Italian Stuffed Jalapeños
Yield: 8 servings
With juicy Italian sausage, Parmesan, mozzarella, and cream cheese, these stuffed jalapeños are extra cheesy with just the right amount of heat.
Ingredients
- 15 large jalapeño peppers cut in half seeded and deveined
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage
- ⅓ cup minced red onion
- ⅓ cup minced red bell pepper
- 3 large cloves garlic minced
- 16 ounces cream cheese
- ⅓ cup shredded Parmesan plus more for garnish
- kosher salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- minced fresh Italian parsley and/or chives for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place halved jalapeños on a rimmed sheet pan. Line the pan with aluminum foil first, for easy clean-up, if desired. Roast for 10 minutes, or until nicely softened. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Once the oil is warmed, add the sausage and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, breaking it up occasionally. Add onion, pepper, and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes to soften. Once the sausage is thoroughly browned, remove the mixture to a large bowl. Cool to room temperature (place in refrigerator to speed up cooling, if desired).
- Add cream cheese and Parmesan to cooled sausage mixture. Fold thoroughly and then season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Place about 1 heaping tablespoon (depending on the size of your jalapeños) of mixture into each jalapeño half, and top with a bit of mozzarella cheese. Repeat until all halves are stuffed.
- Place the pan of stuffed jalapeños under the broiler and cook until the mozzarella cheese is melty and blistered/browned. Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle with a bit more shredded Parmesan, and then some fresh Italian parsley and/or chives. Serve hot or warm.
Notes
Don't like the heat of jalapeños? Grab a bag of those colorful mini sweet peppers and substitute! These sweet peppers usually have thinner walls, so simply roast them for 5 to 6 minutes, instead of the 10 minutes as written in the instructions.
To mostly prepare this ahead of time: Prepare the stuffed jalapeños as per the instructions above, through Step 5, where the jalapeño halves are stuffed. Then place all stuffed jalapeños in a single layer in a covered container in the refrigerator. About 30 minutes prior to baking, place stuffed jalapenos on a rimmed baking pan (lined with foil, if you like), and add shredded mozzarella over the top of each one. Preheat oven to 350° F. Bake for about 5 minutes, just to warm them up. Then place under the broiler to melt and blister the mozzarella. Serve warm, with additional shredded Parmesan and minced fresh Italian parsley and/or chives.
Adapted from friend Joel Symmank’s recipe box, originally from Guy Fieri on Food Network.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 1 Calories: 470kcal Carbohydrates: 10g Protein: 19g Fat: 40g Saturated Fat: 19g Polyunsaturated Fat: 20g Cholesterol: 99mg Sodium: 730mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.