Mini Bell Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese

By Martha Rose Shulman

Mini Bell Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
40 minutes
Rating
5(225)
Comments
Read comments

This side dish is a way to take advantage of the mini sweet peppers that are showing up by the bag in supermarkets. They should be roasted briefly and not peeled.

My oldest brother, Dan, and his wife, Margaret, hosted a wonderful party in Minneapolis in May to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The savory food on the gorgeous vegetarian buffet was catered by the well-known Minneapolis restaurant Lucia’s, whose chef/owner, Lucia Watson, is a friend of the family. One of my favorite items was minipeppers stuffed with goat cheese, the inspiration for this recipe. Mini sweet peppers have begun to proliferate in supermarkets; the ones I’m finding come in 12-ounce bags, roughly 12 to a bag (though they range in size, some being about two inches long, others about three), usually a mix of red and yellow. They are thin skinned, with very small seedpods and membranes. I roast them briefly to soften them and sweeten the flavor. There is no need to peel them, and they should not be roasted so long that the skin loosens. You will probably have a little filling left over, but it’s nice as a spread so it won’t go to waste. These will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 6
  • ¾pound mini sweet peppers (1 package, usually 12) or small lipstick peppers
  • 6ounces goat cheese (½ of a 12-ounce log)
  • ⅓cup low-fat (not nonfat) cottage cheese
  • 3tablespoons plain low-fat (not nonfat) Greek yogurt
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

97 calories; 6 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 165 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with foil. Place peppers on the baking sheet and roast 8 to10 minutes (small peppers – less than 2 inches long – will cook faster), turning them over halfway through. The peppers should be soft but not charred, except perhaps in a few spots. Remove from heat and allow to cool. If there are some larger peppers in the bag and they haven’t softened in 10 minutes, return to oven for another 5.

  2. Step 2

    While peppers are cooling, make filling. Combine goat cheese, cottage cheese and yogurt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until mix is very smooth, at least one minute. Scrape down sides of bowl and process for another minute. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a ⅜-inch star tip.

  3. Step 3

    When peppers have cooled, slice off ends just below the shoulders. Carefully remove any seeds and membranes. The peppers should be intact, but sometimes, they split down one side. Place any that have not split upright in a small glass or cup to facilitate filling, and pipe in goat cheese mix. Lay those that have split on a plate, pipe on the filling and close the pepper around the filling. Arrange stuffed peppers on a plate or platter. Serve at once, or chill until 30 minutes before serving. Bring to room temperature so cheese is soft and creamy.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
225 user ratings
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Comments

Elizabeth Hennessey

I cooked these for a low-carb starter for Easter dinner. I will admit, I didn't use the cottage cheese, I used ricotta. I found no need to pull out the food processor, everything was at room temerature so I used a wooden spoon and some elbow grease. They are wonderful! I just hope they last until tomorrow for dinner!

AlexPDX

I made a double batch over two days, mixing things up along the way. I found it easier to seed the peppers when they were uncooked. Far less "damage." Cheese spread and cooked peppers that had both been refrigerated was the easiest combination to fill. I mentioned damage to the peppers, but please don't worry about appearances - people will eat them up so quickly that they won't notice any imperfections.

Liz

I followed many comments more than the original recipe but this is an awesome starter to build on. (Definitely follow the recipe and don’t over cook the peppers, they look beautiful plated when the peppers don’t tear and holds the filling nicely) I will definitely use this as a guide in the future. I used ricotta instead of cottage cheese and I think I used a little extra goat cheese because of package sizing, I also used sour scream in place of Greek yogurt because that’s what I had. I also noticed guests left the larger peppers and went for smaller ones. I think adding some diced roasted hot chili or a variety of herbs would really level it up. Maybe serve with a chili garlic crunch or balsamic glaze drizzled over the top? The possibilities seem endless.

Michael W.

Adding 1 minced garlic clove, 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts, 2 tablespoons golden raisins, a tablespoon chopped of green onions, A tablespoon each of minced fresh parsley and minced cilantro, and 1 teaspoon of honey and salt and pepper to taste to the filling made this marvelous

Liza

I didn’t have enough goat cheese, so I added a bit of rice wine vinegar to get a little more tang. Then after reading comments, I added some snipped chives and a teaspoon or so of honey. Pardon my artistic license, but the peppers turned out great!

Dawn JM

I made these and we tried to eat them while still warm- this was not a great idea. I only had 4 oz of goat cheese but did everything else as written, but probably wouldn't make them again.

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