But what to do with all of those peppers? Why, stuff them of course. Luckily for me I had everything I needed on hand at home: cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, and bacon. But this time I wanted to try something a little different and I kept going back to the idea of blackberry jam. Of course, my luck had run out by that point and all I had on hand was a mixed berry jam, but I went with it and it turned out amazing.
My husband, who isn’t too keen on fruits and who outright refuses the combination of anything fruity with anything savory, gobbled these stuffed peppers down (I may have forgotten to mention the whole jam thing…). My takeaway: the jam lends just enough interest to up the flavor but not so much that it tastes out of place. Kind of like maple and bacon.
Now, you can certainly use Jalapeño peppers here, and I dare say they might pair even better with that jam, but I happened to have a slew of freshly picked banana peppers, so that’s what I used. Any berry jam would taste excellent in these peppers, but if you have it go with blackberry, raspberry, or marionberry. And while I roasted these in the oven you can absolutely throw these on the grill. Don’t you just love easy, flexible recipes?
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Berry jam adds a delicious twist to classic bacon wrapped peppers stuffed with cream cheese and cheddar.
Ingredients
- 6 large banana peppers*
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup berry jam (blackberry, marionberry, or raspberry are all good choices)
- 12 slices of bacon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and place a baking rack on top of the baking sheet. Set aside.
- Cut the peppers in half, lengthwise, and remove seeds and inner membrane.
- With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and salt until combined. Alternatively you could mix by hand. Spoon filling equally among all pepper halves.
- Using a small spoon or teaspoon, add a bit of jam to each stuffed pepper and smear over the top. Adjust the amount of jam according to the size of the pepper and your personal preference. I used about 2 teaspoons for each large banana pepper half.
- Wrap one slice of bacon around each pepper and pierce with a toothpick or two to secure. Place each pepper on the prepared baking rack setup and bake for about 30 minutes or until the bacon is cooked and starting to crisp.
- If desired, you can turn the oven to broil for the last few minutes to crisp the bacon even more.
- Serve the stuffed peppers immediately. Leftovers can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- (*) You may need more or less peppers depending on their size. Alternatively you can use jalapeño peppers, of which you will need approximately 12. If using jalapeños, cut the bacon in half before wrapping peppers.
- (**) The peppers can be stuffed and wrapped 1 day in advance. Refrigerate until ready to bake.
Keywords: cheesy pepper jalapeno poppers with bacon and jam
