We are so excited to share these off the hook delicious and oh so pretty chicken sausage stuffed baby bell peppers with you. This is such a fun appetizer. Move over chips and salsa or veggies and dip (which really do always have a place in our hearts) because these cute peppers are stepping in. Just saying, the next time you ask “what can I bring?” and the person says, “how about an appetizer?”….you will have the perfect answer! We guarantee that this will please the crowd.
Now you may think that this recipe is labor intensive but guess what? They are actually easier than you think and we are going to share some quick time saving tips for you. So, follow along. But first, run to the store and grab the ingredients! These sweet little baby bell peppers should be easy to find at your local grocery store.
Start by blackening up the peppers in a large skillet with a little olive oil. They will sizzle away and get nice and blistered. This is a really easy way to char the peppers. Once they are blackened, just turn off the heat and set them aside to cool on a plate.
While the peppers are cooling, you can brown up the chicken sausage. Start by cooking the onion and garlic, add the oregano and red pepper flakes. Add the sausage. We like the Trader Joe’s sweet Italian chicken sausage. Just remove the sausage from the casings and break it up into small pieces as it cooks. Once it’s cooked through, remove from the heat and allow it to cool.
After the chicken sausage and onions are cooled, transfer to a mixing bowl and add the cheese, fresh basil, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and set aside.
It’s time to open up the peppers. Just use a small paring knife to cut a slit across the side from stem to base. There will be a few seeds inside so just use your fingers or a small spoon to scrape them out if you desire. You can certainly eat them if you’d rather. Then scoop the sausage and cheese mixture into the peppers and top with fresh parmesan.
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until the cheese is nice and bubbly. We are sure that these guys are gonna go fast!!
- 1 pound sweet Italian chicken sausage
- 1 pound sweet baby bell peppers
- ½ yellow onion - diced
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 Tbsp fresh basil - chopped
- ½ C fontina cheese - shredded
- ¼ C shredded parmesan cheese
- pinch of salt and pepper
- Preheat oven to 400 °
- Wash and pat dry baby peppers. Heat large skillet to medium-high and add olive oil. Add peppers and cook, turning frequently until skin is nicely blistered and blackened. About 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set on plate to cool. Add diced onion to skillet and cook for roughly 3 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add oregano and red pepper flakes. Remove sausage from casings and add to onion mixture. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, break sausage into small bits. Cook until golden brown then remove from heat and allow to cool. Once cooled, transfer sausage mixture to a bowl and add cheese, fresh basil and salt and pepper and stir until combined.
- Using a small paring knife, cut a slit in peppers from base of stem to bottom half of pepper. This part can be messy as the peppers will be juicy. Work over a sink or bowl for easier clean up. Using your fingers or a small spoon, scoop sausage mixture into the peppers and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
- Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan then bake for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted. Transfer to serving platter or plate and serve immediately.
