
Begin by taking your cream cheese out and having it soften a bit. It doesn't have to be completely room temperature, but having it warm up slightly out of the fridge helps it be easier to work with.
Add cream cheese, sour cream (or greek yogurt), chopped chives, minced garlic, lemon juice, and salt. Stir well to combine.
Carefully slice the tops off of the the mini peppers and remove any extra seeds. I like to stick a finger into the pepper to open it up a bit for the filling.
Fill a pastry bag with the cream cheese mixture and pipe it into each pepper.
Serve cream cheese mini stuffed peppers cold.
What is the best way to stuff mini peppers?
I have a little trick for you that is going to make stuffing these baby bell peppers a breeze. You can also use this when stuffing anything small, like a jalapeno or a tomato.
Use a pastry bag! Fill a pastry bag with your chive cream cheese filling. Cut of the tip of the bag and squeeze the filling right into each cut pepper. This saves on mess, and also makes it easier to get the filling all the way to the bottom of the peppers.
If you don't have a pastry bag, a gallon size bag works as a good substitute.
Substitutions and Variations
- Greek yogurt can be used in place of sour cream. I have mentioned this on the blog before, but greek yogurt works as a fantastic substitute for sour cream. The flavor is similar AND the texture is similar. I first started using greek yogurt as a sour cream alternative years ago, as yogurt is easier on the digestive system. Now, it's all I use. We don't even keep sour cream stocked in the fridge anymore.
- This filling can double as a delicious sour cream and chive dip if you don't want to use it as a filling for peppers! It can be left as is or you can add more sour cream to thin it out a bit.
Storage
This bell pepper and cream cheese snack stores really well in the fridge for a few days! The mini sweet peppers stay crisp and not soggy which is great.
I like to keep them stored in a glass container with an airtight lid. I try to lay them down in a slightly overlapping fashion, to keep them intact and to prevent the filling from getting too messy. This way of storing them is especially helpful if you are making them as a cold appetizer to bring somewhere else.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, they can. Simply swap out the sour cream and cream cheese for vegan alternatives.
That depends on your definition of healthy. To me they certainly are. Colourful bell peppers are incredibly good for you and filled with Vitamin C. Cream cheese and sour cream have protein and fats to keep you full. These are a great healthy snack!
Yes, they can. Bake the stuffed mini peppers at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes for a melty, warm version.
Need more easy appetizer ideas?
Mini Cream Cheese Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 10-15 mini bell peppers
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp. minced chives
- 1 garlic clove minced
- ½ lemon juiced
- ½ tsp. salt
Instructions
- Begin by taking your cream cheese out and having it soften a bit. It doesn't have to be completely room temperature, but having it warm up slightly out of the fridge helps it be easier to work with.
- To a bowl, add cream cheese, sour cream (or greek yogurt), chopped chives, minced garlic, lemon juice, and salt. Stir well to combine.
- Carefully slice the tops off of the the mini peppers and remove any extra seeds. I like to stick a finger into the pepper to open it up a bit for the filling.
- Fill a pastry bag with the cream cheese mixture and pipe it into each pepper.
- Serve cream cheese mini stuffed peppers cold.
Brenda Henderson says
Recipes look good.