Stuffed Banana Peppers

Stuffed Banana Peppers in Buffalo, NY are different. These six cheese filled mild capsicums are the regional dish you probably haven’t heard of, but they’re so Buffalo that they use them as a pizza topping. If you like to just load your banana peppers with cream cheese and call it a day your aren’t wrong… you just aren’t right. So buckle up and do you taste buds a favor with these stuffed banana peppers.

Ingredients

Don’t look at this ingredient list and think, “this is too fancy for me”, You’re worth it and you’ll be able to find everything at your grocery store. I personally have a hard time finding banana peppers and had to grow my own, but you will be able to make great stuffed peppers using this recipe and literally any other pepper, like poblano or Hungarian wax.

What you’ll need:

• Fresh banana peppers
• Garlic
• Parsley
• Olive oil
• Canola Oil
• Cream Cheese
• Parmesan Cheese
• Romana Cheese
• Mascarpone Cheese
• Crumbly Blue Cheese
• White Pepper
• Anchovy Paste
• Bread Crumbs
• Hearty Bread

How to make Stuffed Banana Peppers

You need to prepare your peppers an hour before you are ready to cook and serve them. This is to make sure there is enough time to let the cheese set in the fridge which will help with seepage. There’s going to be some oozing.

Prepare your Peppers

First, cut the stem end of your pepper off and do your best to remove the core and any seeds. Next, in a large bowl, mix together the 6 cheeses, anchovy paste, and white pepper. Use a spatula or strong spoon. You may also consider using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment to save yourself some elbow grease. Once mixed, fold in your bread crumbs to thicken things up.

Stuff your Peppers

Next you will carefully stuff the cheese mixture into your cored peppers. I say carefully because you don’t want to burst through the sides. You can pipe the cheese mix into the pepper, but I often use a butter knife and skewer. I must also mention, that using your hands woks well too. Once you have stuffed your peppers, place them in the fridge for at least an hour. This is important, which is why I’ve said it twice.

Cook your Peppers

After an hour, remove the peppers from the fridge and put a skillet on a burner. Turn the burner to medium high and add a small amount of olive an canola oils. Once the oil starts to smoke, sear the peppers on both sides. This will only take three to four minutes per side. Some cheese will escape and crisp in the pan. Don’t worry, this is a good thing. The crisped bits are the best bits. Once the peppers are cooked, move them to a plate and remove your pan from the heat. While off the heat, throw the garlic and parsley into the pan to loosen up their flavor.

All that’s left now is to place your stuffed pepper on top of a piece of hearty bread and and spoon some of the oil, garlic, and parsley over the top!

Variations of Stuffed Banana Peppers

This cheese filling is fantastic in just about every pepper you can find. When I’m not happy with the supply of banana peppers I opt for jalapeño, Hungarian wax, or poblano peppers.

I also like to eat this filling without peppers. You didn’t just make a great pepper filling, you made a great cheese spread. You can ball this up and serve it with crackers, or put it in a bowl to dip pretzels into. Sometimes I’ll spread it between two slices of bread and cook it up like a grilled cheese. The possibilities are endless.